Skincare Sunday: How to use bath salts

Salts are absorbed into the body via your hair follicles and work on a deep cellular level. Not all of them are the same: each type has its own attributes, from detoxing the body to soothing the skin, but they can be used together or alternated to create a bespoke bath and maximize the benefits. For an intensive kick-start, try adding 500g of your chosen salt blend to your bath three times a week for three weeks, then reduce to a good handful, or 250g, in your bath two to three times a week.

Mined from now-extinct lakes and seas from the Jurassic period, magnesium is brilliant for relaxing achy, tired or twitchy muscles, and can help give you a better night’s sleep. It’s especially good to use after a workout, as the body uses magnesium to create energy while exercising, leaving you depleted post-gym. It’s also good for detoxing; Epsom salts, a form of magnesium, are a favorite with models and actors to help them de-puff before a shoot.

These pretty pink salts were produced pre-man (before we had a chance to pollute anything) by a long-extinct sea over 250 million years ago. Purer than any sea salt created today, they are great for detoxing and for treating breakout or acne-prone skin. For a one-off deep treatment, try adding up to one kilo to your bath. But remember, the more toxins you have to lose, the more drained you can initially expect to feel afterwards.

It’s the unique mix of magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium – basically everything needed for healthy skin – that makes these salts so good for treating all manner of reactive conditions from eczema to psoriasis. By helping to hydrate and normalize skin cells, it also stops the itch/scratch cycle. Plus, it’s good to use for a few weeks whenever your skin needs extra hydration; post-flight, post-vacation or in cold winter months.