Serrated Wrack Bath
Marie Power said about two bunches of serrated wrack is sufficient for a bath if you start with boiling water, and serrated is better than bladder wrack because it creates more gel. The baths you see with much more seaweed in them are likely not starting with boiling water to get it going so they need more to get the same effect.
Preparing the bath
The wrack was foraged in Waterford and brought back to Dublin. I stored the seaweed in a trash bag in the fridge and picked through it like I would lettuce for a salad, examining each piece for sand or small creatures. Even though it had been kept cold, it was already turning slimy due to the residual sea water. I probably could have leveraged this and put it directly in the bath but I wanted to make sure if was clean.
When I’d removed any suspicious looking pieces and rinsed some of the slime off, I took it to the bathtub and poured boiling water over it. To my delight, the seaweed instantly turned bright green when the water hit it. I dumped two kettles worth on top and let it sit for about 10 minutes before filling the bath.
The bath experience
The water felt amazing, like it had lotion in it. The seaweed mostly sank and kind of swirled around in the motion of the water. Although it had turned green, it was still darker in color than the bladder wrack bath had been, and with the abundance of seaweed swirling around and my imperfect job of combing through it ahead of the bath, it creeped me out a little bit. It seemed alive, and I was unsure what might still be lurking in it. Therefore it wasn’t the most relaxing bath despite the water feeling luxurious. Maybe I should have taken the seaweed out before getting in.
Takeaways
Freshly foraged is better than dried even if it’s a few days old - much more gel, fresh scent, green water
Serrated wrack does indeed create more gel so it is probably the better choice for skin care
Bladder wrack is more fun in the bath because it floats and popping the bladders with your fingers provides entertainment. Floating seaweed is also less creepy than swirling seaweed apparently
Next time, I’ll go forage one bushel serrated and one bushel bladder... or 2 serrated and take it all out before climbing in. 👍🏼
