Milk Bath History

"Bath Milk", or rather "Milk Baths" are nothing new in the world of beauty regimens. Thousands of years ago Cleopatra was the one of last and most famous pharaohs of the ancient Egyptian world as we know it today. The legend is that the source of Cleopatra's radiant skin was from indulging in milk baths and honey, while often flavored/scented with rose petals or lavender. Some sources have suggested that even strawberries and raspberries were used to scent the bath. There have been many numerous other documented sources of milk baths throughout the last two thousand years from all over the world. Now today, we can enjoy bath milk from Dona by JO, are you ready to "Discover Cleopatra's Secret."?

Using Dona Bath Milk

If you have never used bath milk products before do not fear because these are quite simple to use once you learn a trick or two. In a generous 8oz container there is a very fine powdery substance inside that is to be added to your bath. Now there are many ways to do this, but in all of them I do recommend you add the power under the running water, this will help to dissolve the ingredients. The directions say to add generously under running water, this is pretty vague as generously can mean different things for different people. Here is what I personally recommend---For your first use, depending on how strongly scented your bath milk is, I would recommend adding at least one "heaping" tablespoon. This can give you a real sense of how much powder you will need for your personal enjoyment of this product. Personally after trial and error, I have been enjoying at least 2 heaping tablespoons of powder in the bath.

Due to the fact that there are chunks in the powder mix there could be some clumping in the bath tub which in turn will not allow all the powder to dissolve. Never fear, there is a couple ways around this, if you don't mind getting the powder on your hands you could break up the chunks while adding it to the water. However, my personal favorite and less messy option is to use a mini stainless steel strainer with very fine mesh. You can pour the powder (and chunks) into the strainer while the powder falls through easily, then I use a finger to push the chunks through. In this scenario I find that there is no clumping at all and that all of the powder dissolves completely. Again, for best results add this to the running water as you are filling the tub up. I usually use my hand to swish the water around to allow everything to blend nicely.

Now once your tub is to the desired water level, turn off the water and step inside to enjoy a wonderfully aromatic milky smooth experience! I recommend soaking for at least a full 20 minutes to really get the ingredients to absorb into your skin. You could also use this bath milk for soaking your feet like you would with bath salts. I feel this product is a nice alternative that feels more luxurious compared to a bath salt. I suggest you try this product out for something that will soften your skin more vs. a bath salt that may possibly dry your skin out more. Also this is just a great way to lay back and relax with nice music playing and candles lit. Enjoy the bath milk by yourself, or with a partner (assuming your tub is big enough).

How Can Bath Milk Benefit Me & What Are The Ingredients?

Well for starters, dry milk powder in the milk bath can dissolve the proteins that hold together dead skin cells because of the lactic acid. This can help to rejuvenate your skin more quickly. Lactic acid is a member of the alpha-hydroxy acids family which takes humidity from the air which in turn helps your skin absorb more moisture.

Magnesium sulfate in the product can be absorbed into the skin helping to reduce inflammation.

Hydrolized collagen is made up of many amino-acids which help form new collagen in the body. There are a lot of claims to this ingredients health benefits, most of which have not been scientifically proven. With your skin being porous and absorbing this ingredient I believe its intention is to help with building new collagen with the use of the amino-acids.

Lycium barbarum (Goji Berry) fruit powder is what Dona calls the aphrodisiac in this product. While this will affect everyone differently, I have found no advantage or benefit to the "aphrodisiacs" in Dona products in increasing my sexual desire. However, the powder itself is full of fiber and nutrients beneficial to the body. To keep things short (otherwise you'd be reading a novel), there are 18 amino-acids, more antioxidant carotenoids than found in any other known food, protein, vitamin C, 21 trace minerals including germanium, an anti-cancer substance that is rare in foods. Also there are a few B vitamins and vitamin E.

Finally fragrance is our last ingredient, which really can mean anything is inside of that. Hoping that this product is true to its word of being all natural, there shouldn't be too much concern for that ingredient.

Safety/Allergens

Because there is dry milk powder in this product, anyone that generally suffers from reactions to anything dairy, or milk based products might not want to use the Dona bath milk. Magnesium sulfate does have sulfur in its chemical structure, if you have any sulfur reactions I'd avoid this product. Those are the 2 ingredients really to worry about, as with any bath and body product you should always do a test patch. In this case, you could mix up a very small batch of this powder in a small bowl and apply to the skin as you see fit. This is only a preliminary test, soaking in the milk bath gives you a longer exposure to the ingredients. However, I feel most people even with sensitive skin should not experience too many problems with this product. Dona bath milk is also glycerin free!

