DO YOU ENJOY WINNING FREE BOOKS? DO YOU LOVE HEARING FROM YOUR FAVE AUTHORS? JOIN OUR GIRLFRIEND BOOK CLUB TODAY!
The Girlfriend Site Logo
Oh no!
It looks like you aren't logged in to The Girlfriend community. Log in or create a free online account today to get the best user experience, participate in giveaways, save your favorite articles, follow our authors and more.
Don't have an account? Click Here To Register
Subscribe

The Girlfriend’s Guide To Halotherapy

Should you really plunk down money to sit in a room filled with salt?

Comment Icon
halotherapy
Getty Images
Comment Icon

Your nose is stuffy. You’ve got a wet cough. You’re pretty sure you’re coming down with a cold. Rather than heading straight to bed, though, you decide to head to your favorite spa — only this time, you don’t book a session on the massage table. Instead, you check into a soft-lit room where every surface is lined with slabs of … salt. Fine salt particles waft through the air. You sink into a lounge chair, close your eyes, and take a deep, briny breath.

Halotherapy, or salt therapy, is a spa trend imported from Eastern Europe, where its roots date back to the 19th century. That’s when a Polish doctor noticed that workers in salt mines — unlike other miners — didn’t experience any respiratory problems. The key to their health: the salt itself, which is purported to reduce symptoms of lung conditions like COPD, asthma, allergies and bronchitis, as well as skin issues such as eczema, acne and psoriasis. The evidence for these claims is thin but promising, with a handful of small studies suggesting that salt therapy could reduce inflammation, thin out mucous, improve immune function, and confer other therapeutic benefits. (Still, some doctors remain skeptical and there are no medical guidelines for using salt therapy to treat health conditions.)

Some halotherapy fans, though, just find it mentally restorative — like inhaling lungfuls of salty ocean air or relaxing in a giant bath of Epsom salts. At the very least, it’s a great way to sneak in a much-needed nap. And hopefully wake up breathing a little bit easier.