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Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:37 pm |
Being fortunate to live in Japan I get to regularly indulge in the awesome sensation of a Japanese bath (IMO every new home should come with a Japanese-style bathroom rather than cruddy western style ones.. once experienced you will never enjoy your home bathroom again )
Given the nature of the Japanese bath, the most popular things to add are salts and milky-powders. Whilst browsing through Weleda products at my local Sony Plaza (and gasping at the pricing) I found a trial set of their bath milks (6 x 22ml single use glass bottles) for about US$20
These are awesome, beautifully emulsified (no "floating" oils) and does not leave a nasty film on the bath or film on the body. The fragrance is TRULY devine and very long lasting. They come in 200ml bottles full size, so that is about 10 uses (website says up to 20 uses, but I used a full 22 ml bottle in each of my tubs - which hold about 180 litres)
So far I have tried:
Rosemary Invigorating stimulating/awakening, combats feelings of tiredness and cold
(I this one - used it after a very long cold, WET and tiring trip to Costco!! AWESOME recovery!)
Lavender soothing/relaxing, promotes peaceful sleep
Wild Rose This was a cream bath milk and my 150% recommendation!! It gets ! For the most luxurious feel bath I cannot say enough about this! it is definately coming to my house in full size, even if I have to pay Japanese pricing. I emerged from my bath feeling like a princess (and smelling like one) and in a more relaxed state that I can ever recall. It made me feel so good!
I have yet to try:
Pine Reviving: invigorating, relieves tired/taut muscles, helps overcome effects of cold/damp weather.
Chestnut Toning loosen taut muscles, stimulate circulaton, refresh tired limbs.
Citrus Refreshing revitalizing/stimulating, beneficial in hot weather
As an example of ingredients, here is the list for Citrus and Rosemary
Citrus Refreshing: Water (Aqua); Fragrance (Parfum): natural essential oils of (Orange (Citrus aurantium dulcis) Oil; Lemon (Citrus limonum) Oil; Litsea cubeba Oil); Potassium Olivate; Lemon (Citrus Limonum) Oil.
Rosemary Invigorating: Water (Aqua); Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Oil; Potassium Olivate. |
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:10 am |
I am drooling already.
Wow $20 is a lot for a Weleda product.
Those baths sound heavenly, it has been minus 7 at night here and baths have been my salvation for keeping warm  |
_________________ oily/acne prone - acne scars on chin area/Large Pores in winter. Oily in Summer. Fair, nuetral/cool complexion, burn easily. Early 20s |
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:32 am |
tiger tim,
thank you for the recommendation. wow! weleda is all over the place here (even in the monoprix) but i can't recall seeing these. (perhaps it's my less than fluent french) the weather's been miserable, and baths have been my one luxury.
it's pissing down rain and i'm actually looking forward to going to the market -- go figure!  |
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:39 am |
They sound fabulous! I'll be looking out for them, for sure.
Now I'm probably going to sound really, really stupid here, but please tell me more about these Japanese baths and bathrooms. I've never seen one in my life and am very curious, especially as I'm a confirmed bath (rather than shower) user. |
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Mabsy
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:49 am |
Argh! What are you doing to me girl!!!???
It's been raining the last few days here and it's (relatively) cold for this time of the year so a nice relaxing rose bath sounds nice. I just ordered the rose and lavender ones
Btw, I've started using Weleda oil in the shower - very nice!  |
_________________ 45, NW20, combination skin |
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:22 am |
Well, Mabsy, really it is YOUR fault that I discovered these at all .. if you had not raved about the Skin Food from Weleda I probably would not have paid any attention to the brand.. but then seeing it in the shop and noting how natural it was (and being from Switzerland and all...)...and smelling the testers....
I actually left the bath water in the bath (will write more about why in a moment) and all afternoon/evening the room has had this delicious rose scent. I have never known essential oil fragrance to last so long!
OK, about a Japanese bathroom. It is divided into two rooms, the first is the "dry room" and this usually is where you have your washing machine/dryer, changing area and vanity basin. Then you have the "wet room", usually about 2-3 square meters (depending on the size of your house). Half of the wet room is taken up with the bath, which is so deep that when you sit it comes up to your neck. Most homes now have an automated system that will fill the bath to your chosen temperature and maintain that temperature for 3 hours. When you set the bath up, you put a cover on it (helps to maintain the temp). The other half of the wet room is the shower area. It always has one of those "hose" type showers that has two brackets on the wall - one for the correct height when standing and one lower down for when you sit (yes, all bathrooms have a little stool that you sit on to scrub up). (I can no longer stand to use a bathroom that has a shower curtain or that does not have one of the hand-held/hose showers - I never feel I can get really clean )
So, back to the ritual. Most people will hose them self down and then turn off the shower while they scrub up from head to toe and then turn on the shower again to rinse off (the room is kept warm from the steam of the bath so you dont get cold while scrubbing up).
Once you have cleaned up and washed your hair you hop into the bath and just sit and soak. The temperature is always quite hot (ours is set at 43 celius in winter, around 39 celcius in summer).. I usually soak for no more than 10 mins and when you get out, yes, you are pink. Most peopel then do a quick rinse again under the shower and hey presto, you are so relaxed all you want to do is flop on the sofa and doze.
