Busy Philipps can’t travel without this one skincare essential
Have you ever taken a vacation and forgotten one of your skincare essentials? Whether you left your go-to serum or moisturizer at home or your favorite shampoo got confiscated at security because it wasn’t carry-on friendly (the worst!), a trip to the drugstore is most likely in the cards once you touch down at your destination. And believe it or not, it happens to celebrities too. They also want to maintain their skincare routine on-the-go, and aren’t afraid to hit up a Walgreens or CVS if need be.
Case in point: While on vacation in Miami, Busy Philipps was in the mood for some self-care, and made a special pit stop at Walgreens to pick up her favorite bath product before heading back to her hotel. Luckily for us, the actress posted a sequence of hilarious videos and photos to her Instagram story to document her trip to the drugstore, including a snap of her preferred lavender bath salts.
“In a Walgreens to get Epsom salts! Living that Miami LYFE!!!” Philipps said in an Instagram story video, in her usual tongue-in-cheek manner. She’s seen wearing a printed dress, gold hoop earrings, and smokey eye makeup and dancing on the Walgreens escalator at the end of the night. She then proceeded to post another Instagram story once she had secured her bath soak, captioning her photo “Clutching my Epsom salts, per usual.”
The salts in question? None other than Walgreens Lavender Epsom Salt Lavender, a super affordable crystal bath soak, which claims to calm, soothe, and relax—thanks to magnesium sulfate and lavender. Sounds like the perfect ending to a night out to us!
“I love an Epsom salt bath,” the A-lister confessed in yet another video on her Instagram story. And well, we don’t blame her. It’s an easy and budget-friendly way to give yourself a spa day from the comfort of your own home—or hotel room. Plus, Epsom salts are thought to relieve stress, ease bloating and constipation, treat migraines, soothe tired feet, relieve muscle and joint pain, and exfoliate skin.
The bad news? Although the home remedy has been around for generations, there isn’t much proof that it actually works. “When you really look at the research and the studies that are out there, there isn’t anything overwhelming saying that it’s really effective,” Bret C. Jacobs, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, previously told Health. “But at the same time, there’s also nothing to really refute it.”
How it works is that supposedly the skin absorbs the magnesium in the salts, resulting in the relief of inflammation throughout the body. According to Dr. Jacobs, some research suggests that soaking in an Epsom bath can lead to fluctuation in magnesium levels in blood and urine samples. However, your skin is a waterproof barrier, meaning that it can’t absorb *that* much magnesium, Dr. Jacobs explained.
The positive effects of these baths could be credited to the warm water, or simply to the placebo effect. Either way, if Epsom salt baths relax you, we’re not ones to argue. So light some candles, grab a glass of wine (or your favorite fresh-pressed juice), crack open a book, and let the salts soothe you.
Shop it! Solimo Epsom Salt Soaking Aid, $4.66, amazon.com; Dr Teal’s Epsom Salt Soaking Solution, $4.79, amazon.com; SaltWorks Ultra Epsom Premium Scented Epsom Salt, $8.31, amazon.com
If you’re not feeling like a trip to the drugstore, you can easily add a lavender bath soak to your Amazon shopping cart. Try Solimo Epsom Salt Soaking Aid, which is Amazon’s Choice for “bath salts”; Dr Teal’s Epsom Salt Soaking Solution, a soak which boasts over 1,400 reviews and a 4.8 star rating; or SaltWorks Ultra Epsom Premium Scented Epsom Salt with its positive ratings and mess-free pour nozzle.
Happy soaking!
This story originally appeared on Health.com by Susan Brickell.
