There is no doubt that natural Himalayan salt lamps are a beautiful piece of home décor. Their soft pink hue creates a comforting blush to any room, and often that alone is reason enough to have one. But pink salt lamps are more than just beacons of gorgeous soft light, they also claim to provide many health benefits - in fact they claim to cure an array of health issues that plague many of us.
Himalayan salt lamps interact with the environment in many ways and provide multiple health benefits to their owners. Due to the popularity of salt lamps in recent years they now come in all kinds of shapes and designs, but the most popular by far, is still the classic natural shaped Himalayan salt lamp. The vast majority of salt lamp owners can attest to the benefits they experience first hand from owning and using salt lamps, however there are many sceptics as well, some even going far enough to call it the salt lamp hoax.
What is a salt lamp and what are the health benefits?
Simply put, salt lamps are made by hollowing out the core of a natural chunk of Himalayan rock salt and inserting a light bulb into it. There is no extra processing or electronics involved. It is as natural as you can get.
Air purification ability
One of the most acknowledged and widely accepted benefits of salt lamps is their ability to purify the indoor air of your home. This is due to "hygroscopicity” - that’s just the scientific word for “naturally attracts water”. If you leave a salt lamp in a room it will naturally draw in all the moisture around it. These tiny moisture droplets in your room carry with them all the microscopic dust particles and pollutants that are polluting your breathing air. So as the water droplets are drawn to the lamp, so are all the pollutants, leaving the air behind clean and pristine. Not only does this have an enormously positive effect on your breathing (especially for those who suffer from allergies and asthma), it ensures that pollutants don't settle on our skin while we sleep.
Natural negative ion generator
As well as purifying the air, salt lamps have another unique and amazing property: they generate and emit negative ions. Because salt lamps are hygroscopic, when they attract the water from the air, the heat from the light inside the lamp makes the water evaporate again. This evaporation process is what produces negative ions. Several research studies have shown that negative ions are hugely beneficial to our health and can help fight depression and boost our immune system.
Colour therapy
This is one my favourite parts about salt lamps. Chromotherapy, or colour therapy is beneficial when salt lamps emit a really warm and comforting shade of light, which is all the time... Scientists have discovered that this shade of light is very natural and we are attuned to it by nature. In contrast intense lighting, or blue lighting, like what we experience from staring at our phone screens or from bright lamps at night, are not natural and interrupt our hormonal balance. Salt lamps counter this effect, elevating our mood and bringing us better and deeper sleep.
It’s one of the lesser known facts about salt lamps. The magic of Himalayan salt lamps lies in the salt itself, which is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory substance. Bacteria is the main cause behind many skin conditions and problems. Acne is caused by a bacterium that lives deep in your skin’s pores, away from the surface. Here, the bacteria use your skin’s natural oils and secretions as energy to multiply. This causes that all to familiar unwanted pus and red swelling. Himalayan salt combats this bacterium and removes it from your system, rebalancing and revitalizing your skin back to a clean, healthy and smooth appearance. The salt ions enter the bacteria and bring with them a lot of water. Over time the bacteria get bigger and bigger like a balloon, until they burst and die. It’s nature's antibiotic - a natural skin detoxifier. Some skin conditions like eczema are caused or irritated by pollen and dust particles in the air and this is one thing your salt lamp is excellent at taking care of. If you keep a salt lamp in a room and keep it on, it will remove this “air debris” and your skin will be protected from flaring-up or having a strong allergic reaction that you might get from standard contaminated air. The national eczema association did a study on this and had great results with using salt to treat eczema and psoriasis. The key though, was that the salt had to be mineral rich and Himalayan salt is the most mineral rich salt there is with 84 trace minerals, making it the perfect ingredient for use in skin care products.
To really get the most out of your salt lamps, it's important you use them properly. Both their air cleaning properties, and their negative ion generation have a range and limit so correctly placing your salt lamp is key. Below are four things you should keep in mind to get the most out of your salt lamps.
Spaces between places – keep your salt lamps apart, don’t place them together. Place them in opposite corners as this will increase the area of their positive effects.
Keep them close – place your lamps right next to places where you spend most of your time, like next to your bed, or next to your sofa where you watch TV or read a book. The closer you are to your lamp, the more positive effects you will feel, because the lamp has a stronger effect in its immediate range.