Do The Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep Collections Measure Up?
October 27, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Whether or not it’s actually true (yes, there’s been debate), lavender is a pretty well-known scent in terms of calming one’s mood and helping promote sleep. That’s one reason why I’m never surprised to read another article telling us how beneficial lavender is for sleep and relaxation.
I was, however, kind of surprised when I was on the Bath & Body Works website earlier (remember when I was talking about their pomegranate-scented stuff?) and discovered their new line of oils, salts, lotions, washes, and sprays designed to help promote sleep aren’t lavender scented. They’re scented with black chamomile, milk, and honey. Not names I’m used to associating with sleep (well, not in the aromatherapy sense, anyway) so I decided to do some investigating.
According to the Bath & Body Works website, the black chamomile is supposed to help us detox (?!), and the milk and honey are supposed to help promote tranquility (well, at least with the cinnamon and clove included – apparently, it’s supposed to “evoke the comfort of milk and honey”).
When I started searching “milk, honey, and sleep,” I found numerous recipes for treating insomnia using milk and honey. So, if the line of milk and honey products from Bath & Body works really do create the same effects as milk and honey, then, maybe it’s a winner?
However, when I snooped around for additional sources for the sleep benefits of black chamomile, a search of “black chamomile and sleep” really only delivered results for – you guessed it – the new black chamomile line of stuff for Bath & Body Works. Results that followed included information about chamomile tea and sleep (now that I’d heard of) and chamomile tablets and sleep (not so familiar with).
Hmm…
I have no way of knowing if the new black chamomile and milk and honey products from Bath & Body Works really help promote sleep and relaxation – short of going out and buying it to try it, of course. If you’ve tried the products, or you know a little something about black chamomile, milk, and honey that I don’t know, feel free to share!
Image: SXC
Don’t know if you saw this: http://www.livelywomen.com/2008/10/27/an-interview-with-john-davey-founder-of-cherrypharm/ but it talks a bit about how CHERRIES help with sleep. Interesting.
Hey! I’ve been working at Bath and Body Works for two and big half years now and after reading about your little investigation I can understand why it sounds a bit confusing. When our team was trained on the Warm Milk & Honey, we were told it was to evoke a sense of being a child again. Like being wrapped in a warm conforter after it was in the dryer for 40 minutes. The name is not the ingredient in this case. For the chamomile, we’ve had great customer feed back. Apparently it works better than lavender. I’ve had no complaints yet. Try not to listen to corporates advertisments unless they’re coupons or promotions. They annoy the employees (us) more than the customers. Keep reviewing Bath and Body Works though! ^_^
@ Sarah – Hey, thanks for sharing that!
@ Caine – Thanks for the info!
I also noticed that the “black” part of the name appears to come from the fact that the products have Bamboo Charcoal Extract with them. I am not sure if it is psychological or what – but I have been using the products a couple of weeks and I love them and after using them, I do have this sense of calm and ability to sleep soundly.. the scent is amazing… maybe it is just the power of suggestion, but I am ok with that.
I have a very hard time sleeping. It can take me up to an hour or more to finally fall asleep. A friend of mine gave me the Bath and Body works Sleep lotion, bath gel and pillow spray. I don’t usually use these type of products, but thought, rather than re-gift, I’d try it. After bathing, putting the lotion on and spraying my pillow I settled in. I was amazed to find that I fell asleep so quickly. I have been using the bath gel and pillow spray regularly for the past 5 months and am now addicted to it!! The smell is very different from other products, so maybe that is it.