Chocolate is not only great for eating.
Believe it or not, bathing in this delicious creaminess is good for the soul and has surprising health benefits!
A chocolate bath combines the goodness and health benefits of milk and cocoa. Chocolate bath benefits include moisturizing and nourishing the skin, while boosting your energy, strengthening your immune system, and repairing your skin.
If you are one of those people, who like me, lives for a good slab of dark chocolate almost as much as a hot bath, get ready to meet your bliss!
In this post, I’ll discuss the good-for-the-soul wonders of soaking in a chocolate bath and why it’s beneficial for your body. I also throw in a few interesting ideas for making your chocolate bath experience romantic.
Note: Need to recharge? I’ll send a beautifully-designed PDF with 10 easy bath recipes straight to your inbox.
What Is a Chocolate Bath?
A chocolate bath combines all the benefits of a milk bath with the wonderful health benefits of cocoa.
Chocolate is often used as a spa ingredient added to a milk bath to moisturize the skin while rejuvenating skin cells. The cocoa in chocolate is an antioxidant that helps boost your energy, strengthen your immune system and repair your skin.
A chocolate bath combines the goodness and health benefits of milk and cocoa. Milk is packed with nutrients like Vitamins B and D, phosphorous, and calcium, while cocoa contains many minerals and nutrients like iron and zinc that are beneficial to the good health of your body.
Luckily, you don’t need to go to a spa to experience the wonders of a chocolate bath – you can easily create your own magic in your bathtub at home!
Basic Chocolate Bath Recipes
Create your own chocolate spa experience using a variety of milk types, water, dark chocolate, chocolate fragrance oils, and cocoa powder.
To create a chocolate bath spa experience, try one of these basic methods:
1. Dark Chocolate Soaking Bath Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounce (85 grams) slab of dark chocolate (choose a brand with a high cocoa content and a low sugar content)
- 1 cup full-fat fresh milk of your choice*
- Optional: 1 cup dried flowers
Directions
- Chop or grate the slab of chocolate into small pieces or shavings.
- Pour the milk into a small pan and gently heat on low on the stovetop.
- Slowly add the chopped chocolate to the milk and stir constantly until melted, about 2-3 minutes.
- Don’t allow the mixture to bubble or boil.
- Let the mixture cool down for 10 minutes.
- Run hot water into the bath.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the water and agitate with your hand.
- Soak for 20 minutes.
It’s amazing what a big pile of chocolate an 8-ounce slab of chocolate turns into once you grate it! (Explains a lot about my waistline.) Anyway, this bath is super easy to make (and you get to lick the bowl!). Plus, when you get out, your skin will feel really soft.
For aesthetic purposes, you may want to add dried flowers. If you do, scoop them out of the tub before you drain the water or else put a TubRing around your drain before you let the water out. This will stop the dried flowers from going down the drain and clogging it.
*Later in this post, I discuss the benefits of soaking in different types of milk.
2. Chocolate Milk Pampering Bath Soak Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder – Hershey’s cocoa is my favorite – 100% cocoa, gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk of your choice, fresh or powdered
Directions
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Fill the bathtub with hot water.
- If you are using fresh milk, add it to the warm water.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the warm water.
- Swirl the water with your hand until the powder has dissolved.
- Soak for 20 minutes.
I like how the cocoa powder gives the bath a rich, uniform chocolatey color! This recipe is even easier to make than the first basic chocolate bath recipe in this post, but with this one, you won’t get to lick the bowl!
Which Chocolate Should You Use?
When you soak in the bath, your skin absorbs the nutrients in the tub water. So the healthiest chocolate to eat will be best for your skin.
And when it comes to the healthiest chocolate, the hands-down winner is dark chocolate, since it’s rich in iron and zinc and is a great source of antioxidants and minerals.
Plain dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% – 85% without any added dried fruit or nuts is considered healthier than any other chocolate.
If you prefer to use cocoa powder, check the labels on the packaging for the cocoa content – unsweetened is best.
