Acne Treatments - Sea Salt
Using sea salt to clear your skin |
Have you ever noticed that your skin gets a little better when you go swimming in the ocean or go to the beach?
I haven't experienced this personally, but many people notice skin improvements whenever they are on vacation. It could be because they get to rest more and are more relaxed and have more fun, but it could also be the ocean itself. (Swimming in a pool is probably different because of the high and very-drying chlorine content.)
Sea salt is derived from evaporating seawater and tends to have less iodine than regular table salt. Since most people don't have an ocean in their backyard, the thinking behind using sea salt as an acne treatment is to be able to have the properties of ocean water in your bathroom basin.
Why Sea Salt?
Seawater's therapeutic effects come from its salt content and all the living organisms and enzymes in ocean. Therefore, adding sea salt to water isn't exactly the same thing as making seawater, but it's probably the closest thing to it.
Sea salt can prevent infections, help wounds heal faster (the same can be said of regular salt), and soften skin. For example, bath salts use sea salt with high mineral contents from the Himalayas or the Dead Sea. If you've ever gotten a piercing before, some places also recommend washing frequently with salt water to help the wound heal more quickly.
How to Use Sea Salt for Acne
The common way to use sea salt as an acne treatment is to soak your face in sea salt water (add some sea salt to a basin full of tepid to warm water) two times a day for about a minute or two. You can either rinse your skin after the soak or leave the salt water on if it isn't too drying. You can also make a paste of sea salt and water and dab it on individual spots (this dries them up and brings them to a head faster) but the salt may crust and fall off as it dries. You can even make a sea salt water toner and apply the toner before you put on any other skin care products. I've also heard of some people adding salt directly to their moisturizer.
Whatever the case, sea salt may or may not work for you. It can be very drying for some skin types and irritating for others (because of its alkalinity), so it whether sea salt will work for you as an acne treatment will depend on how your skin reacts.
Last updated: September 11, 2012
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