When I first saw this product carried on Eden and that it had dry milk powder as its first ingredient, I envisioned lumpy dry porous pieces of dry milk in the container. However when receiving this product I was surprised to see something quite different. All of the ingredients are blended into an extremely fine powder that reminds me of baking soda, or very much like fine dust. In normal lighting around my apartment, the powder has a very light yellowish/cream tinge to it. In between my fingers it feels just like a very dry powdery dust, however if there is any moisture on the skin it will easily stick.

The powder seems to pour very easily, however there seem to be chunks inside the container, some nearly as big as a small candy. I'd probably compare the majority of the chunks to the size of peanut M&M's. I'm not really sure why there are chunks inside, maybe the powder somehow became compacted and compressed to form them. This will be a problem for most people when adding them to the bath tub because clumps can form in the water where the ingredients have not dissolved. As recommended in the "use" section of this review, using a mini fine mesh strainer will solve this issue. By doing this I have not had any issues with dissolving the ingredients. The powder absorbs and mixes well with the water, but you will need to swish the water around to mix everything.

You will most likely notice foam and bubbles forming on the surface of the water, this is normal and has happened to me every time. I actually kind of like this as it will make it feel similar to a bubble bath. After 5 minutes however the bubbles disappeared completely for me, but not before I had an unexpected experience with them. When sliding into the water, the bubbles reacted with my skin much like baking soda or when you pour soda into a glass of ice, it bubbles up. It was a nice tingling bubbly sensation against my skin while it lasted. Depending on how much powder you do use, the water will usually be a milky color; lying in the tub I could not see my hands while they were resting again the bath tub floor. The water color itself with a lightly cream colored tub looked slightly bluish.

When soaking in the bath milk it really didn't feel slippery, but rather more smooth and luxurious, this was a nice change from using bath salts. After I was done soaking a few different times (20-30 minutes each time) I drained the tub and rinsed my body off and the tub down. The reason for this is to avoid any slippery residue that "may" form after use or for the next person that wants to use the tub. Also, while I have not tested this yet, I personally rinsed off each time just in case the milk decided to smell sour on my skin after awhile. Better safe than sorry is something I like to follow. Also, my skin did not feel slick, oily, greasy, dry and powdery after soaking and rinsing.

Here are a few pictures I have included, first a picture of the powder inside upon first opening, second a picture of me using my mini strainer and third just a photo of the bath milk in the tub as it is filling up to show the bubbles/foam forming.

According to the manufacturer, this line of products does not seem to have a specific defined scent to them. Rather, they use the "aphrodisiac" ingredient to label the product individually. In this case, I received Goji Berry. I expected something on the berry and fruity side of things; however, this was very far from the case. First off in the container itself, I must warm you smell the powder at a distance. The powder is incredibly powerfully scented; even at 12" away it is still strong. I have had trouble trying to compare this smell to anything else I have ever smelled, but the closest thing I can think of are a couple of things such as---A mixed floral scented plug-in air freshener, or perhaps a floral scented laundry detergent. It is extremely concentrated, however I don't feel there is really any chemical-like scent to it. There are light traces of fruity undertones; however the floral seems to over-power the majority of the fruitiness.

Honestly, I don't enjoy floral scents at all. I would rather smell a fresh bouquet of flowers than floral scented bath products. But, I still have given this product a trial run and used it a few times. When added to the bath tub, my small apartment bathroom very quickly filled up with this aroma. I closed the door and left for a minute to clear my senses before returning. Upon opening the door, it was hit with a wall of a watery floral aroma with mild undertones of a tart berry scent. At this point I felt the aroma overall had calmed down a bit, while it was still strong, it was nothing over-powering. It didn't quite smell natural, but also not artificial.

As far as soaking in the bath milk, I felt it bearable with no headaches or migraines forming from using the product. Smelling my skin in the tub had a fairly strong aroma to it, which had me worried about smelling like flowers the rest of the day. However, to my surprise after rinsing off and drying off, there was a very light more pleasant aroma to my skin. It smelled more like a fresh clean floral scent that lasted maybe an hour before I couldn't notice it anymore. While this is far from my favorite scent, I was surprised to be able to actually use the product as much as I have. I will definitely finish it off, but will not be getting Goji berry in anything else. As a final note, even though there are some edible ingredients in the product, it is still recommended for external use only. I imagine it would taste disgusting.

Considering this was my first milk bath product I have ever had and used, I feel it performed fairly well. There are many ways to have a milk bath whether with the use of dry milk powder or all natural liquid milk. In doing some research I found that both ways are generally used and seem to have about the same advantages and benefits. Knowing I was getting this product, I intentionally stopped taking any salt baths or moisturizing my skin with any products at all. I wanted to see if the Dona bath milk would actually moisturize my skin or not. Using the product a few times now, in each soaking of 20-30 minutes my skin has significantly been moisturized compared to being dry and not moisturized by other products. I think overall between the heat of the water opening the pores in the skin that the ingredients are able to absorb nicely into the skin.