Physical Health Benefits of a Chocolate Bath
According to the National Library of Medicine, cocoa contains more antioxidants than most foods. Antioxidants protect your cells against free radicals and could reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. (Source)
So what exactly are the benefits of soaking in a tub filled with creamy milk and chocolate? Well, cocoa is the main ingredient in dark chocolate, the best chocolate to soak in.
Unsweetened, pure Cocoa powder, especially 72% or more, is packed full of the following minerals and nutrients:
| MINERALS AND NUTRIENTS | USES |
|---|---|
| Selenium | Boosts your immune system |
| Iron | Helps your body to function |
| Zinc | Accelerates healing of wounds |
| Magnesium | Maintains healthy muscles and nervous system |
| Theobromine | Reduces inflammation and protects against cancer, heart disease, and diabetes |
| Phytonutrients | Regulates your metabolism and helps to lose weight |
| Flavanols | Protects your heart from heart disease |
My article 20 Hot Bath Benefits for Mind, Body, and Soul is a great read that reveals some of the best benefits unlocked by the healing powers of your tub.
Mental Health Benefits of a Chocolate Bath
Chocolate is traditionally the food of love and with good reason. Since the time of the Aztecs, chocolate, known as “the food of the Gods,” has been considered an aphrodisiac used to inflame desire and stir romance in the soul.
A recent study conducted by Drexel University concluded that chocolate could put you in the mood for love.
The consumption of chocolate causes your brain to release a feel-good chemical called dopamine which makes you feel happy and content. (Source)
This feeling of happiness and contentment could put you in the mood for love!
But if the consumption of chocolate releases these feelings, what happens if you soak in a chocolate bath?
Well, your skin will soak up the cocoa, speeding up your metabolism, which will improve the blood flow to your brain and release the feel-good chemical, leaving you feeling happy and content and possibly in the mood for romance!
And if you are feeling in the mood for a little romance, why not invite your significant other to join you in a decadent Chocolate bath! Read my post 10 Romantic Bath Ideas for some feel-good bathtub ideas.
What is a Chocolate Milk Bath?
Cleopatra V11, the Queen of Egypt, back in 51 BCE, was famous for her beauty and is still remembered for her ritual of soaking in milk baths to preserve and enhance her silky skin.
She was a trendsetter back then, and in our modern age, a milk bath is still known as a decadent luxury enjoyed by many. Be sure to check out my post Take a Milk and Honey Bath: Live Like a Queen for ideas on how to look and feel like Queen Cleopatra! And my post on How to Soothe a Sunburn with a Milk Bath.
A chocolate milk bath is a twist on Cleopatra’s original recipe; it involves the addition of a cocoa powder or chocolate fragrance oil to a basic milk bath.
If you have the means, you can fill up the tub with milk of your choice or simply add a cup of your milk of choice to the ingredients of your favorite recipe.
Cleopatra bathed in donkey’s milk and kept keep a herd of donkeys to produce milk for her bathing pleasure. I don’t think you can find donkey’s milk at your local store, but you can sure use any milk type that you have at hand.
The Best Milk for a Chocolate Milk Bath
Soaking in a tub of milk can do wonders for your skin! Milk contains lactic acid, which by the way, is used in cosmetics. Lotions and moisturizing creams with lactic acid help remove dead skin, making way for new skin.
Milk does not contain as much lactic acid as your cosmetic lotions and potions, but it will make your skin feel smoother and silkier.
| MILK TYPE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Dried milk powder | Prepackaged milk products have a longer life than fresh milk. Mix with water, always following the directions on the package before adding to the tub water. |
| Cow’s milk | Whole or full-fat milk will work best for your skin and is most often used in soaking milk baths as it's inexpensive and is probably the easiest to source. |
| Buttermilk | Contains more lactic acid than other milk types and is a better exfoliator. |
| Soy milk and nut milk | A great option for Vegans. Chemically they are different from dairy milk, but they are rich in oils which is good for your skin |
Note: If you’re lactose-intolerant or have a milk allergy, you probably shouldn’t indulge in a milk bath without consulting your doctor first.
