Baths can be divisive: you either love them or hate them. And while I’m very much a shower person, I do enjoy a lazy bath at the end of the day – I just don’t often have time for a proper soak. So instead, I view baths like your ‘everything shower’: a once-a-month kind of job. A great way to relax and unwind, throw in a handful of epsom salts, a smattering of magnesium flakes and a hefty glug of bath oil and I’m all set. 

But recently, I discovered the ancient art of seaweed bathing, and hear me out – it’s a game-changer for dry skin and weary bodies. So much so that I’m now making bathtime a weekly occurrence. 

Searches for ‘seaweed benefits’ have spiked over the past year – thanks to TikTok’s latest viral discovery: sea moss – but there are a myriad of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants packed into seaweed all of which offer a ton of benefits for our skin health. From boosting hydration to supporting the skin’s barrier function, seaweed really is a natural hero ingredient. 

Seaweed bathing is nothing new. In fact, the ancient tradition of seaweed bathing has been practised for centuries along the west coast of Ireland – delivering relaxation, skin-soothing properties and even pain relief to those suffering from a range of chronic health complaints. Seaweed bathhouses offer the treatment in a spa-like setting, where you’re submerged in a bath filled with organic, hand-harvested seaweed – letting the properties of the seaweed nourish and hydrate your skin. 

Can’t find a seaweed bathhouse near you? Voya has made the treatment easily available at home. Its Lazy Days Detoxifying Seaweed Bath, £24, contains sustainable hand-harvested organic seaweed mixed together with a handful of salt, which is then added to your bath at home, allowing you to reap all the algae benefits from your own tub. Housed in a mesh bag, you can either keep the seaweed contained or let it loose for a traditional soak.

I recently visited the Voya Seaweed Bathhouse in Sligo, West Ireland, where the brand has been offering treatments for over 20 years. I had just come straight from a work trip in America and was quite literally on the cusp of burnout, with both my mind and body exhausted. And I won’t lie to you – lying in a bath of slippery seaweed isn’t the most glamorous of spa-like treatments I’ve tried. The seaweed releases a moisturising alginate gel that’s packed full of hydration but also gives off a gloopy kind of texture that takes a while to adjust to. But once you’ve gotten over the gillyweed vibes, the texture of the seaweed isn’t at all unpleasant and is even quite comforting. 

After bathing, you can leave the alginate on your skin for an extra dose of long-lasting hydration or wash it off in the shower for a squeaky clean feeling. After just one seaweed bath, my skin was left noticeably softer and smoother – and I slept like an absolute baby that evening, despite my body running on a completely different time zone. 

The next day, I visited the coast and helped harvest some seaweed to take home in the form of the Voya Lazy Days Detoxifying Seaweed Bath. I have since had numerous seaweed baths (I do keep it housed in its mesh bag though) and I really am sold on the soothing and hydrating benefits of seaweed on the skin. Around the change of seasons, my skin is often dry and flaky but I’ve found the seaweed to really moisturise my skin, leaving it soft after every bath. 

Images: Instagram @chloeburcham; courtesy of brands