When Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were on the hunt for magnesium for their chunky, ice-blue Kourtney x Barker Wellness Calm bath flakes, they weren’t messing around. In fact, only magnesium sourced directly from the ancient Zechstein reefs, buried beneath the North Sea between the UK and Norway, would do. After tossing in other natural ingredients like eucalyptus leaf, blue tansy flower and pine needle, the wellness-obsessed duo (and newly minted parents of baby boy Rocky Thirteen) landed on a soothing formula that met their exacting standards.
Equally next-level, the stunning 100 Senses range of products bills itself as “elevated bath and body care for better being,” and offers what it calls “antidotes” to our 24/7 modern lives. Its Foaming Mind Body Soaks, in such iterations as Tranquilizer, Intoxicated and Spirit Guide, are housed in glass cylinders that can even be suspended from a marble “Soak Stand” if you really feel like splashing out.
Welcome to the world of super soaks. The finely crafted, often pricey bath brews not only provide an instant timeout but also aim to aid post-workout recovery and stabilize hormones derailed by everything from stress to pregnancy and menopause.
“Scientific research shows that taking baths two to three times a week can help ease muscle pain, repair your skin, improve cardiovascular health, reduce inflammation and lower blood pressure, to name just a few benefits,” says Serena Yang, 100 Senses founder and creative director. “But the No. 1 benefit of bath-taking is the immediate reduction in your stress level. With so many health benefits, including rebooting your mood and balancing your hormones, there’s no downside.”
For her Hormone Soothing Bath Soak, Surya Spa founder Martha Soffer tapped an age-old ayurvedic recipe powered by root extracts of wild yams and shatavari, a member of the asparagus family recognized for its positive impact on inflammation and oxidative stress, and its ability to regulate hormones. “I had so many women coming in with hormonal imbalances that I wanted to find a way to support them in their own homes,” Soffer says of her super-popular soak. “Shatavari and wild yam are two of our favorite herbs at Surya to help balance hormones.”
To develop the ultimate post-workout bath brew, Ten Over Ten, the clean, non-toxic nail salon in the Financial District, collaborated with prima ballerina Isabella Boylston on an Epsom salt-rich formula called The Recovery. As a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, Boylston knows a thing or two about tired muscles. Hence the blend is full of soothing magnesium, pain-relieving arnica and skin-softening colloidal oatmeal.
With so much upside, there’s no reason not to hop in the nearest tub with one of these jacked-up, multisensory soaks.
“I’m deeply passionate about the transformational power of water and the neuroscientific health benefits of water on our bodies and minds,” says Yang. “I truly believe that water is wellness.”
