“There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”
- Sylvia Plath
For me baths are one of those magic cures for almost everything, be it the beginnings of an illness, the stress of a bad day or any sort of aches and pains. When I lived in South Korea, it was like a dream come true that going out for a bath was a perfectly sociably acceptable thing to do with my friends and that is firmly on the list of things I will never stop missing about Korea. The bath is also one of my favourite places to read, knowing I’ll be undisturbed and can completely immerse myself in it (I’m currently reading The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe and am hoping to sneak off into the bathroom and finish it this coming week during a long soak).
In a recent blog post, I shared some of my favourite cruelty-free beauty blogs and mentioned how much I would love to share more on this topic, including introducing and sharing my support for the lovely companies who, well, make bathtime better! And on that note, today I’d like to introduce Stvdio 5. 
Based in East London, Stvdio 5 are a small company who specialise in natural vegan products. Designed and produced in Britain with locally sourced ingredients, the products are handmade, making each one unique. As well as 100% vegan products, Stvdio 5 are cruelty-free and ensure their suppliers are too. By using natural ingredients that have been used for generations, they can also be sure these were not developed through animal testing.
To make sure their products are kind in all respects, Stvdio 5 do not use sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) in any of their range. SLS is often used as a foaming agent in bath, shower and hair products, and a known skin irritant and questionable long-term safety.
Stvdio 5 kindly sent me a ‘pamper kit’ and it really lived up to its name. Their bath truffles and shower soaps are delicately scented with essential oils and left my skin feeling well and truly loved. I would probably call the bath truffles more of a bath bomb as they fizz when you drop them in but they do leave the water feeling richer as you would expect from the name. The lavender bath truffle was perfect for a relaxing pre-bedtime bath with the lavender oil having been blended with myrrh and amber for a luxurious scent. 
These beautiful little chocolate shower soaps and English rose soap are made with cold-pressed oils and cleansing kaolin clay. To make their soaps even more skin-friendly, Stvdio 5 have used tea-tree oil; a natural antibacterial and antiseptic that supports the skin in preventing and combating a whole array of conditions.
I also love the fact that they all arrive wrapped in recycled packaging – although one of my bath truffles did crumble in transit so maybe they could do with something a little more robust or maybe a more tightly packed box.
It’s always great to find new, independent companies who are starting out with firm principles and fantastic items, and I’m looking forward to trying more from Stvdio 5!
What bath products have tried lately? Share your cruelty-free recommendations in the comments!
