Magnesium Bath Flakes: Fad or Miracle Fix?

Hey you lot! As the nights draw in and the rain beats down, winter is definately on it's way here in Edinburgh. I saw my first robin red-breast of the year, so have fished out all my wooly jumpers and fleece lined boots ready for the onslaught of snow and rain that is winter in Scotland! During such chilly times, I love nothing more than warm porridge in the morning, and an even warmer bath at night. When I'm not relying on my old faithful Lush products, I'm always on the lookout for new soaks to try. When in Whole foods the other week I saw these Magnesium Flakes for the bath:

I know a bath is good for the mind, relaxes you and can ease tired muscles, but I was intrigued by the "remineralisation" claim. Can a bath really provide your body with missing minerals and cure all manner of ailments? This sounds a little middle ages to me. This is what they say:

I may be the only one in this position, but I wasn't aware my magnesium levels were so dangerously low that they needed replenishing in any way, let alone through a bath! So, as I tend to do, I did a little research. If you type "magnesium" into Google, you will be met with a plethora of websites offering supplements and advice. It turns out magnesium is a vital mineral for our health, and our diet nowadays is containing less and less magnesium due to our foods being processed differently. There have been plenty of studies showing that magnesium supplements can relieve the symptoms of diseases such as depression, and lower the risk of coronary heart diseases and diabetes. Worth a try, no?

This whole packet is meant to be for one bath, which seems a little excessive, so I have spread it out over a couple of baths so far and may buy some more to add in with other bath products. The flakes are brittle and don't seem to have any sort of scent, and dissolve immediately. It could be a placebo effect, but I do feel a little more nourished as a result. Then again, I always feel better after a bath so it's hard to tell if it's a result of the magnesium or not.

There certainly seems to be some scientific evidence to support the beneficial effects of these supplements, and you apparently cannot overdose on magnesium. However the cynic in me will always ask is this just scare-mongering or do we really need all these so called "necessary" nutrients? I'm not sure but it makes me feel a bit safer, and it certainly can't hurt.

For a bag this size it was £2.75 and you can get these on Amazon and Ebay as well as through various supplement and health stores

If it's good enough for Cleopatra...

It's good enough for me! I'm talking about the milk baths Cleopatra and Elizabeth I of England used to lavish themselves in, believing them to soothe the skin and have youth-preserving qualities. This isn't quite so luxurious, but I do love a good bath every now and then. Waitrose has their own range of body lotions, hand creams and bath soaks named "Umi". At first when I spotted this I didn't even realise it was made for Waitrose, as it isn't in their branding, and looks very high end.

I like the fact it is in a vaguely milk-bottle shaped glass bottle, that you can see the product through, and it smells divine! The actual smell is "Palm milk and Acacia Honey", which sounds a bit sickly sweet, but it is actually a very soothing, calming creamy sweet smell to soak in and ease your tired bones. The consistency is very thick but smooth and I didn't expect it to foam, being described as a soak, but lovely bubbles form a white cloud-like layer on the top of the bath which looks very inviting!

You don't need to use much, and you get 500ml for £4.00, or £2.72 at the minute as there is a third off (yep bargain hunting again!). If you're near Waitrose and you fancy a treat for your bathroom, or a nice pressie for your mum, they have this and a couple of other scents, linden blossom and chilli chocolate which also smell great. I'm really impressed and will be going back for something else from the range! What's your favourite bath bomb or soak?

10/10 and this might be a staple in my bathroom for the foreseeable future :)