Facial Ice Baths; A Reset
In session ice pluges have been a theme over the last month. If you ever need a reset due to feeling overwhelmed or unable to ground, a facial ice bath (or facial icing/cold plunge) is a practice where you submerge your face in cold water for a short period. It’s a simple yet powerful ritual with both physiological and psychological benefits.
Here’s how it resets you:
Nervous System Reset
Plunges activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode), especially via the vagus nerve which is stimulated by cold water on the face. This helps regulate stress, anxiety, and racing thoughts, it’s like a reset button for your overactive mind.
Improves Breath and Presence
The cold shock naturally deepens your breath. It slows your system down and pulls you into the present moment. You can’t be anywhere else but here, feeling this, breathing through it
Emotional Grounding
Cold exposure brings you into your body. It interrupts spiraling thoughts and reconnects you with sensation. this can help in trauma healing and somatic regulation when done safely and intentionally.
How to Do a Simple Facial Ice Bath:
Fill a bowl with cold water and add (10-15) ice cubes.
Place the bowl on a countertop like surface with towels under it. Have an extra towel for your face to pat dry.
Submerge your face for 10–30 seconds resting between plunges.
Breathe slowly and deeply through your nose between plunges. Continue to plunge until you feel more present and grounded.
Afterwards, pat dry and apply a nourishing moisturizer or oil.
A facial ice bath is like an inner cold front blowing through a stuffy emotional room. It clears the static, cools the burn, and brings you back to yourself; fresh, clear, and alive.
Love you, mean it.
Rhea & The Entire Sacred Moon Therapy Collective Team