I don’t know if you are as confused as I was before about why sea salt began appearing in skincare and beauty products all around me— all of a sudden. The first image that popped into my mind was companies adding table salt into my skincare products—a selling point for me. Wasn’t too much salt supposed to be bad for you? It is supposed to cause bloating, water retention, high blood pressure and other health problems.  How it is supposed to be good for for your skin?

Table Salt

After some research, I realized that I was confusing table salt (refined salt) with sea salt (unrefined salt). In simple terms, the two salts are made up of sodium chloride; the major difference between sea salt and table salt is that table salt is made up of 99.9% of sodium chloride, while sea salt is 98% sodium chloride. In sea salt, the remaining 2% is made of other important minerals like iron, sulfur, magnesium and other trace elements. Basically, table salt is chemically treated and sea salt is natural.

Sea Salt

So what does this mean?

According to Buzzle.com, it means that the sea salt extracted from sea water contains minerals that are needed by our bodies in order to function optimally and maintain a balance in mineral content. There are many benefits to the natural potassium, calcium, and magnesium that sea salt contains.

Potassium helps regulate and balance the moisture level of the skin, and also provides energy to the body. It also helps relax muscles and relieve stiffness. Calcium not only strengthens bones, but also prevents the retention of water and increases circulation. Magnesium fights the retention of fluids and also helps to fight stress. Moreover, it has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps in slowing down the aging of skin.