Milk bath Milk bath A milk bath is a bath taken in milk instead of water. Often other scents such as honey, rose, lavender and essential oils are added. Milk baths use lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, to dissolve the proteins which hold together dead skin cells. There are legends that Cleopatra bathed in donkey milk daily for her complexion. These legends have not been confirmed and some historians believe that Roman Empress Poppaea set this bathing fashion after Cleopatra's death. Queens Catherine Parr and later Elizabeth I of England used milk baths to make their skin appear more youthful and
Complexion was no absolute measure of the right complexion, since this varied for individuals. Balance was thought to be restored by various remedies, which included bloodletting, scarifying, purging, and eating certain foods. Complexion was thought to be an indicator of one's character. The Spanish work known as "Corbacho", written by Alfonso Martínez de Toledo (c. 1398—c. 1470), includes a chapter called "De las complexiones." In it he describes the personalities of men of varying complexions: "There are others who are melancholic: these men correspond to the Earth, which is the fourth element, which is cold and dry. These men are very