MARKETING DOCUMENTATION
Bali sea salt
Sea salt is the salt coming from the evaporation of seawater, usually obtained in salt works located in warm places, where the action of the sun and the wind causes the evaporation of sea water until salt crystals are formed. In this case, Bali sea salt comes from the black sand beaches around the base of Gunung Agung, Bali’s largest active and most sacred volcano, based on 900 year tradition of salt farming. This unique region along Bali’s eastern coastline is home to salt water with an unusual chemistry, occurring when cold water from the North mixes with warm tropical water in the Lombok Straight to create salt of exceptionally purity and a soft and sweet taste. The work to obtain this salt begins in the early morning twilight, when workers haul sea water in bamboo buckets carved by hand, to sprinkle it over black sand. It forms a thin crust that is scooped up and tipped into open-air trays, of little depth, to concentrate and evaporate seawater relying on the action of the wind and sun. Thus, hollow pyramid salt crystals will be formed and collected at sunset.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Sea salt is totally different from refined salt; refining degrades the majority of its components, and at the end refined salt is mainly comprised of two elements, sodium and chloride. Bali sea salt, as it is presented unaltered, unrefined, unprocessed and natural, maintains all its compounds in its structure. Bali sea salt presents a composition that helps skin keep its good condition and shine in all its glory, since it needs minerals, oligoelements, nutrients and energy to function properly and keep its balance. Its main components include minerals and oligoelements which are beneficial for the skin. The most important are magnesium, calcium and Iron.
TRADITIONAL USES
There are no clear scientific details about salt’s first use, either as an ingredient in food or as a preservative. It is very true that some animals, in an instinctive way, lick certain stones with salty flavor and it gives them pleasure. It is very possible that the primitive man had this need to lick certain rocks in order to obtain the salt taste, or perhaps they observed that food surrounded by salt kept for a long time. The truth is that salt use by human goes back to far-off times and all cultures have considered salt as a valuable object worthy of commercial transactions; wars were organized to get salt, and civilizations arose and fell when searching for what came to be known as "white gold".
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
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MARKETING DOCUMENTATION
Besides being appreciated as a seasoning, the ability of salt to preserve food was discovered thereby increasing its value up to an item of trade or monetary exchange. Roman soldiers for example were paid in salt (the word salary comes from the Latin world salarium, which means payment in salt) and due to the importance given to salt, Romans also built roads specifically for making its transportation more convenient (Via Salaria led from Rome to the Adriatic Sea). Other facts talk about the role of salt in the development and outcome of some conflicts and wars, as in the American Revolutionary War where the British intercepted the rebels' salt supply destroying their capacity to preserve food. In reference to its popular uses, Bali sea salt is commonly used for cooking similar to regular table salt, and in brine, and bath products. Salt water and hot salt springs were thought to promote a sense of relax and rejuvenation, due to salt therapeutic properties.
COSMETIC PROPERTIES
The main minerals present in Bali sea salt and its beneficial effects are detailed below:
Sodium Chloride (NaCl): Sodium Chloride is essential to biological organisms and is found in most tissues and body fluids. The sodium and chlorine elements of Sodium Chloride play a diverse and important role in many physiological processes: it facilitates the absorption of other minerals.
Magnesium (Mg): it is essential to preserve the extracellular matrix and the collagen and elastin fibers (Pagès, N. et al, 2003). It helps preserve the cohesion of the matrix components and maintain the extensibility of elastin (Senni, K. et al, 2003). It stimulates cellular activity and proliferation, protein synthesis and general metabolism, it reinvigorates the body and it is essential for its nourishment. Its presence facilitates the absorption of calcium and potassium. Calcium (Ca): cofactor in metabolism of fat and proteins. It provides the required alkaline pH. It is a key to maintaining cellular balance and permeability, as it is involved in the preservation of cellular homeostasis and the barrier function. It closes and opens the channels of passage for nutrients and ions (Deuda, M. et al, 1999).
Iron (Fe): Iron gives us energy and helps to maintain an overall healthy blood
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Denda, M., Katagiri, C., Hirao, T., Maruyama, N., Takahashi, M. Some magnesium salts and a mixture of magnesium and calcium salts accelerate skin barrier recovery. Ach. Dermatol. Res., 1999 ; vol. 291: 560-563 (ref. 5604). Pagès, N., Gogly, B., Godeau, G., Igondjo-Tchen, S., Maurois, P., Durlach, J., Bac, P. Structural alterations of the vascular wall in magnesium-deficient mice. A possible role of gelatinases A (MMP-2) and B (MMP-9). Magnesium Research, 2003; vol.16 (1): 43-48 (ref. 10120).
Senni, K., Foucault-Bertaud, A., Godeau, G. Magnesium and connective tissue. Magnesium research, 2003; vol. 16 (1): 70-74 (10123).
Websites: http://www.lindisima.com/piel2/minerales.htm http://www.portaldelasal.com/guia-sales-de-la-a-a-la-z/14-otras-sales/27-sal-marina-de-bali.html http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/02/28/in-praise-balinese-sea-salt.html
Information sourced from various bibliographical information and websites. Biocosmethic is not liable for any medical claims or traditional uses reproduced in this document.
Biocosmethic – 6, rue du grand chêne 78830 Bonnelles – tél. : (+33)1 30 88 49 18 [email protected] – www.biocosmethic.com
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