The idea of being clean before the bath is that when you are done you cover it back up and the next family member can use it to soak in too (and no, you never have to worry about someone peeing in the water - it is just like a forbidden sin here, no-one would EVER do that! )
The reason I kept the water in my tub at the end - is because in Japan you use the bath water for the washing machine! This is for a couple of reasons, first, obviously because it conserves water (baths here take 180 - 200 liters of water) and cuts back on bills, but the other reason is that the Japanese laundry only ever has a cold water tap. Every washing machine made here comes with a pump hose and a start button that sets the pump running, so you just toss the long hose over into the bath (hence the fact that you keep your washing machine in the dry room!) and the first wash load of water is taken from the bath (subsquent rinses use fresh, cold water). This is the only way to get a hot water wash for clothing here and it is one reason why things like bubble bath and lush bath bombs are not overly popular. Most commercial bath salts state onthe box "safe for washing" but I try to stear clear of anything with colors. I had no trouble to reuse the Weleda water though.
So, end of very very very long post! |
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Mabsy
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Joined: 17 Aug 2003
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:38 am |
Wow! After that description I am pining for a Japanese bathtub in my bathroom! The idea of it automatically filling up the bath and keeping a certain temperature sounds great! I'm forever having to add hot/cold water in order to keep it at a temperature I like.
I never realised about the reuse of the bathwater either (in terms of using it for the waching machine). Very interesting stuff. I was in Japan about six years ago and I was intrgiued by so many different things and gadgets (toilets even ).
Just to clarify something with you re:Weleda - is your cream rose bath thingy a 100ml bottle of 200ml? I think the lavender milk I bought was 200ml but the rose cream bath was 100ml. Just wondering if I bought the right thing... |
_________________ 45, NW20, combination skin |
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Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:26 am |
OH, maybe rose cream is only 100ml... I have only been using my "trial" set (every one was 22ml bottle)... perhaps the ingredients mean you only get a smaller size..
doing my best to read the Japanese on the box, ingredients for Wild Rose Cream Bath Milk are:
water, jojobaoil, olive oil, ethanol, glycerin, Moskata (?!) Rose Oil and a couple of others I cannot work out.
ACK. Just saw the pricing in Japan.. Wild Rose here is sold in 200ml bottles.. for around US$31.. Lavender, Rosemary, Citrus and Pine are US$22-odd for 200ml and the chesnut one nearly $28 for the 200ml bottle.
OK, it says 2-3 caps per bath.. wonder how many ml that is?
I think that outside Japan most Weleda products are available in more than one size, but here we just have the one size for each product. |
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Sat Mar 04, 2006 12:02 pm |
That bathroom sounds worth moving to Japan for!  |
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Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:10 am |
Hi everyone,
I was looking on the Weleda website and drugstore.com and I could not find the Wild Rose Milk Bath. I found all of the others Tiger mentioned, but not that one! I love rose! Mabsy, where were you able to find it?
As an aside, I heard that Japanese women swear by those lovely baths to maintain clear skin!  |
_________________ 31, combination-dehydrated skin (I live in the desert), occasional breakouts. I just want beautiful, glowing skin! Is that too much to ask? |
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Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:35 am |
I am wondering if this is sold worldwide or not.. I cannot find it on the US, Canada or UK websites for Weleda.
The NZ one has the 100ml and Japan has the 200ml bottles. Hmm.. wonder why?
Here is the link to the product on the Swiss site of Weleda:
http://weleda.limbas.com/index.php?id=728
This is the bath milk sample set they sell in Japan (also taken off the swiss site)
http://weleda.limbas.com/index.php?id=897
Mabsy, I notice they only list a 200ml size, so I wonder if the NZ site had the sizing wrong? Maybe you will get a pleasant surprize! |
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Mabsy
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Mabsy
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Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:57 am |
Hmm... they have the rose in 100mL as well. Oh well, 100ml it is then! |
_________________ 45, NW20, combination skin |
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Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:40 am |
same thing here in france -- the rose only comes in 100ml bottles. they [robably want to keep the price consistent with all their products and good rose oil is notoriously expensive.... not that i could find any. *everyone* was sold out so i'm jusy going to have to rough it tonight and settle for a soak in my tiny, non-thermal-regulated bath with the lavande!
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Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:25 am |
OK, I just added that product to my list of things to pick up during my Europe trip.
I love the japanese style bath. It makes so much more sense. The idea of soaking in a tub full of dirt and dead skin cells to get clean is absurd. I like to have baths, especially when my muscles ache but I always have a shower afterward to get clean.
