Balcones Bubble Bath - 3/29/19

In part two of my search for the perfect evening/morning routine, the bubble bath surprisingly came up on many CEO’s daily routines. Buzzfeed even popularized this by running their employees through a one week crash course in the CEO night and morning routine, involving the bubble bath and waking up at 4am.

I’m not going to lie. Taking a bath just wasn’t something I felt a guy did. I was never taught to run a bath and it just wasn’t something any guy I knew raved about. But in the name of trying new things, I put on my big boy pants (then took them off) and took a dip into bath land. To make things a little more enjoyable for myself, I added my favorite whiskies at the time (in a glass, not the water!), the Balcones Texas Rye, Single Malt, and Brimstone... and thus the Balcones Bubble Bath was born.

Here are some tips to get you started on running the perfect bath:

Preparation:

Clean the tub. Mix equal parts of borax, liquid detergent, and vinegar in bowl and use to scrub with scrubbing pad for a deep clean before your first bath. Tub and tile cleaners didn’t do shit for me, but my tub was pretty nasty. Borax is the magical active ingredient. This might need to happen on a weekend, but shouldn’t take more than 10-20 minutes.

Materials:

Tub Stopper

Waterproof digital timer (optional)

Candles in container with lids (large 25-45 hr ones)

Bath Drink Holder (optional)

Dr. Teal’s Foaming Bath

Epsom Salt

Small towel as headrest (optional)

Steps:

1. Shower/rinse yourself before and after (treat it like a spa)

2. Stop the drain with the tub stopper

3. Get the water going (est 10 mins until full for normal sized tub)

4. Pour in foaming bath and epsom salt while water is running

5. Set music (I use “Deep Sleep” on Spotify)

6. Light candles and turn off all other lights

7. Pour yourself a drink

8. Set timer duration (optional)

9. Slowly enter tub and enjoy

10. Dry off and rinse (optional)

11. Robe up and continue night routine (writing, reading, etc.)

Tips:

No shower curtains in the tub!

Be careful with glassware in bathroom

Don’t forget to blow out candles

Use waterproof earbuds or portable sound systems if blasting music isn’t an option

While washing the body a bonus, that isn’t why you should do it. Research shows that our bodies interpret physical warmth also as interpersonal warmth. Interpersonal warmth can be translated as “positive feelings toward self, others, and surroundings.” The epsom salts help deliver magnesium sulfate into the body, which relaxes the muscles, softens the skin, and is naturally absorbed into the body as much needed minerals. Relaxation of the body leads to release and relaxation of the mind. With life picking up speed, prioritizing these moments of self-care becomes even more important. It forces us to slow down, embrace our being, and give gratitude to the day.

A bath to a shower is like a cigar to a cigarette. The former allows you to slow down, to think, to relax, and to ponder. The latter for the quick fix, the duty, the chore. While I don’t take a bath every night, I never regret it when I make time for it. A quick soak for 10-20 minutes shouldn’t be underestimated in it’s destressing benefits. Those with kids may need to team up to block out these 20 minutes for each other. Time blocking for self-care is just as important as time blocking for work.

Continuously pushing ourselves past the limits without self-care is a recipe for disaster, burnout, or hitting a wall (figuratively and literally). Even the most successful racing teams need to pit to stay in the ranks.

With dark mode on and a bubble bath, you are maintaining your body and mind to charge you for the next day. Take care of them and they will take care of you. Or as Dr. Tyrell from the movie Blade Runner says, “The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long…”

Get your bubble bath on.

Fuck yeah, it’s Friday!

Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games