There are many natural therapeutic salts on the market now – and it can get a little confusing when deciding which one to use! Here at Base Formula we sell 3 different natural, unadulterated salts; Epsom Salt, Pink Himalayan Rock Salt and Dead Sea Salt.

At this time of year many of us are still focusing on detoxing after the festive season. Salts can help, not only by stimulating your body to get rid of unwanted congestion, but also by sloughing off those dead Winter skin cells. They can also come to your aid by easing the aches and pains resulting from increased exercise levels - perhaps from that New Year's resolution of joining the gym!! But which type of salt should you use for these different issues and how should you use them?

To help you chose the best salt for you, we've pulled together some useful information on the properties of each of our salts and how they can be used therapeutically to enhance your health and wellbeing. So, read on and answer those questions, and more - whilst accessing some great new ideas, recipes and resources to maximise your ability to benefit from another of Nature's wonderful “cure alls”…

Epsom Salts

As with all our salts – the clue of their origin is in the name! Our natural Epsom Salts are named after a bitter saline Spring that bubbles up from deep under-ground in Epsom, Surrey, in the UK. There are lots of traditional folk lore remedies associated with these salts, particularly in relation to promoting relaxation and relieving aching joints. Unlike the other two salts, Epsom Salt isn't actually a salt at all, but is composed of Magnesium and Sulphate. Helping to ease stress and tension can easily be connected with bathing in Magnesium rich mineral baths – helping to promote deep physical relaxation whilst easing mental agitation.

Aromatherapy recipes using Epsom Salts

To ease stress and tension

Add 2 cups Epsom Salts to 500ml boiling water and dissolve. Add 5 drops Lavender essential oil, 2 Roman Chamomile and 2 Neroli then pour into a hot bath and soak.

To help relieve joint pain (arthritis)

Add 2 cups Epsom Salts to boiling water as above and add 2 drops German Chamomile essential oil, 4 Sweet Marjoram and 8 Lavender, and add to bath as above.

To help clean gardening cuts, abrasions and scratches

Mix Epsom Salts and water as above, but add 3 drops Tea Tree essential oil, 6 Sandalwood and 6 Lavender.

Speaking of gardening....Epsom Salts are fabulous for lots of other gardening issues:

• To help prevent Leaf Curl – if leaves begin to curl dissolve 1-2 tbsp in 1 gallon water and apply regularly – it can be due to magnesium deficiency!
• To help deter slugs – they are sharp and acidic and slugs will avoid them
• To help green foliage get greener (again) – yellowing foliage can be due to magnesium deficiency
• To help settle plants after moving – magnesium rich water can help plants recover from the shock of moving them

Pink Himalayan Rock Salt

From the Himalayas – one of the greatest differences between Himalayan Pink Salt and others – is its purity. It is said to be one of the purest salts available, and for many hundreds of years was reserved for use by Royalty only. It is harvested from ancient 250 million year old sea beds – formed before the Himalayas themselves were formed! The fact that these areas have lain undisturbed under layers of lava, ice and snow have enabled the salts to remain untainted from impurities in general and modern day pollution in particular. Its pink colour is natural too - coming from the natural levels of iron oxide in the ground.

To maintain its literal and metaphorical /energetic purity, it is still selected, harvested, sorted and crushed by hand. It is also sun dried - and thus has no contact with modern day mechanised processes.

Himalayan Pink Salt is so pure and has so many therapeutic properties that it is the only salt often used without essential oils or base oils. Its properties being so powerful it can be seen to require little intervention, bar the addition of waters, which vary according to the type of use required. It also contains a huge range of minerals and rare trace elements that can be hard to access in a normal Western diet.

Our Himalayan Pink Salt is “culinary grade” and so can be dissolved and taken internally (see our website for 'Sole' recipe) for a variety of different conditions, but mainly for its ability to neutralise acidity and assist with regulating healthy ph levels. It can also help reduce inflammation and soothe, hydrate and nourish the skin.

Aromatherapy recipes using Himalayan Pink Salt

To detoxify

Make and take 'Sole' to help detoxify and re-balance your body each morning before you eat or drink anything.

For sinus rinsing

If you are prone to sinus infections, try buying a “Neti Pot” or plastic nasal flush bottle and add 1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt to 60ml hot water. Let the crystals dissolve, add 1 drop Tea Tree essential oil and flush the sinuses as directed am and pm.

Dead Sea Salts

The waters from the Dead Seas have again been renowned for many thousands of years. These waters are totally unique, having 27% various salts rather than 3% concentration found in normal seas. Another rich balance of natural minerals – these salts are comprised of Magnesium, Potassium, Iodine, Sulphur Calcium, Sodium Chloride and Bromides. Due to their composition, Dead Sea Salts are particularly useful for their effects on skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis, as well as joint and muscular aches and pains.

Aromatherapy recipes using Dead Sea Salt

Soothing and enriching body scrub

Soothe & smooth bath blend

Dissolve 2 cups Dead Sea Salt into 500ml boiling water. Combine 15ml Bath & Shower Gel with 2 drops Benzoin essential oil, 2 German Chamomile, 4 Geranium and 4 Lavender and add to the bath with the salt solution.

Joannah Metcalfe
Consultant Aromatherapist

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