Dead Sea Salt

Dead Sea salt is the mineral salt obtained from the water of the Dead Sea, a lake far saltier than the ocean. Its water is rich in magnesium and poor in sodium. The salt is sold in many countries for skin care.^[1]

Composition

Dead Sea water contains about 280 g of salt per kilogram, eight times the ocean's 35 g. It is rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium and bromine and poor in sodium, sulfate and carbonate, and its exact content depends on where and how deep it is taken.^[1]

One bath salt taken from the deep layers of the Dead Sea, studied in dermatology, contains 46% magnesium chloride, 2.2% calcium chloride, 0.5% potassium chloride and only 0.8% sodium chloride, with small amounts of bromides and sulfate.^[1]

Use in baths and skin care

Bathing in the Dead Sea has been used to treat skin diseases for hundreds of years.^[1]

In a study of people with atopic dry skin, soaking one forearm for 15 minutes in a 5% solution of a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt for six weeks improved the skin barrier, increased skin moisture and reduced roughness and redness compared with the other forearm soaked in tap water; the authors linked the effect to the high magnesium content. One of the authors' affiliations was the company that sells the tested salt.^[1]

Safety

In that study of 30 people with atopic dermatitis, the salt bath was well tolerated.^[1]

Products containing it

Shampoo With Dead Sea Salt, Viva Activ (I 779)
Skin Cream With Dead Sea Salt, Viva Activ (I 877)

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 E. Proksch, H.-P. Nissen, M. Bremgartner, C. Urquhart, Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin. International Journal of Dermatology 44 (2005).

[proksch-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 E. Proksch, H.-P. Nissen, M. Bremgartner, C. Urquhart, Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin. International Journal of Dermatology 44 (2005).

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