NATURALHealing
NATURAL Wellness
Spring 2013
THE DETOX DIVA
Detox Bath Basics --continued from page 10 Hydrotherapy makes our cells more malleable, helping
Baking soda is alkaline and will destroy the acid mantle.
their membranes to release. Soaking in water is great for
If you use it you need to help the skin to return to an acid
our bodies in this way. After all, our cells are 75 to 90
mantle at the end of the bath. Some do this by adding a
percent water.
cup of vinegar to the tub at the end of a bath, neutralizing
Hot water opens the pores, and cold water closes them.
the alkaline salts (and you will get bubbles while you do
Hot water draws toxins out of the body to the skin’s
this, and make sure to keep the vinegar water from your
surface, and while the water cools it pulls toxins from the
eyes); others rub the body with coconut oil, an oil with an
skin, according to Naturopath Dr. Hazel Parcells. Epsom
acidic pH.
salts augment this detoxification by causing you to sweat.
pH Chart Neutral pH: 7 Optimal pH level of healthy skin surface: 5.5 Dead sea salts 5.8 pH Sea salts: generally around neutral once dissolved Epsom salts: 5.5-6.5 (considered a neutral salt) Baking soda: 8.2
The Skin’s Acid Mantle When I recommend salts, I am speaking of Dead Sea salt, Epsom salt, and sea salt. Not baking soda. There is another consideration for your skin, and that is a thin layer on the surface of the skin, called the acid mantle. The acid mantle is typically a pH of 5.5 (with neutral being a pH of 7, and anything over that an alkaline pH), which kills germs and bacteria protectively for the body. continued on next page Page 11