Grapes of Bath Champagne Soak’ Detoxifies, Constricts the Pores, Helps Tone the Skin

After your holiday toast this year, save the champagne you don’t drink. Experts say it can be combined with Epsom salt for a relaxing soak that detoxifies, constricts your pores and helps tone your skin. “Opened champagne can go to waste or go flat quickly,” said Kristin Fraser Cotte, CEO and founder of The Grapeseed Company. “This is a way to utilize it and have great skin benefits.” Fraser Cotte suggests a “Grapes of Bath Champagne Soak.” Here’s how to make it:

• Combine half a cup of Epsom salt and 1 cup of powdered milk in a bowl, then add 1 cup of champagne.
• Warm 1 teaspoon of honey in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add it to the mixture.
• Pour into running bath water, and when the tub is full, add rose petals, hop in and relax.

“When you soak in hot water, that opens your pores,” Fraser Cotte said. “The Epsom salt is great for detoxifying, cleansing and relaxing sore, tight muscles. The champagne helps to detoxify the skin. The carbon dioxide, or bubbles, in sparkling wine aids in tightening and constricting pores. It gives the Epsom salt a little boost.” Fraser Cotte’s company offers premium eco-friendly vinotherapy spa and skin care for professional and personal use. She launched it after a two-year adventure sailing a 30-foot sloop from Boston to the Caribbean. Living off solar and wind power, she gained a deeper respect for treading lightly on our planet, and she studied the benefits of natural oils and plants being used by local islanders making soap. She also researched herbs, essential oils and the craft of making natural skin care products. After creating and testing formulas back on land in Santa Barbara, Calif., she started a line of skin care and spa products. It centered on a local, naturally potent ingredient winemakers discard after crushing grapes: the grape seed. Other soaks she recommends that use Epsom salt include:

• Milky Oat Bath — Take a quarter cup of oats, mill them in a blender or a coffee grinder, and mix them with three tablespoons of Epsom salt and two tablespoons of organic powdered milk. Next, add the mixture to running bath water, then add 20 to 30 drops of the essential oil(s) of your choice. Soak, breathe deep and enjoy.
• New pinotherapy^TM bath salts — Fraser Cotte describes it as a “potent blend” that combines Epsom salt and other cleansing, detoxifying salts to form “the ultimate relaxing bath.” The antioxidant-rich pinot noir grapeseeds from Santa Barbara’s wine country help soothe your skin.

“Pretty much anytime I soak, I incorporate Epsom salt,” Fraser Cotte says. “It’s super-easy to get, even at your local pharmacy, and it packs a big punch.” Note: For human use, the Epsom Salt Council recommends only Epsom salt with the USP designation.