By Laura
July 11, 2023
7 minutes
Although on one side, seawater can be used to cleanse wounds, on the other side drinking seawater directly might kill you. While some people who regularly swim in fresh seawater have flawless skin and beautiful hair, others’ skin looks like it has never been moisturized in their life and their hair is lifeless.
This makes you wonder what is the reality of seawater and what is the secret of it being miraculous at one point and deadly at another, right? Well, we are going to burst the bubble about the benefits of seawater, the safety of its use, ways to use it, potential side effects, and more.
By the end of this article, you would be able to determine if seawater is good for your skin. Additionally, we insist you check out the best skincare routine for people in their 20s for some skincare tips.
How Sea Water Differs from Tap Water?
While tap water is also obtained from oceans and rivers, it is processed before it finds its way to our homes making it useful for bathing, cooking, cleaning, and other purposes. Tap water has fewer salts and minerals as compared to seawater and more chlorine and fluoride.
In contrast, seawater has 3.5% of salts which is way more than can be found in tap water. In addition to salts, seawater is full of a variety of minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, selenium, sulfur, vanadium, chromium, and more. Lastly, the anti-microbial properties of seawater make it excellent for topical use.
Is Sea Water Good for Your Skin?
When used for a moderate time and in a proper way, seawater is excellent for the skin. Although saltwater can also be used to mimic the benefits of seawater, natural and pure seawater makes skin and hair healthier.
All the goodness of seawater for the skin is because of the minerals it contains in addition to salt with exfoliating properties. We hope you do not forget that seawater is only good when used right. Overuse of seawater and letting it stay on the skin for a long time does more harm than good.
In addition to skin and hair, swimming in the sea and letting your body be exposed to seawater is great for the respiratory system, circulation, immunity, and mental health.
Benefits of Sea Water for Skin
Let us now discuss the benefits of seawater for your skin.
1. Cleansing of the Skin
Salt is known to purify polluted things. As the concentration of salts in the sea is high, these bind with the impurities in the skin and take them out of the skin thus cleansing your skin.
A plus point is that as your whole body is coming in contact with the seawater, it is completely cleansed in addition to the face.
2. Natural Exfoliant
Have you ever used a DIY salt exfoliant? Seawater is similar to that but better. So, in addition to cleansing the skin, seawater also acts as a natural exfoliant that gently removes the embedded pollutants, dirt, dead skin cells, and other impurities from the skin.
As a result, it rejuvenates the skin and makes it appears fresh, radiant, and glowing. It also unclogs the pores and tones your skin.
3. Reduces Acne and Blemishes
Seawater is a holy grail for people with acne as it deals with several factors causing acne at once. First, it is a toner that unclogs the pores and removes debris and dead skin cells from them. Then, it balances the pH of the skin and regulates its oil production.
Additionally, seawater has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties that help it fight acne-causing bacteria. Moreover, as it dries out the pimples with its high sulfur content, it helps in treating acne marks and blemishes.
4. Treatment of Various Skin Conditions
Seawater is helpful for people suffering from a variety of skin conditions. These include psoriasis as an approach to balneotherapy which involves washing your body in mineral-rich water, eczema where pure water from deep levels of the sea helps in symptomatic treatment, and skin allergies as it negatively affects IgE, histamine, and other inflammation-causing chemicals.
5. Boosts Cellular Regeneration
We know how important zinc is for the skin, right? Seawater has a high concentration of zinc, magnesium, and other minerals that are needed to repair skin and maintain the health of the skin cells. Additionally, it removes the top layer of dead skin cells allowing the epidermis underneath to divide.
It also improves the absorption of skincare products in the skin. Consequently, the cells begin to regenerate and the skin is rejuvenated.
6. Heals Wounds
A large percentage of the population has a deficiency of minerals and vitamins that weakens immunity and slows down wound healing. Deep seawater from about 200 meters below the surface when absorbed into the skin, supplies the skin with deficient nutrients.
It also boosts cellular repair and regeneration. Additionally, it removes the toxins that might be hindering healing. So, seawater helps in healing wounds.
