Cleanliness is the foundation for beauty and wellbeing. In many cultures the purification of body and mind are hand in hand. As a Sufi proverb has it, cleanliness is next to Godliness. A myriad of cleaning and purification traditions for purity of body and spirit form the inspiration for the line of Refreshing Rituals products.

Many religious ceremonies are preceeded by a purification ritual. Hence the fountains in front of every mosque and the water basin on the grounds of every Japanese temple for the ritual purification of feet, hands or mouth. Not only are physical stains washed away, but also spiritual impurities, before entering the holy ground.

The Japanese are convinced that pollution comes from the outside and purity from the inside, hence the practice in Japan whereby everyone has to rinse their hands before entering a home. Bathing is also highly valued in Buddhism. The bathing of the sick and the old is regarded as promising for future reincarnations.

In Egypt, clay from the delta of the Nile was used as a predecessor to the modern scrub. In Japan little cotton bags were filled with 'nuka' or rice bran to rub the body in order to attain a soft, smooth skin. In the Roman Thermal baths, the ritual started by rubbing the body with sand, powder and oil. A steam bath followed and then dead skin was exfoliated. To finish there was the dip in the pool.

In al these refreshing rituals natural ingredients were used. Some for their hygienic qualities, like yuzu, green tea and mint. Others for their fragrant scents, like orange blossom, lotus flower and cherry blossom. You will find these ingredients in our refreshing bath crystals, cleansing masks, effective scrubs, and of course the soap bars in the Refreshing Rituals line of products.