Can't I just use table salt?
Updated: Nov 7, 2022
When adding salt to the bath, can you just reach into the pantry for the box of Sifto or whatever iodized salt you use to season food? It's certainly cheaper than bath salts, so the conspiracy-minded might point to a cosmetic industry scam here - the same basic principle as getting people to pay a fortune for things we really don't need and probably shouldn't be using at all, like baby powder. Here's the straight goods (in short form) on what kinds of salt are best for the bath.
Epsom Salts
This is the most common kind of salt bath, unless you are lucky enough to take regular dips in the ocean! Epsom salts have been used for so long that we have documentation about their benefits dating back to Shakespearean times; they're not actually salt as we know it, but rather, magnesium sulfate. Epsom salts boost the body's magnesium levels, and that's a very good thing, because our bodies need magnesium for many processes (it's both a mineral and an enzyme, essential for bodily functions). Magnesium also relaxes muscles and relieves painful cramps, which is why it's so often recommended to athletes and after a hard massage that causes lactic acid to build up in muscles; the magnesium works to draw out and break down this lactic acid.
Sea Salts
Bath salts are often made of coarse sea salt, which has been used for centuries to promote skin healing and to soften skin, whether used as a bath additive or an exfoliant. But because sodium is also an essential mineral used by the body to help the heart function properly, salt baths have more than just topical benefits. They help regulate blood pressure and heart rhythm, clear out mucous and phlegm, correct electrolyte balance, and of course, result in gorgeous, glowing skin. The main difference between sea salts, which are indeed high in sodium, and table salt, is that table salt has been stripped of all its other beneficial minerals in order to create a more 'pure' salty taste, and iodine has also been added. Looking for even more purity? Try European Spa Salt, sourced exclusively from the pristine waters of the Mediterranean sea and extracted using a solar process. We supply European Spa Salt, beautifully packaged, to the H20 Float Studio in Toronto's iconic Distillery District - where you can grab a bag and use it to enhance your relaxing soak in their spa.
Premium Salts
Dead Sea salts and Himalayan pink salt fall into this category of premium bath salts. Featuring distinctive large, slow-dissolving grains, these are the purest salts around in terms of minerals and have been minimally processed. We love them so, so much and of course, you can find them in our online store!
Table Salt
I like to call table salt the 'Wonder Bread' of salts, which probably isn't fair to Wonder Bread! Basically, table salt has been stripped and then iodized. All its other minerals - the potassium, calcium magnesium, copper, zinc, and other trace minerals that your body needs - have been taken out, leaving only sodium chloride. I am a big believer in switching to fine sea salt for food as well as bathing in it; you'll get great taste AND be doing your body a huge favour!
SaltZ&Co bathing salts are a blend of Epsom salts and sea salts that deliver health benefits to the body. Our bath bombs contain Epsom salt and many of our soaps contain Himalayan pink salt, which is arguably the most mineral-rich salt on the planet. To your health!