Take To The Sea for Better Skin
Extra salt in your diet? No good. Extra salt on your skin? Great!
Sea salt is packed with healthy skin-friendly minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium; and it has been a go-to treatment from stomach to skin ailments for centuries. The first record of using seawater as a remedy dates back to the ancient Egyptians. Saltwater was used in its natural form or dried, then mixed with other liquids to create saline solutions. In early Greece and Rome, saltwater and saline were used to heal scrapes, cuts, mouth sores and other skin irritations. Modern medicine has also harnessed the power of saltwater. Sterile saline solution is a popular choice in wound irrigation and surgical procedures.
So, how can we use saltwater to improve our skin? Here are some easy and effective suggestions.
Control Acne Breakouts
The minerals contained in sea salt absorb toxins in the body including acne-causing bacteria. Salt’s natural moisture-reducing abilities can also help to regulate the overproduction of oil that leads to clogged pores.
Exfoliate For A Healthy Glow
Even when salt is dissolved in water, its mineral properties still act as a great exfoliant. Saltwater opens pores for deeper cleansing, encourages blood flow and purifies skin, allowing it to absorb treatment products and moisturizer more efficiently. Granular salt, mixed with water, also serves as an excellent natural manual exfoliant, sloughing off dead skin cells and leaving skin with a natural glow.
Control Eczema
Eczema sufferers also find great success with salt water, particularly Epsom salt. The magnesium contained in salt is an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial mineral that not only eases itching, but also draws the moisture from eczema-causing bacteria and fungi to hinder its development.
Relieve Sore Muscles
Epsom salts have long been used as a natural, affordable and effective way to alleviate aches and pains. Draw an Epsom salt bath and relax as the magnesium in the salt is absorbed through your skin as you soak. As a mineral, magnesium helps the body’s systems to regulate and balance, particularly as it relates to muscle and nerve function. Adding eucalyptus or lavender oil will help further relax the body and mind.
Fade Semi-Permanent Scars
Salt is an excellent curing, clearing, and cleansing agent. Sodium chloride helps to cleanse the skin. A natural antiseptic, salt also helps to sterilize and heal wounds.
Heal Cuts and Sores
Have you ever been told to go into the ocean if you get a scrape or cut? Salt water has been used as a cleanser for thousands of years. It helps rid the skin of toxins and cures cuts. Salt also dries out the pus in wounds. It may sting when you first touch the water, but when you come out, your sores should be much less painful than they were before you went in.
Are you packing up your suit and heading to the ocean?
Tell us in the comments how you use salt as a healing agent.
Sources: StyleCaster, Hub Pages, Scar Fade
