THE ART OF BATHS

By Stacey Kumagai

When you were a little kid and it was "bath time‟ you most likely cringed and pouted. Pets usually do the same thing … try giving a bath to a hamster, cat or ferret. Yikes!

Bathing may have started as a luxurious social bar scene or a place of entertainment and sexual liaison with the Romans, Egyptians and the Greeks. It may have been a place of prayer and meditation for the Moslems. For the Japanese, bathhouses may have originally been about an obsession with purity and cleanliness. And in the good old West, cowboys may have bathed fully clothed, perhaps to multi-task of doing laundry and taking a bath at the same time rather than be modest. While the elaborate bathhouses of the third century probably have their own tale or two to tell, rest assured, bathing has meant many things to many people. It has always first and foremost been a part of ritual cleansing. Bath time may not be as popular today because of conventional showers, which seem to save time and save water. For many it is a personal preference due to lifestyle, custom and upbringing. But baths for centuries have been a celebrated thing. From the ornate claw-footed Victorian tubs to the modern-day contemporary – both air and water Jacuzzi spa jetted tubs, tub trends are growing.

Day spas have reintroduced the conventional soak as a means of relaxation, decompression and enlightening tension-relieving ritual. While even mid-level hotels are introducing spa tubs in rooms and larger resorts have both sauna and tub in-room.

Has the world rediscovered the long lost art of the bath?

According to a recent American Standard Bathroom Habits Survey, thirty percent of Americans revealed that they would want to spend more than $10,000 to remodel, renovate or create a whole new „ultimate bathroom.‟ Consumers are patronizing their home improvement stores as well as contacting home contractors to try to improve both kitchens and bathrooms in this economy in order to get more sales value out of a declining home sales marketplace.

Most consumers ultimately confide that they would spend between $2,500 and $7,500 to remodel and decorate their bathrooms. Companies like Bed Bath & Beyond have had a 2.3% growth rate from 2008-2009 with $7,208.3M in revenue. With the Baby Boomer Generation getting older, the popularity in Sulphur, Epsom and Mineral baths for arthritis and a myriad of aches, pains and muscular/joint physical therapies is helping to escalate the popularity of baths again.

The decade of the 90s to New Millenium witnessed one billion dollars in both the bath and shower care products market. And while there was a slight 12% decline after Y2K, most of this can be attributed to craft stores like Michaels and Ben Franklin who started to carry “make your own bath products” kits which inspired people to „do it themselves.‟ From bath teas, body washes, bath bombs and fizzies, homemade specialty soaps all in a nifty bath basket, you can also decorate yourself.

Bath products today are surging once again and are taking on a new twist. While herbal and aromatherapy bath salts, oils, beads and bubble bath, still remain popular, new „green,‟ more environmentally-friendly bath products are becoming more mainstream. Biodegradable, non-toxic, sulfate, formaldehyde, petrochemical, GMOS, phosphate, chlorine, ammonia and paraben-free products are joining their fellow bath products on store shelves and in online-stores. Products containing coffee grounds, sugar, salt, nutshells and other all-natural ingredients are gaining attention in the bath and personal care spotlight.

Joining them are bath products made in eco-friendly bottles of recycled plastic or corn-based biodegradable containers. And bath sponges, towels, organic loofahs and such are made of hemp, bamboo, organic cotton and other natural husk fibers.With all these developments is the ritual and the art of the bath on overload?

Perhaps it is time to sit back, draw a warm bath, relax and think about all the possibilities. Just don‟t forget your rubber ducky.