Obsessed with how your skin and hair feels after coming out of the ocean water?
Thinking of incorporating salt water scrub in your skin care routine to have the same effect at home?
Wait, you might want to ditch your idea once you learn what salt actually does to your face!
First of all, salt water from the ocean and the salt that you use at home are not the same. Salt from the ocean contains many minerals like potassium, calcium and magnesium which aren’t present in the salt water you use at home.
This article will tell you if salt scrub is actually good for your face or does it do more harm than good to your skin! Let’s find out……
Table of Contents
Benefits of using salt for your face
Salt can benefit your skin in a number of ways as salt acts as a natural toxin relief for your skin.
1. Salt is a natural exfoliator
Salt granules act as a physical scrub for your body and help to remove dead skin cells, giving you a smoother and toned skin.
2. Salt has brightening effect
Scrubbing your body with salt can make the skin brighter as it removes all dirt and oil from the skin.
3. Salt has osmotic actions
The osmotic actions possessed by salt makes it capable of drawing out toxins from the skin, leaving your skin bacteria free.
4. Salt can diminish pore size
Salt acts as a natural antiseptic and is capable of diminishing pore size that helps to control breakouts and dry them fast.
Difference between ocean salt water and home salt water concoctions
Nature is the best therapy! The miraculous effect that you see on your skin after diving into ocean water, is the magic of nature. Ocean salt water contains traces of important minerals which are good for your skin. Salt water from the ocean cleanses your skin and gets the skin rid of all toxins.
But the salt concoction that you make at home are devoid of those minerals and are coarser than the ocean salt water as this salt is processed. It can be very harsh to your skin and aggregate skin conditions such as acne, eczema and pigmentation.
See also: 8 Foods to Fade Hyperpigmentation and 5 to Avoid
Effect of using salt scrub on face
Scrubbing your face with salt isn’t a very cool idea! Salt can be quite harsh for the delicate skin of your face, so try to limit salt scrub only for your body:
1. Salt scrub can affect the skin’s natural barrier resistance
Scrubbing your face with salt will not only remove the dead skin cells, but can also harm the important skin cells as salt is corrosive to the skin in large quantities.
2. Salt scrub can burn your skin
Salt has been used since ancient times to heal infections and to sterilise wounds. But putting salt directly on your face and scrubbing with it can burn your skin instead and leave behind burn marks.
3. Salt scrub can aggregate acne and eczema
Salt can increase your acne and conditions such as eczema as it opens pores while you scrub harshly.
4. Salt scrub can irritate your skin
If you have sensitive skin, scrubbing with salt can cause burning sensations and aggregate the condition.
5. Salt scrub can dry your skin
Too much salt can make your skin extremely dry, flaky and patchy.
How to use salt water for your face?
So, as you have seen, scrubbing your face with salt ain’t a great idea at all. But you cannot deny the benefits salt has for your skin. So, here are some alternative ways you can use salt water for your face:
Method to make salt water:
- Boil 2 cups of water and add a tablespoon of salt to it
- Cool the water and transfer to a spritzer bottle
- Store in the refrigerator
Ways to use salt water on face:
1. Use it to splash your face
You can splash your face with salt water, the first thing in your skin care routine. But remember to wash it off with a mild cleanser because you would not want the salt to stay on your face for the entire day.
2. Use it as a toner
Take a cotton pad and spray the salt water that you have made. Dan it on your face, especially on the oily zones and active acne. Do not apply on pigmented areas.
3. Use it as a mist
Spray a few spritz on your face and let it stay for 5 minutes. Wash off with water.
See also: How Long Does a Salt Facial Last?
FAQs:
1. Which salt is best for face scrub?
Salt that has very minute crystals is sage to be used as a scrub as it will not be harsh in the skin while you rub.
2. Does salt scrub whiten skin?
Yes, salt scrub can whiten skin by removing dead skin cells and it’s believed to remove tan as well.
3. Is salt scrub good for acne?
Salt can be helpful to treat acne as it removes excess oil, but salt scrub can irritate the skin on the contrary and should be avoided if you have acne.
4. Which is better: sugar or salt scrub?
Sugar is much gentler on the skin than salt. Sugar is less abrasive on skin than salt despite having larger crystals than salt. Sugar will at least not cause any burns on the skin or irritate the skin like salt.
5. Does salt make your skin glow?
Salt alone does not have any properties that will make the skin glow, yet by removing dead skin cells, it makes the skin texture smoother and thus glowy.
6. Is salt scrub good for oily and acne prone skin?
If you have too much oily skin, scrubbing with salt can help remove the excess oil that is the cause behind acne. But if you have acne prone skin, salt can irritate the skin and cause breakouts.
See you soon!
While using diluted salt water can be beneficial for your skin, but scrubbing with salt ain’t a good idea at all. Even using salt water should be limited to once a week only.
Hope you enjoyed this post. Stay tuned for more skin care and hair care updates. Till then, as I always say……
Keep it simple, keep it graceful!
