August 07, 2019 4 min read
When we talk about using all-natural ingredients for skincare, it doesn’t get much more natural than sea salt. Humans have been using salt for a variety of purposes for thousands and thousands of years. In fact, the term salary is derived from soldiers who were only paid if they were “worth their salt”.
Salt as a skincare ingredient is potent, natural, and safe. There are a few common misconceptions when it comes to salt as a beauty ingredient that may stem from dietary salt’s effect on our health.
Today, we will discuss sea salt, how it can benefit our skin health, an example of sea salt skin care products, and answer a few frequently asked questions.
Sea salt is just that: salt which has been removed from the ocean and separated from the water. Typical sea salt extraction involves water from an ocean, sea, or saltwater lake being evaporated, leaving only the sea salt behind.
Nearly all sea salt will then go through a cleansing process. Manufacturers will often remove all insoluble chemicals while leaving the sea salt and the associated minerals intact.
This creates a sea salt product which is coarse, packed with natural minerals, and ready to eat or to be used in other applications. Sea salt is extremely similar to table salt in most ways. The biggest difference in commercial products is that table salt typically has iodine added whereas sea salt is packed as-is.
You may have heard that excess salt can lead to bloating, oily skin, and other health issues. These are all true of excessive salt intake in the diet. Salt is extremely gentle on skin. This is similar to the misconception that face oils cause acne: what we use on our skin and what we put in our diet causes entirely different results!
Here are just a few ways in which sea salt can benefit your skin health:
To demonstrate how sea salt can be used in a natural skincare product, consider our charcoal salt & sugar scrub. Featuring mild, all natural ingredients including dead sea salt, fair trade organic sugar, and potent essential oils, this scrub offers a litany of advantages including:
This easy-to-use charcoal salt & sugar scrub is just one example of the simple power of sea salt when combined with other key ingredients.
Absolutely! Sea salt is not a cleanser, so it will not keep your hair clean, but it can provide natural support to your hair and scalp. While some companies sell dedicated salt sprays, we believe in using sea salt as part of your everyday hair routine.
Our peppermint shampoo bar uses sea salt in addition to essential oils, kaolin clay, and other all-natural ingredients to keep hair clean, beautiful, and full bodied!
Pure salt is pure salt. Yet all sea salts are a bit different as they will retain some of the mineral makeup of their source. Additionally, differing manufacturing methods will lead to variations in chemical makeup, shape, and size.
Better? Not necessarily, although the two products are different. Sea salt coming from the ocean will typically retain some of the natural minerals that accumulate in the water. Table salt is most often mined from underground salt mines, which can also leave a different mix of minerals.
The primary differences between sea salt come down to size, texture, taste, and trace chemical differences.
At The Yellow Bird, we are always looking for ways to incorporate natural ingredients into our health and beauty products. We started with a single product, and have since expanded to provide artisan soaps, shampoo bars, face oils, natural insect repellents, and much more!
Many of our products harness the power of natural sea salt. Consider giving one of these all natural products a try today!
And be the first to know about new products, ingredients we love, news from the nest, and freebies!