Bathing is generally defined as washing or soaking the parts of the body, or the whole body in water in order to be cleansed from external impurities. Bathing has become part of people's day to day activity. To some, it is something as important as having a meal everyday. People bathe in order to smell good, look good, and feel fresh and clean. Bathing is varied to different forms of bathing styles such as immersing (bathtubs, pools, bodies of water, etc.) and showering.



Legend has it that bath became a regular practice by the ancient Britons in 860 BC. It started when Prince Bladud, the son of the King of the Britons, Lud Hudibras, contracted a skin disease that was thought to be leprosy. Because of this, Prince Bladud was banished from his tribe and went to Avon Alley only to become a swine-herder. His pigs also contracted skin disease but when they wallowed in the mud, Prince Bladud thought of a way to get them out of indulging themselves by gathering some acorns to feed them. When the pigs got out of the mud, Bladud saw and realized that they no longer had skin disease. With this thought, he also wallowed in the mud and once he got out of the mud, he saw his skin clean and cured. He went back to his tribe and was accepted by his people and was later crowned as king. Soon after, the city of Bath was established as he and his servants setup a settlement.

The history of baths also dates back all the way to the Roman times. The ancient Romans built bathhouses for Roman citizens and these bathhouses have become the venue where people go not only to get cleaned, pampered and relaxed but also to socialize with other citizens. Historians have also pointed out that one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire was because most of the Romans, including Roman soldiers, have indulged themselves in bathhouses too much that Barbarians from the outskirts of the empire and from the neighboring states easily sacked and raided Roman towns and cities without facing any opposition.

Along with bathing, soap have also become bath's partner to provide more cleansing and cleaning to the body. The soap's ability to lather and generate suds provides a more refreshing feeling to bathers than with just plain water. Soaps ability to clean more efficiently relies on its molecular properties to attach to both polar and non-polar molecules. Polar molecules like that of water and non-polar molecules like that of dirt, grease and oil.

The history of soaps, on the other hand, dates all the way back to ancient Babylon and ancient Egypt wherein clay tablets where found to have inscriptions of formulas which consist of water, crassia oil and alkali and papyrus documenting the preparation of substances made up of alkaline salts, blend of animal and vegetable oil to create soap-like substance for regular bathing.

Pre de Provence for France, offers bath soaps and shampoos that are uniquely blended and derived from botanical essences from province of Provence, France. Botanical essences include those found within France, in the Mediterranean as well those found all over Europe. Since Pre de Provence products contain more natural extracts which are milder than chemicals compared to other brands of soaps, skin benefits more in terms of smoothness and dermatological health and wellness.