Toddler Detox Bath: How and Why We Do Them

Like any first time Mom, I am a pro “googler” when it comes to Landon. The first time he got a cold, the first time I had to take him to get shots and the first time he seemed to be having a restless night of tossing and turning. I googled things like “what to do?”, “how to build the immune system?”, “why is my baby sleep crying”.

While I came across so many different articles, the one common thing that came up when researching all of these different things was detox baths for babies. The more and more I saw this topic, I became eager to try it. Of course, I checked with Landon’s pediatrician before trying anything and I would highly suggest you doing the same before trying a detox bath for your babes but today I am sharing why we do them, the benefits and how we do Landon’s detox baths!

4 Reasons To Give Your Toddler A Detox Bath

Detox baths have benefits of all sorts for kids and adults of any age. While detox baths can provide great relief when your kids are sick, you can also give them a detox bath regularly to boost their immune system.

Basically is a detox bath is a bath using simple yet detoxifying ingredients  that your body absorbs and uses to flush out toxins.

1. Vaccines – If you vaccinate your kids, this is a great way to get all of those yucky ingredients used in vaccines that accumulate in the body and will stay there if nothing is done to expel them. Vaccines contain heavy metals like aluminium, monosodium, glutamate and thimerosal that can build up in our babies body systems. Detox baths contain negatively charged ions that help flush out heavy metals and other toxins away from the body.
2. Strengthen Immune System – Detox baths do a great job in promoting the overall health of your child by boosting the body’s immune mechanisms. Detox baths will clean the body and get rid of toxins that kids (and adults) are exposed to every day. This translates into a stronger immune system!
3. Promote Sleep – Another great epsom salt health benefit. It helps kids relax and sleep better. If you think your baby is having irregular or disturbed sleep patterns, I highly recommend giving them a Detox Bath. Some people also add lavender oils into the bath but I prefer not to use any scented oils during the detox bath.
4. Relieve Stress and Improve Focus– Magnesium is such a wonderful mineral that not only strengthens the immune system, but also has calming effects. Magnesium is involved in thousands of chemical reactions in the body, making it an essential connection to everything in your body. Magnesium has been proven to improve long-term memory as well.
5. Eczema– So the more and more I started reading up on different detox baths I found one that included apple cider vinegar for eczema symptoms and I started using it in my baths and in Landon’s detox baths. I can attest that this has definitely helped! The apple cider vinegar helps clear up any skin conditions by naturally killing bacteria and soothes inflammation and balances pH of the skin.

How To Give Your Toddler A Detox Bath

There are a number of ways to detox the body, but an Epsom salt detox bath is gentle and absolutely safe for kids. Just make sure you use the appropriate amount of Epsom salt for their weight. Since Epsom salt is high in magnesium and they will be absorbing lots of it through their pores, you want to make sure it’s not too intense for them.

Recipe for Detox Bath

1. Epson Salt – 2 tablespoons
2. Baking Soda – 1/2 cup
3. Bentonite Clay – 1 tablespoon
4. Magnesium Flakes – 2 tablespoons
5. Apple Cider Vinegar (optional) – 1/4 cup

Run a warm bath like you normally would and mix in the indredents into water. I like to mix it all in a bowl first with warm water so that it mixes completely before I pour it into the bath but honestly you can do it either way.

Benefits of each ingredient:

Epson Salt– Helps draw out heavy metals and toxins. Improves body immunity, improves quality of sleep, great for skin conditions like eczema and helps lower stress levels.

Baking Soda– for those with unfiltered bath water, which is probably most of us, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) helps neutralize the chlorine in the water. Baking soda is also said to balance the waters pH so that is great for skin or a diaper rash if your babe has one.

Bentonite Clay– When mixed with water, bentonite clay becomes negatively charged. It attracts postively charged chemicals like lead, mercury and aluminnum. These are all chemicals we are exposed to in everyday life but are also found in vaccines. It is powerful detoxifying agent.

Magnesium Flakes– Magnesium is such an important vitamin that we need in our bodies. Like epson salt, the magnesium flakes help eliminate toxins from our bodies, helps skin hydration, helps relax the nervous system and helps control circulation .

Additional Details:

• Don’t wash their body with any soaps during a detox bath. The pores are open and you want them to absorb the magnesium and other ingredients
• Try to keep them in the bath for 20 minutes to get all the benefits of the bath
• Detox baths can make you thirsty. So be sure your little ones are drinking lots of water before and after
• If you want to moisturize after the detox bath, use natural moisturizer like coconut oil

Let me know if you have ever given your child or yourself a detox bath and if you do them differently. I’d love to hear!