7. Maintains Hydration of the Skin
In contrast to what you might assume, an adequate bath in seawater allows the absorption of salt followed by water in the skin. It also helps in improving the penetration of moisturizers in the skin. As a result, the skin becomes hydrated.
Additionally, seawater supplies magnesium to the skin which is known to repair the skin barrier and strengthen it.
Benefits of Sea Water for Hair
Although DIY hair masks like egg hair masks with its benefits are commonly used to nourish the hair, seawater is not bad for hair either. It can also make your hair shine because of the following advantages.
1. A Natural Shampoo
Seawater has cleansing properties. It removes all the stuck bacteria, dirt, impurities, excess oils, and dandruff from your hair. It is especially good for people with a greasy scalp as it regulates oil production.
Additionally, it keeps the hair hydrated and moisturized. But do not forget to put on a leave-in conditioner before you dive into the ocean to protect your delicate hair.
2. Reduces Dandruff
What is dandruff? It is fungus and seawater has anti-fungal properties. So, it fights dandruff and gives you a clean scalp in addition to smooth hair.
Moreover, dandruff-causing fungi grow into hair which is exposed to sweating, excess oils, and clogged scalp pores. Seawater deals with all these concerns to make your hair dandruff-free.
3. Increased Hair Growth
Lastly, the minerals in seawater particularly magnesium nourishes hair and boosts the cellular division of hair strands. As a result, hair growth is increased, hair becomes thicker and longer, and they appear healthier as well.
Moreover, if you want to grow your hair by natural methods, yoga can help you as explained in yoga asanas for hair growth .
4. Better Hair Volume
Just like spraying salt water into your scalp and letting your hair dry gives you beautiful and voluminous waves, sea water can do the same as it lifts the hair from your scalp making them appear thick.
Possible Side Effects of SeaWater
Now, let us know why is seawater deadly and how can you avoid its side effects.
1. Drying out the Skin
Seawater has a hygroscopic nature which means it attracts water. If you are staying in the ocean for a long time, it will draw the water and moisture out of your skin instead of supplying it with nutrition. Moreover, the direct sunrays and limited intake of water make skin dry.
So, make sure your skin is already moisturized and protected from the sun when you go surfing or swimming. Also, here are the best body lotions for dry skin to help you prevent dry skin.
2. Risk of Infection
Sea water has antimicrobial properties but they are not too strong to kill all the microbes that are present and grow in the beach. So, if your has scratches or cuts, it is best to delay your beach trip until you heal as the bacteria, virus, and other parasites might might their way into your skin and cause serious infections.
3. Constant Sun Exposure
Although seawater is good for the skin, the sun is not. This one is not the direct side effect of seawater. Rather, it is related to the time you will be spending in direct sunlight. So, it is advisable to wear a water-resistant broad-spectrum sunblock and reapply it often.
Tips to Use SeaWater
Lastly, we have a way to use seawater for your skin and hair.
1. Swim in the Ocean
First of all, the best tip to get benefitted from fresh and deep water from the sea is directly diving into it. So, plan a trip to the beach and swim or surf in the ocean for a while.
Plus, if you have a beach nearby, you can visit it once every week to treat your hair and skin naturally.
2. Make Your Own Sea or Salt Water
If you cannot go to the beach every week but want to get the benefits of seawater at home, make your own bottle of seawater. For doing this, take about 2 cups of water and add 1 teaspoon of salt into it.
Then boil it for a few minutes, let it cool, and spray it onto your skin. However, make sure you do not get it into your eyes.
3. Sea Water Bath
Although seawater spray works, it is not as useful as letting your body soak in salt water. So, instead of preparing the spray, make a small ocean into your bathtub by filling your tub will water and adding ¼ of a cup of salt into it.
Do not forget to mix it well before going inside.
Conclusion
Seawater has several benefits for skin and hair which most people do not know. The presence of a high percentage of salt and over 45 minerals in seawater confers the wonderful skin-nourishing, exfoliating, hydrating, and healing properties.
Moreover, seawater is good for treating dandruff and hair having no volume. We discussed all those in detail earlier. Also, we want you to know that you should spend a limited time in the sea as excess seawater can be harmful.
