Bladder Wrack Bath

I’ve heard seaweed is good for the skin as it is a source of marine collagen and a variety of minerals the body needs, but using it as a supplement from a beauty company is a wholly different thing than bathing with plants that may have living creatures tucked between the leaves on them…

So why should we go through the trouble?

Bladder wrack is one of the primary seaweeds prized for its uses in nutrition and skin care. Traditionally, it has been used nutritionally to treat iodine deficiency, obesity, joint pain, aging skin, digestive issues, urinary tract infection, and thyroid dysfunction, and topically for cellulite, anti-aging, and soothing burns (source). It can contain a lot of iodine so quantities need to be monitored if consuming it, but it is generally recognized as safe. As I’d be swimming along side it in the ocean, I don’t see any harm in bathing with it.

DIY Bladder Wrack Bath

The way I remember how to spot bladder wrack is by looking for its bubbles. The bubbles in the wrack contain air and so the plant reaches upward underwater or floats on the top of your bath if unattached to a rock.

For a bath, Marie Power, author of The Sea Garden, suggests cleaning bladder wrack with fresh water and then pouring boiling water over it to start the bath. I rinsed it in the sink, checking for any residual mollusks or other sea bugs I hadn’t removed when I’d rinsed it in the sea after harvesting. Then I just started the bath with extremely hot water over the wrack before switching to cooler water to land at a comfortable temperature.

So what was it like?

The hot water transformed the little bladders so they still floated but no longer seemed hollow. Now they were a bit slimy and the insides of the bubbles were full of a gel-like substance, similar to inside an aloe vera plant. As aloe is also good for the skin, this seemed promising.

I generally prefer showers but a bath with seaweed is definitely more fun and gives you something to do, like a bubble bath for kids. I found every single floating bubble and squeezed it until it popped and I squeezed out the gel. Not only was it a fun activity, but it also contributed to the benefits of the bath, I assume. As I obliterated seaweed, the bath turned greener in color and felt a little smoother and thicker. Marie also suggested using the wrack like a loofak, so I rubbed the gelatinous wrack on my legs (as a poor exfoliant) and breathed in the sweet pleasant smell of the bath.

Would I do it again?

I do think my skin felt more nourished after the bath than after a shower and didn’t feel like it required moisturizer the way it normally does. It was also fun popping the bubbles and squeezing out the gel.

The only downside was having to carefully drain the tub ensuring little pieces didn’t go down the drain. Next time, I’ll go for the full experience and really fill up the tub! Maybe a bit like this?