Also I took the liberty to compare using this bath milk product while also using other moisturizing products and found it was harder to notice a significant increase in skin moisture; however my skin did feel softer overall. So if you are generally someone who moisturizes often, whether with lotion, body butter or any other means, you will find it harder to notice any major changes in skin tone/softness. All in all this product performed well for me, soaking in the bath while using it was very relaxing and a nice change from bath salts. It was a more luxurious relaxing experience overall, I found it very easy to use and clean up afterwards and the whole experience felt natural and not chemical or uncomfortable.

Like with all the other Dona products in the line, this container has the lace design as its theme on the label. Personally I don't find the packaging unattractive at all, however it's not something that I am really into. In my opinion I find the packaging discreet, other than the word "aphrodisiac" on the label there's nothing really to suggest you’re going to use this for anything sexual. As mentioned earlier the instructions are pretty vague, just add generously under running water. There is plenty of company information and a website which at the time of this review is currently not up and running yet.

The Dona bath milk comes in a plastic container (recyclable no. 5) that has a diameter of 3 5/8" and a height of 2 5/8" with 8oz of powder inside. Upon receiving my container it was not wrapped in anything, but mixed with other Dona products with brown paper for protection (this was sent to me by the manufacturer System JO). On all Dona products I have seen and used so far including this one, they all have a plastic sticky strip over the cover and side; this seems to be more of a tamper sticker to see if it was already opened. It also works as a label since it has "goji berry" written on it. To open the container you would need to use both of your hands. I really haven't experienced any leaking issues and I find it easy to use the container in conjunction with a measuring spoon and strainer. It's rather big to travel with, but you could transfer what you need to a zip lock bag or airtight container.

Here are some pictures of my bath milk container for more perspective on what you will be getting.

First size comparison and then 2 label close-ups.

The great thing about this product is that it can be used by itself or layered and used in conjunction with other Dona products as a ritual. When used in this ritual it creates the ultimate pampering experience that is best experienced with a partner.

The 5 Step Dona Ritual.

1. Relax---"Slow down and set the sensual tone."
2. Cleanse---"Purify your body using luxurious lathers, exfoliators, and gels."
3. Nourish---"Make your skin touchable and kissably soft."
4. Illuminate---"Enhance your natural beauty and space."
5. Engage---"Share the fun with sensual play products."

This product is;
-created with natural and naturally derived ingredients obtained from renewable resources.
-Eco-friendly and biodegradable.
-free of mineral oil, petrolatum, lanolin, and other petroleum derivatives.
-free of parabens, harsh chemicals, or preservatives.
-is cruelty-free and not tested on animals.

Personally I will never get the goji berry again in any of the products. This is not one that I really enjoy like the mangosteen or the camu camu. Again this is a personal thing because I just do not enjoy strong floral aromas. However I will still be rating this product with 5 stars as I feel it performed like it was supposed to for me. It's cheap and affordable especially with discounts and sales here on Eden.

If you were to pay full cost at $9.99 and to use let’s say 2 level table spoons for each bath, you should get around 8 baths with this container. The cost is about $1.25 per ounce and bath at this rate. However if you recall earlier in the review, you can use however much you like based on your needs. I personally felt at least 2 tablespoons was enough to get a richer milkier bath. However if you are lucky and let’s say get this product during a sale or buyout for 30% off, you will only be paying around $0.87 per ounce/bath. My only complaint is actually the amount of powder you get; I wish this was more like a 12oz or 16oz container. I feel in most cases people will use this up fast!

Also earlier in this review I was talking about the many benefits of the ingredients in this product. I would like to go more into detail on this and add that to get the full benefits out of something like this; you would probably have to soak at least 3 times a week in probably the equivalent of half or the whole container each time. It's very similar to Dead Sea salt minerals, to truly get the maximum benefits from those you would have to soak multiple times a week in a highly concentrated form. I wouldn't want anyone to think that in buying this product that the anti-cancer properties of the goji berry fruit powder are going to significantly reduce your risk of cancer. This is more of a pamper/relaxing product for those looking to take the night off by soaking and relaxing in a luxurious feeling bath.

Other than the aroma I personally do not like, this has been a nice experience using this product. The smooth milky bath soaks are quite pleasant and relaxing especially with nice calming music playing in the back ground. Honestly each time I have used this product, my skin while soaking feels very soft and luxurious. I'd like to also add that I did have some left over dry milk powder from the holidays for making homemade hot chocolate. Because it had been used in a food processor, it was extremely fine just like the Dona bath milk; I have added some of this dry milk powder in my most recent bath to give it even a more milky fun experience. However the cost of dry milk powder is pretty high, it is not cheap at all. You could if you like, add real milk in liquid form to your bath tub to extend to use of your Dona bath milk. As usual with these types of products, this one really worked well in soothing my muscle aches and a sore back.