I was an exchange student in Japan when I was 15 and the bath was a source of misery for me only because I was really shy and my Mom over there was constantly sliding the door open to make sure I was ok. We lived in an area with a lot of hot springs and they decided we'd go on a family trip to one. I was beside myself with panic. I kept asking my sister Yuki if I was meant to bring my swimsuit. She replied, you may bring it, but my question obviously confused her. When we got there we had to go into a room that was all low showers and stools to get scrubbed up and then into a big grotto style tub. I was miserable. This was not a touristy place, I was the only gaijin and since I'm tall and blonde I was a freak worth scrutinizing. The only thing worse was when they tried to get me to sing Karaoke after lunch. Now I wonder if there was anything that Yuki experienced during her stay with us in Canada that was hard for her to deal with. |
_________________ Owner at GS & Company at Semiahmoo Shopping Centre |
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Mabsy
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Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:50 am |
freefall2 wrote: |
I was an exchange student in Japan when I was 15 and the bath was a source of misery for me only because I was really shy and my Mom over there was constantly sliding the door open to make sure I was ok. We lived in an area with a lot of hot springs and they decided we'd go on a family trip to one. I was beside myself with panic. I kept asking my sister Yuki if I was meant to bring my swimsuit. She replied, you may bring it, but my question obviously confused her. When we got there we had to go into a room that was all low showers and stools to get scrubbed up and then into a big grotto style tub. I was miserable. This was not a touristy place, I was the only gaijin and since I'm tall and blonde I was a freak worth scrutinizing. The only thing worse was when they tried to get me to sing Karaoke after lunch. Now I wonder if there was anything that Yuki experienced during her stay with us in Canada that was hard for her to deal with. |
Oh you poor girl! I can sympathise with this a little. I went on a tour of Japan a few years ago with some friends and their parents. I was the only non-asian-language speaking person there so I had no idea what was happening most of the time but got very excited at the idea of hot springs (somewhere around Mt Fuji if I remember correctly) and then I found out pretty much at the last minute that everyone gets in naked (though they separate men and women). Let me put this in the context of the fact that some of the women on the tour were constantly coming up to me and touching my skin and (apparently, got this in translation) remarking on how porcelain it was. Now I am not particularly keen on getting naked in front of people I don't know (or, worse, my friends' parents who I will see again, and again, and again...) but having to get naked in front of people that were already watching me was not fun.... I think that is my most vivid memory of my whole trip to Japan  |
_________________ 45, NW20, combination skin |
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Tue Mar 07, 2006 4:00 am |
Hrm...I visited Japan twice as a child....about 20 years ago. I don't seem to recall ever seeing Japanese bathtub - are these new? I -do- remember having to squat over a toilet that was sunken into the floor and I found that quite difficult to get used to! |
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Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:13 am |
ewww.. hate squat loo! I have totally normal one.. but pine for a "shower" one. OMG those are THE BEST.
Re hot spring baths.. I have successfully avoided going with coworkers etc as there is just no way I would be comfy stripping and running from bath to bath but naked with people I know. A couple times I went skiiing and spent the afternoon in the onsen (hot spring) and it was DEVINE.. no-one really stared at me (that I noticed) and I was not uncomfortable at all (not knowing anyone there is the only reason I felt that way).
I would love to go to an onsen with hubby but I am like, why spend all that money when we have to seperate to have the bath. I want to laze in the hot water beside him and chat and enjoy sake! There are places with in-room (well, on-balcony) private baths but they run about $250 US per PERSON per night (including B and D)  |
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Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:03 pm |
Thanks Mabsy and Tiger for the info! |
_________________ 31, combination-dehydrated skin (I live in the desert), occasional breakouts. I just want beautiful, glowing skin! Is that too much to ask? |
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Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:21 pm |
I love my baths!! I broke down and ordered bottles in rosemary, lavendar and pine!! I can't wait. I wish I could've tried the rose and chestnut, but apparently they aren't sold in the USA or Canada.
I'll post a review as soon as I try the pine. |
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Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:34 am |
I've just bought a set of 4 (Rosemary, Lavender, Pine and Citrus) from a UK eBay seller called health_and_beauty_care. Got 200ml of each for £15 plus p&p, which seemed awfully good value.
I also ordered some of the Weleda Birch Anti-Cellulite Oil from the same seller.
Fingers crossed that they arrive okay. Can't wait to try!
(I'm also miffed about not being able to get the Rose Bath Milk over here, but the Chestnut does at least seem to be available via Weleda's UK website.) |
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Mabsy
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Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:51 am |
My goodies came in the mail today
I got the lavender and the rose - both smell lovely, but in particular the rose! I'm looking forward to trying out one of them tomorrow
ps. Yes, the rose is 100mL as was indicated on the site. The lavender is 200mL. |
_________________ 45, NW20, combination skin |
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Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:54 am |
I hopped into a steaming tub of Pine Reviving tonight.. it did not seem as milky as the others, but that is not why I would not buy again - Australians will appreciate my feeling that I was sitting in a tub of Pine-o-Clean!!
Not a bad smell, but oh lord, ya know.. once a smell is associated with one thing it is FOREVER associated with that. |
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Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:33 am |
they just got some of the rose in at my corner shop. (i went back to get other sunscreens, trying to find my holy grail. why do we work so hard to make our skin look lovely, ss being an important part, when they all just seem to make you look like crap???) anyways, planning on a nice long soak tonight, followed by weleda's creme aux plantes médicinales (french for skin food ) on my dry bits. will be thinking of you all! |
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