What is sea salt in skincare?
Sea salt is produced by evaporating seawater, which leaves sodium chloride along with trace minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc. It is coarser and less processed than table salt, and mineral content varies by source.
Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt are different products with different compositions – Epsom salt is magnesium sulphate, not a sodium salt at all – so claims made for one do not transfer to the others.
What skin concerns does sea salt treat?
Dissolved in a bath or used as a soak, salt water can ease itching and scaling in conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, and mineral-rich Dead Sea salt baths have been studied for barrier and inflammation benefits.
As a body scrub it removes dead cells effectively. On the face it is a poor choice: the crystals are sharp and irregular, they create micro-tears that let bacteria in, and salt draws water out of the skin, worsening dryness.
What ingredients are best paired with sea salt?
In body scrubs it is blended with oils – jojoba, almond, coconut – which cushion the abrasion and replace the moisture the salt pulls out. Always follow a salt scrub or soak with a moisturiser.
For facial exfoliation, lactic acid, glycolic acid or salicylic acid do the job without the mechanical damage. Never use a salt scrub on broken, sunburnt or freshly shaved skin. Take our Skin Quiz.
What are acne scars?
Acne scars are permanent changes in skin texture left behind after inflammatory acne damages the dermis. They fall into two families: atrophic scars, which sit below the surface as ice-pick, boxcar or rolling depressions, and hypertrophic or keloid scars, which sit raised above it.
What most people call scarring is often post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or erythema – flat brown or red marks with no texture change. Those fade on their own; true atrophic scars do not.
What causes acne scars?
Scarring happens when inflammation reaches deep enough to destroy collagen and the repair process either lays down too little (atrophic) or too much (hypertrophic). Deep nodular and cystic lesions carry the highest risk.
Delaying treatment, picking or squeezing, and prolonged inflammation all increase the odds. Genetics play a large part in who scars and how, which is why two people with identical acne can heal very differently.
What ingredients are best for acne scars?
For flat marks, ingredients that speed turnover and calm pigment work well: retinoids, vitamin C, niacinamide, azelaic acid, alpha arbutin and AHAs, with daily SPF to stop marks darkening again.
For true textural scarring, topicals can soften but not erase – retinoids and peptides help remodel collagen over months, while in-clinic options like microneedling, resurfacing and subcision do the heavy lifting. Preventing new inflammation is the highest-value step. Take our Skin Quiz.
