Take a seaweed bath

While you’re down by the water, why not gather ingredients for a restorative seaweed bath?

A seaweed bath isn’t just a way of getting a seaweed fix when winter curtails long swims. While spas have elevated seaweed luxuriance into wraps and unguents, a simple seaweed bath has benefits of its own. Hot water is enough to release alginates, oils and minerals from seaweed.

Toothed wrack (fucus serratus) is the principal seaweed collected for seaweed baths. It is an intertidal seaweed, growing on the seashore in the area between high tide and low tide. This means it can be collected while staying dry and having a free hand for carrying a bag to put it in, which is convenient for anyone not swimming in winter. 

Like swimming, collecting seaweed needs clean seas, and is best done with local knowledge of water quality. Once you have your seaweed at home, either use it fresh that day or dry it for later use, as left soggy seaweed decomposes and becomes unpleasant to wallow in. 

How to have a seaweed bath

A small bag of fresh seaweed or 50-100g of dried seaweed will turn a bath of water tea coloured. Initially douse the seaweed with boiling water to speed the process of releasing its contents. If you are using fresh seaweed you will see it turn from khaki to bright green in hot water. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then add warm or cool water until your bath is filled and a reasonable temperature for soaking in.

This article is from the January 2023 issue of Outdoor Swimmer. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Words and photo: Susanne Masters.