In The SPAtlight: Joyful Bath Co.

Today I'm reviewing Joyful Bath Co. Mellow Yellow Relieving Bath Salts. Joyful Bath Co. has designated Wednsdays as #bathday on Twitter, and throughout the day they give followers chances to win each of their six bath salt blends. Two weeks ago after much persistance, and a bit of pre-planning I won a sample size package of their Mellow Yellow salts.

First let me say that I don't often take baths, as I find showers are usually easier to work into one's daily schedule. In fact, the last time I luxuriated in my big old tub was when I was preparing to review the ME! Bath Bath Ice Cream 4 months ago. Winning #bathday was a joy in that I once again had an excuse to shut myself in the bathroom, and enjoy a bath. And enjoy it I did!

I am a self proclaimed Googler, and prior to diving in I decided to do a bit of research on the Joyful Bath Co. and Mellow Yellow. The light yellow color of the salts come from an interesting ingredient, Mustard Seed. Mustard is apparently good for more than pretzels and dogs, it has been used for centuries for it's inate healing properties. Thanks to google, I found out that mustard seeds contain anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties.

When looking further into just who is behind Joyful Bath Co., I discovered that Rochel Roland, the company's founder and Chief Mixologist is quite literally worth her salt. She translated her childhood hobby for mixing things into a business, but not before recieving a Master's degree in agronomy, the science of soil (including all the clays, minerals, salts, and elements that we draw from it.) When dreaming up the Mellow Yellow blend, Roland obviously put her knowledge of salt to good use, as it is a combination of Epsom Salt, Mediterranean and Dead Sea Salts.

By now it is probably apparent that I'm an information junkie and like to be in the know about the products I'm using. Well I'll say that the Joyful Bath Co. definitely delivers on that front. In addition to a very informative web site, I recieved plenty of info in the mail with the products. One such useful tidbit, was Rochel's attempt to debunk the myth that you need to set aside a chunk of time to take a relaxing bath. She introduced the concept of a power bath, and shared her routine for taking a soak each morning. Though I will say that is a lot of tub scrubbing thanks Rochel.

In addition to the bath how-to I recieved a "Do Not Disturb" type sign which I promptly hung on the bathroom door, and miraculously it worked, well that in cohots with the Backyardigans I suppose. The back of the door hanger also lists suggestions for creating your own custom blends from their mixes, some of which sound good enough to eat.

Ok now down to bath time. I tend to overdo it products, so it was good that I only recieved a 2 oz sample, which to my surprise worked as well as say ohhh, 1/2 the jar. The essential oils used in this blend are wintergreen, eucalyptus, rosemary & thyme which could easily be overpowering but aren't at all. After dumping the packet into my probably a bit too full tub, I could still smell the aroma but it wasn't too much. The addition of the oils to the salt worked to moisturize my skin, but there wasn't an oily film on top of the water. Given the properties ascribed to the salts (Epsom especially), it is probably something I should have tried out after a good workout (if I were ever to do such a thing), in order to really test out whether the salts live up to their Relieving title. When I emerged from the water and toweled off, I did try to smell my skin and didn't detect any latent smells from the bath (this could also be due to a failure of my olfactory sense), which to me was fine because I was going to apply a scented body oil anyway. The included letter did note that because of the antibacterial properties of salt, you don't have to use soap in the tub. While I don't doubt the validity of that statement, I did use some soap which also could have affected the scent.

Cleanup: It is at this juncture in my bath experience that I appreciate the simplicty of the Joyful Bath Co. 's salt blends, no lavender buds, crushed petals, that though beautiful make cleaning the bathtub a pain in the you know what.

Overall, it is a product that I'd definitely try again, especially since there are 5 more mixes to try all with different theraputic aims.

So if you haven't already, definitely follow Joyful Bath Co. on Twitter. While your at it make sure you follow me too! See ya on Bathday.