Jo Malone bath products(Jo Malone)

Troubled author Sylvia Plath spent many an hour soaking in one. The 36th President of the USA, Lyndon B Johnson, believed it was every man's right to take one on a Saturday night. And pop princess Christina Aguilera likes nothing more than relaxing in a hot one full of bubbles.

"There must be a quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure," said Plath, "but I don't know many of them."
And she was right. Bathing is not simply about washing yourself, oh no. There's much more to it than that.
You think Queen of the Nile Cleo bathed in milk and honey simply to keep clean? Think again. She chose her bathing ingredients carefully for soft, smooth skin, and she loved nothing more than to relax for hours in her huge tubs.

The Roman's brought the baths to Britain, albeit of the much more public variety, but it wasn't long before they filtered into our homes, and in the early part of the 20th Century there was nothing more grand than a fitted bathroom with a luxurious bath to bathe in.

Of course, for many a fitted bathroom was unknown and a bath in a tin tub in front of the fire was the order of the day.

However, wherever you bathe, there is no reason why it shouldn't be a delightful experience, with literally thousands of products on offer.