HISTORY OF MINERAL SALT-colour stone

HISTORY OF MINERAL SALT

Since ancient times, it has been a common practice to extract several types of natural salts found both underground and underwater, especially under sea water. Salt derived from evaporated sea water is also referred to as Solar Salt or Bay Salt. Dead Sea Mineral Salt is one example of a salt derived from seawater. In spite of being harvested from clay or from the foothills of mountainous regions, pink salts, and rock salts – Himalayan Pink Salt is an example of both – are also considered to be sea salts. This is because all salts originate from salt mines, or by evaporating the water of salt fields, salt flats, salt waterfalls, springs, salt pans, or saline bodies of water, including the ocean, salt-water lakes or ponds, inland seas, enclosed bays, or bodies of water that are rich in mineral content. Similarly, it is believed that Himalayan Salt – also called Himalayan Crystal Salt, Pink Salt, and Rock Salt – is dried leftover deposits from ancient sea salt. Accordingly, it is also called Himalayan Sea Salt. Over the centuries, salts harvested from all these places have traditionally been used in culinary, aromatherapy, medicinal, cleansing, and cosmetic applications.

Salts are composed largely of 2 elements that are essential for human life, namely sodium and chloride. They work to support the general health and optimal function of the body in numerous ways. Minerals are elements that form naturally and that are chemically composed of chemicals in a way that results in their having structures that are crystal-like. Himalayan Pink Salt consists of many such minerals, such as sodium chloride, also known as Halite. Though sodium chloride is white and cubic in structure, the pink color of Himalayan Salt is caused by iron oxides.

According to historical narratives, natives of the Himalayan region used Pink Himalayan Salt to preserve foods such as meat and fish; however, it was discovered that this salt – known to be the cleanest in the world – also had healthful and therapeutic properties that made it beneficial for use in bath soaks and body scrubs, to name a few applications.

It is believed that Himalayan Pink Salt began to be mined around the time that it was discovered by Alexander the Great and his troops in 326 BC. According to the legend, they were stopped in the area to rest when their horses began to lick the rocks that turned out to be salt. The first record of salt mining in the Himalayas, however, is from the 1200s, and they refer to the Janjua community of Pakistan and India. As early as 2700 BCE, a detailed pharmacological account of various salts, their uses, and their methods of extraction was recorded and published in China. Known as the “Peng-Tzao-Kan-Mu,” this systematically charted publication was the earliest description of more than 40 varieties of these natural raw materials as well as an elucidation of salt mining.

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Salt was highly valued in Greece and Rome, coming to be used as currency and to be traded for slaves. These historical practices established the expression “not worth his salt” and coined the term “salary,” given that the Latin word from which it originated meant “a sum given to soldiers to buy salt.” Hence, for thousands of years, the historical buying, selling, and trading of salt has been a significant source of wealth and an integral factor in the progress and expansion of cultures, economies, and metropolises in Asia and Europe. Salt has come to be not only one of the oldest seasonings and preservatives for food, but it has also come to be widely used in bleaching, dyeing, glazing ceramics, soap making, water softening, and preserving animal hides in a process called tanning.

To his fellow healers, the Greek physician Hippocrates promoted the submersion of patients in sea water, as he believed that salt water had healing benefits for numerous health problems. As bathing in warm salt water – also referred to as “sole” and “brine” – became more widespread for the purposes of addressing muscle aches and joint pain, the medicinal application of bath salts became more prevalent. Gradually, they became popular in cosmetic applications for the treatment of freckles, acne, and psoriasis. Other ancient Greeks also continued the uses of these methods. Eventually, a publication entitled “The Uses of Sea Water” was published in 1753 by Charles Russel, an English physician.

In Roman regions, the heat of the sun was the main technique for evaporating the salt water of the sea, which was collected in “briquetage,” or ceramic containers. This concentrated salt and mud slurry, would then be scraped up and have any residual impurities rinsed out with clean sea water. The resulting brine would be poured into shallow clay pans and placed atop short clay pillars above a turf fire for the final evaporation of any remaining water. The final step involved scraping out the dried salt before selling it. This traditional production method was also carried out in rural areas of Sichuan, China, until the 20th century, when the process became industrialized. In a 5-volume publication entitled “De Materia Medica,” Dioskurides the Roman physician lists salt as a potent remedy for addressing wounds, bites, and ailments associated with improper digestion.

In ancient Egypt, Cleopatra was known to soak in the Dead Sea, a body of water reputed to be rich in minerals that exhibited softening, smoothing, and rejuvenating properties. Unlike non-salt baths, which dehydrate skin and cause it to prune, saltwater replicates conditions that are necessary for skin to remain balanced. In this way, salt water prevents skin from losing moisture. Hence, the cosmetic advantages of bath salts were especially thrown in the spotlight.

In modern times, salt continues to be a valuable exfoliating, stimulating, hydrating, strengthening, moisturizing, and cleansing component in countless cosmetic products such as shampoos and scrubs. Being hydroscopic, mineral salts are known to attract water. Hence, applied topically, they pull nutrients and moisture from deeper levels of the skin to the uppermost layer, thus contributing to skin’s suppleness and minimizing the appearance of wrinkles.

With spas and other wellness centers advertising the use of bath salts in various crystal sizes, scents, and colors, bath salts continue to be widely applied today for the promotion of relaxation and the restoration of good health. This article highlights the various ways in which mineral salts can be used for enhancing the health of the skin, hair, and body.