Bath salt: types, properties and benefits
If you have just returned from the gym, after a more intensively workout or you have joint problems, muscle or joint pain, these problems can spoil your mood and sometimes even affect the quality of your sleep. Although there are many ointments, gels and creams with anti-inflammatory properties on the market, which solve the problem on the spot, you can take a holistic approach, which will help you not only in remedying local pain, but also in relaxing the whole body, draining toxins, but also for an uninterrupted and restful sleep.
Types of bath salts
Bath salt has been used for hundreds of years in the treatment of various pains of an inflammatory nature, but it has many more beneficial properties for the body. What we call "bath salt" is actually a generic name for several types of salt that are used in the bath water.
Sea salt
There is Sea Salt, which is obtained by evaporating sea water, without being processed or with a minimal degree of processing.
Precisely because of the very simple process through which it is obtained, Sea Salt is rich in minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron and potassium. Normally, these minerals can also be found in table salt, but only in coarse salt (rock salt), which does not go through the same level of processing as fine salt.
Sea Salt can have different textures (fine, granulated, rock) and can be enhanced with various aromas, especially lavender, for an increased relaxing effect. The most popular variety of sea salt is from the Dead Sea, which is particularly rich in minerals.
Himalayan bath salt
Other well-known and loved bath salts are Himalayan Bath Salt and Epsom Salt. Himalayan Bath Salt comes from salt mines in the Himalayan mountains, especially those located in Pakistan.
250 million years ago, when the mountains were just beginning to take shape, the oceans deposited massive amounts of salt at their base.
Because the salt deposits were subsequently covered by lava, ice and snow over millions of years, Himalayan salt has a reputation for being one of the purest, unpolluted types of salt.
Epsom Salt
Epsom Salt is actually magnesium sulphate, a chemical compound made of magnesium, sulphur, and oxygen. It gets its name from the town of Epsom, in England, where it was discovered. Although it has the appearance, chemical structure and name of salt, it is not, in the proper sense, salt and cannot be consumed as food, having a strong bitter taste.
Epsom Salt's healing properties derive from its high magnesium content, and it has been used over time in numerous topical remedies for fibromyalgia, insomnia, and joint pain.
The benefits of bath salts
When it comes to relieving stress, easing muscle pain or soothing skin irritations, a salt bath is the right remedy. Although the bath itself can improve your physical and mental state due to the total relaxation of the body, once immersed in the water, bath salts extend these benefits with new advantages, such as the remediation of inflammatory processes, which is good news for muscles, joints and tendons.
According to a study published in the journal Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, bath salts may have visible benefits in the treatment of certain rheumatic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Moreover, bath salts are also good for the skin, which is the largest organ of the body. More and more dermatologists are recommending bath salts to patients with psoriasis, eczema or other atopic skin conditions.
This is because bath salts help to very gently exfoliate the dead cells that often create itchy skin with a pre-existing condition such as psoriasis. Also thanks to this process of exfoliation and cleansing, bath salts can be useful for those who suffer from acne or atopic dermatitis.
Other important benefits of bath salts include:
• Stimulation of blood circulation throughout the body
• Remedy of muscle cramps
• Alleviation of leg pain, after a day of long walking or standing
• Improving sleep quality
The recipe for a perfect salt bath
For a successful salt bath, you will need 200-250 ml of bath salt, whichever you prefer, to a normal-sized bathtub full of water. The water should be two degrees warmer than body temperature to fully benefit from the properties of the bath salt.
You can add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a few drops of lavender essential oil. The recommended bathing time is at least 15-20 minutes, but no more than 1 hour. After bathing, apply a nourishing cream all over the body while the skin is still slightly damp.