The best way to use any of these types of milk in your tub is to dilute them – simply add a cup or two of your choice of milk to the warm tub water before adding the other ingredients for your chocolate bath.
Chocolate Bubble Bath Recipe – My Favorite!
I love soaking in my tub using different recipes with all sorts of ingredients – in fact, I would say that I am a connoisseur of the home spa bath experience. Can a Bath Boost Mental Health? Absolutely! Is a fascinating article that discusses the benefits of a regular soak in the tub.
This chocolate bath recipe is one of my favorites and promises to cure what ails you – especially if you soak in this chocolate bubble bath while simultaneously eating your favorite chocolate bar!
Ingredients
- 20 drops chocolate fragrance oil – choose your favorite scent: mousse, fudge, dark Chocolate
- 2 tablespoons jojoba oil or another carrier oil
- 1/3 cup of glycerin
- 1/4 cup of mild body wash
- 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder
Directions
- In a medium bowl, mix the chocolate fragrance oil into jojoba oil.
- Add the other wet ingredients and stir well.
- Add the cocoa powder and wisk.
- Fill the bathtub with warm water.
- Pour the mixture into the tub under the spout while the water is running.
- Soak for 20 minutes.
The Chocolate Spa Experience
For those extra special celebrations in your life, why not treat yourself and indulge in a chocolate experience at your local spa? Some spas specialize in Chocolate baths and have even developed treatments designed to pamper and spoil you!
For example, the Spa at The Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania offers a “Whipped Cocoa Bath” as a signature treatment. The official website describes it like this:
“Settle into our foaming chocolate milk bath for a soothing and softening signature Hershey experience. Milk will soften and renew the skin while you indulge in this chocolate experience.”
This Hershey Chocolate Spa offers chocolate hypnotherapy treatments (baths), chocolate sugar scrubs, and chocolate bean polishes in treatment rooms decorated with Tootsie Roll-flavored candles and brownie-batter-scented-cream – sign me up!
DIY Chocolate Spa Ideas
Here are some other homemade bath recipes that combine the world’s two greatest pleasures – baths and chocolate:
Chocolate Fizzies for Your Bath
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or fractionated coconut oil)
- 20 drops chocolate fondue fragrance oil
- Silicone mini-soap mold
Directions
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave (30 sec) or melt over low heat on the stovetop.
- In a small dish, mix liquid coconut oil with chocolate fragrance oil
- Pour oils over the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Consistency will be like slightly moist sand.
- Scoop out the mixture and pack very tightly into soap molds.
- Dry on counter for 1 day or put soap mold in freezer 1-2 hours until fizzies are dry and hard.
- Drop a few in the bath and watch them fizz!
Makes 8 chocolate fizzies
These make bathtime so much fun and smell delicious! Use these along with another chocolate bath recipe for pure decadence.
Store any leftover chocolate fizzies in an airtight jar and label “NOT FOOD” so no one mistakes them for brownie bites!
Tasty Chocolate Face Mask
This mask is edible, so don’t worry if you lick the bowl after applying the goodness to your face.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup of plain yogurt
- ¼ cup of honey
- ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
How to Make your Chocolate Face Mask
- Mix together the cocoa powder, honey, and yogurt in a small mixing bowl.
- Stir gently until all the ingredients are combined.
- If the mixture looks a bit doughy, add more yogurt until it is creamier.
- Apply over your face and neck.
- Allow to soak on your skin for 15 minutes.
- Rinse the mixture off with warm water.
Why I Love, Love, Love A Chocolate Bath!
I absolutely love chocolate, so for me, there’s really nothing that compares to soaking in a warm bathtub filled with it!
Enjoy a mug of hot chocolate, a slab of decadent dark chocolate, or even a glass of wine while you relax and soak for 20 minutes.
Chocolate is a great mood lifter, so, like me, you will feel healthier and more relaxed after a chocolate bath.
Make the time to soak to nourish your soul and relax your body. A chocolate bath is the ultimate in luxury and relaxation!
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Tags: at home spa ideas, bath recipe, chocolate bath, chocolate bath recipe, chocolate milk bath, DIY bath recipe, mental health