There’s lots of tempting add-ons you can choose when you buy a walk-in bathtub. The majority of these options enhance relaxation or improve your health in some way. Jets massage your muscles, aromatherapy calms your mind, and micro bubbles clean your skin.
What Are Micro Bubbles?
Micro bubbles are teeny tiny bubbles that are dispersed into your bathwater to surround you like a cloud. Just imagine thousands of tiny fairies with bubble wands, all working to bring new life to your skin.
Oh, you want a scientific explanation? OK.
A micro bubble measures approximately 0.004 inches in diameter (smaller than a red blood cell), compared to regular bubbles from jets that are 0.06 to 0.125 inches wide. They’re filled with gas — normally oxygen, ozone, or ambient air.
The bubbles are small enough to remain low in the water instead of floating to the top and bursting. This means gas inside the bubble is added to the bathwater when it bursts, which neutralizes toxins.
The bubbles have negative electrical charges. Dirt and skin impurities are positively charged, so they are attracted to the micro bubbles, removing them from the body.
Benefits of Micro Bubbles
Studies (1, 2) have shown many benefits of micro bubbles.
As mentioned above, their electrical charge cleans dirt from the skin. This is beneficial for people with sensitive skin because it allows the bather get clean without using soap, which can cause irritations.
The skin becomes incredibly soft and moisturized from this deep clean.
Plus, your bath will stay hot, longer since the bubbles don’t create a turbulent surface like regular jets. Having said this, you don’t want to stay in a bath longer than necessary.
When the bubbles burst, they create high temperatures that sanitize the water from bacteria. These high temperatures also open the skin’s pores to help eliminate toxins. Blood circulation also benefits from the heat of bursting bubbles and it’s said to be quite relaxing. These benefits contribute to your overall health, not just your skin.
Other Ways They’re Used
Micro bubbles aren’t just used in bathtubs or spas, they’ve been implemented in impressive medical procedures, too.
In fact, they were first developed for use in ultrasound imaging and they can now deliver drugs and genes inside the body. They’ve also been used in hydroponics systems to aid the growth of plants and have helped oysters grow quickly, too.
Returning to their cleaning properties, one study looked into how micro bubbles can help the oral hygiene of people who can’t brush their own teeth anymore. There’s also a pet bath that uses micro bubble technology to give dogs a deep, hypoallergenic clean without soap.
It turns out micro bubbles are quite versatile, but they certainly do a great job of exfoliating skin. If you’d like a deep clean that leaves your skin incredibly soft, consider adding the micro bubbles option to your walk-in tub.
