Salt & pamper

Spend a lazy afternoon floating in the salty waters of the Dead Sea and you’ll emerge with noticeably softer and smoother skin. It’s the high mineral content—including sodium, magnesium, calcium, bromine, biumen, and potassium—that gives Dead Sea salt its healing powers. In fact, long before it was bottled commercially, the salt was sought after by beachgoers who packed it into jars to take home. It was this phenomenon that convinced Ahava, a local kibbutz, to produce it on a broader scale. Today, Ahava is one of the oldest and most famous purveyors of beauty products packed with salts from the Dead Sea.
Science is now catching up with the instincts of those early beachgoers. A study published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2005 showed that the magnesium in Dead Sea salt was helpful in reducing inflammation, says Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in New York. The salts are also effective against psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation in the United States, says Ido Leffler, CEO of Yes to Carrots, a beauty company that uses Dead Sea salts in all their products.
Thanks to an increasing number of companies using these salts, you don’t have to soak in the Dead Sea to benefit from its restorative powers. “The name Ahava means love,” says Michael Etedgi, CEO, Ahava North America. “That’s what this is about, goodness from the sea that softens and loves your skin.”

washes
ONE WITH NATURE FRAGRANCE FREE BODY WASH IN DEAD SEA MUD ($9; one withnature.com) features hydrating Dead Sea salts and shea butter.

AHAVA VELVET CREAM WASH IN HIBISCUS & FIG ($19.50; ahavaus.com) contains organic plant extracts and oils like macadamia nut and sunflower, and leaves skin silky soft.

soaks
SABON BATH SALT IN ROSE ($16; sabonnyc.com) is a beautiful bath treat, enhanced with real rose petals and oils.

EARTH THERAPEUTICS DEAD SEA SALT MINERAL BATH ($15; earththerapeu tics.com) is filled with 100 percent Dead Sea salts and can be poured directly into a warm tub.

JK SOUL SALTS LAVENDER BATH CRYSTALS ($22; jksoulsalts.com) are made with organic essential oils and bath salts for a soothing soak.

scrubs
DR. ANDREW WEIL FOR ORIGINS THE WAY OF THE BATH MATCHA TEA BODY SCRUB ($46; origins.com) combines hydrating Dead Sea salt and exfoliating Japanese sea salt.

AROMASCRUB BODY SCRUB IN LAVENDER ($15; deadseapavillion.com) contains finely ground pumice to rub away dead skin, and aloe to soothe irritation.

REPÊCHAGE SEA SPA GLOW ($30; repechage.com) is an invigorating scrub, packed with refreshing mint.

lotions
DEAD SEA SPA CARE SKIN RENEWAL SHEA BODY BUTTER ($17; deadseaspa care.com) is made with shea butter to hydrate and Dead Sea minerals to lock in moisture.

YES TO CUCUMBERS COMPLETELY COOLING BODY BUTTER ($13; yestocarrots.com) blends Dead Sea salts with refreshing cucumber and olive oil to hydrate dry skin.

SALLY HANSEN SALON HYDRATING FOOT CREME ($8; at drugstores) contains cooling aloe to perk up dry and tired tootsies.

YOU CAN HELP TO SAVE THE DEAD SEA
As Dead Sea salt treatments gain in popularity, the sea itself is shrinking. (Beauty companies remove a miniscule amount of the sea’s minerals compared with other commercial uses.) “The Dead Sea is drying up,” says Yes to Carrots CEO Ido Leffler, due to the re-routing of water from the nearby Jordan River to provide irrigation and drinking water to outlying communities. “This is not a sustainable situation,” says Todd Federman, founder of One With Nature, a beauty company that uses Dead Sea salts and muds.
Communities in the Middle East are working hard to save the Dead Sea and cosmetic companies and consumers are doing their bit. For every purchase of a One With Nature product (onewithnature.com), for example, a portion of the proceeds go to Friends of the Earth Middle East, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Dead Sea. “Once people start to appreciate a precious resource like these salts, they’re more likely to get involved and do something to protect it,” says Federman.