How To Keep Having Longs Baths All Summer Long

This summer has seen show after show of extreme heat and humidity warnings; so much so that I can't wait to sink into a bath before bed every night. For me, the perfect bath can be a summer bath. When I tell people this, however, they look at me like I just confessed that I don't know who the Kardashians are.

I know when most of us think "bath," we think of having a warm soak while surrounded by candles and enveloped by bubbles. I certainly used to. Until this summer, that is, when the lack of air conditioning in our 100-year-old house and some major stress got me down. I was looking for creative solutions for alone time and cooling off, and in the colder months I'd normally turn to a nice, long soak in times of woe. Then I realized I still could.

It turns out that a cool bath is the next best thing to having a swimming pool. With a few little tweaks to your regular bathing routine, soaking in the tub can actually be the perfect refuge from the heat. We can't all have a dreamy, Pinterest-worthy outdoor bathing situation, but we can feel like ethereal goddesses in our own bathrooms — or tropical mermaids, or whatever is the opposite from a sweaty swamp monster.

Here's how to have the perfect, most (literally) chill summer bath.

1. Use Cool Water (Obvi)

Besides the fact that the thought of making your body endure more heat is making you want to pass out, immersing yourself in cool water actually lowers your core body temperature. On a day when it feels like you're a million degrees on the inside, this isn't just going to make you feel cooler. It will actually make your whole body cooler. It's one of the most effective ways to cool yourself off.

2. Use Cooling Bath Products

You know when you chew minty gum in the winter and every inhale feels icily sharp in the most pleasing, tingly way? Using mint or eucalyptus products in your bath can have the same effect on your body, increasing the cool factor. Make sure to pick items that have actual mint or eucalyptus oil and not just synthetic fragrance to get the cooling effect. I love Woodlot's Recharge Bath Salts for that minty-fresh vibe.

3. Drink Lots Of Refreshing, Hydrating Beverages

Yes, you can sip some sparkling wine or even just a beer in the tub to get your relax on. However, if you're really looking to amp up your heat-beating strategy, loading up on hydrating bevvies is going to be better for you in the long run. Since sweating is how your body releases heat, you're probably needing a little extra liquid in the system. You can make infused water for that spa-like feel, chug some pineapple-spiked coconut water, brew up a fruity iced tea, or sip an electrolyte beverage like Nuun. Ahh, refreshment!

4. Let Yourself Actually Relax

For someone who craves and loves relaxing alone time, I can get pretty impatient in a tub. Whether you have distracting ADD like me and suddenly remember 20 things you meant to do or just get bored quickly, send yourself in there on a mission. You can complete a guided meditation via podcast or YouTube, take in your laptop and catch up on a TV show, start or finish your latest summer read, peruse a magazine, or get your fill of laughs and information from a podcast like Dear Kate's new period-centric one, First Time.

5. Take Care Of That Summer Skin

What's the point of a bath without some pampering? After spending the days out in the sun or inside with moisture-zapping air conditioning, your skin and hair probably need a little TLC. Sitting in the tub is the perfect time to throw on some masks, give yourself a good scrub, and refresh your bod.

An after sun hair mask like the SU/Hair Mask will repair your strands while you soak, and slathering Osmia's Honey Myrrh Lip Repair on at the same time will treat parched lips. Scrub away flaky dry skin with Little Barn Apothecary's Chocolate Mint Scrub for your smoothest skin ever. Upon emerging, spritz your face with Fig +Yarrow's Complexion Water for repairing hydration and toning, and lather up your bod with seaside-reminiscent scents with Formulary 55's Sea Salt and Lavender Shea Butter Lotion.

SU Hair Mask, $27, Amazon | Osmia Lip Balm, $22, Amazon | Chocolate Mint Scrub, $30, Little Barn Apothecary | Fig + Yarrow Complexion Water, $18, Amazon | Shea Butter Hand Creme, $18, Formulary 55 See? Restoration for the mind and body, and the most effective way to keep you super cool this summer. Summer baths: What are you waiting for? Images: Touchstone Pictures; Courtesy Brands