Beach beauty has an almost endless appeal - a little sun, a little surf, a little sand, a little salt. That's right, salt. While there's an ongoing crusade by the likes of first lady Michelle Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reduce the amount of salt people ingest, the beauty industry is promoting the benefits of using salt externally.

海灘美女的需求幾乎永無止境：一點點陽光，一點點浪花，一點點細沙，一點點鹽。沒錯，海鹽。雖然美國第一夫人蜜雪兒．歐巴馬和紐約市長彭博等名人不斷發起運動，要求人們減量攝取食鹽，美容業仍不斷鼓吹體外用鹽的種種好處。

“Salt has been used as a skin scrub since practically the beginning of time,” says Allure magazine Editor-in-Chief Linda Wells. “It's something that's a great exfoliant. And it feels really good on the skin. There's also relaxing bath salts, Epsom salt - you can just soak in those - and they have an anti-inflammatory effect. It's good if you're feeling puffy.”

《Allure》雜誌總編輯琳達．威爾斯表示：「幾乎從盤古開天闢地以來，海鹽一直被當成皮膚去角質聖品，去除老化角質細胞功效神奇，使用後肌膚真的感覺很棒。另外還有可舒放身心的沐浴鹽和瀉鹽，只要浸泡在這些鹽水裡，就有消炎功效。當你覺得渾身浮腫時，這更是一帖良方。」

Lush, a botanical-heavy beauty brand, reports salt products to be a consistent best-seller. The appeal lies in effective skin-smoothing scrubs as well as the soft suppleness that's left afterward, says Erica Vega, a Lush educational trainer. “There's a softness to the skin after using salt, but not a greasy softness. If in the winter you want to pack on the moisturizer, in the warmer weather you want to try salt, which isn't drying,” she says.

以植物成分為主的英國知名美容品牌Lush指出，海鹽相關產品一向暢銷熱賣，主要賣點在用鹽擦洗可有效去角質，使肌膚平滑柔順，並在使用後覺得柔軟有彈性，Lush教育培訓師艾麗卡．維加說：「使用海鹽後，皮膚柔嫩而不油膩。如果碰到冬天，可能要附加保濕護膚產品，但天氣暖和時，可試試不會使皮膚太乾燥的鹽。」

Vega encourages ocean-inspired combinations, such as a bath product that mixes salt with seaweed and coconut oil. Lush's salt - a coarse one for exfoliating and a finer one for replenishing minerals - comes straight from the coasts of Spain and Portugal. “We collect it from the ocean in pans, let the water evaporate and take the salt,” Vega says. “It's so simple.”

維加並鼓吹海洋美膚組合，如混合鹽和海藻及椰子油的沐浴用品。Lush的鹽包括去角質用的粗鹽和補充礦物質的細鹽，都直接來自西班牙和葡萄牙海岸。「我們用鍋子到海洋裡收集，再讓水蒸發後取鹽。」維加說：「就這麼簡單。」

Beauty company Ahava gets its salt from the Dead Sea, but it's not just the salt, which has a comparable look and feel to rock salt, that's important, says Dawn DiOrio, the brand's national education director. The minerals from the unique water and mud there play a role, too. “Now, the Dead Sea is basically like a lake, but it has all the minerals of its original form of a millennium ago,” she says. “There's 10 times more saline than any other salted body of water.” The water there has an almost oily texture, and it doesn't drip -instead it sticks to the skin and glistens, DiOrio says. Minerals from the Dead Sea, including magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium, are all believed to be soothing and relaxing. The minerals also send a message to skin cells to regenerate.

Ahava（愛海薇）美容公司則是從死海取鹽，但重要的不只是鹽，這種鹽外觀和觸感類似岩鹽，該品牌全國教育總監冬恩．迪歐里奧說：從獨特的海水和淤泥所取的礦物質也可發揮功效。「今天，死海基本上已經像個湖，但它具有一千年前所有原始形式的礦物質。」她說：「死海所含鹽分是其他任何鹽水的10倍以上。」死海的水幾乎有種油膩的質地，這種水不會滴落，反而會附著在肌膚上閃閃發亮，迪歐里奧表示。死海的礦物質則包括鎂、鈣、鈉和鉀，據信都有撫慰和放鬆肌膚的功效，礦物質也可刺激皮膚細胞再生。

For Lisa Price, founder of Carol's Daughter, it's the texture of the salt - maybe not its origin - that's the key. “When you use a fine-grade salt in a scrub, it scrubs in a gentle kind of way. It helps to cleanse and shed dead skin cells, and it balances with oil so scrubbing and moisturizing at the same time.” You can do things with salt that you couldn't do with, say, sugar, another popular scrub ingredient, Price says. Salt will work as a better cleanser - just don't use it on the face, where the skin is too delicate. “You need the right grade salt. You want to polish, not scratch. As a consumer, even if a product says ‘sea salt,’ you should test and touch. You want to rub your fingers through it and make sure if it feels soft.”

對美容化妝品牌Carol's Daughter創辦人麗莎．普萊斯來說，最關鍵的則是鹽的紋理和質地，而不是原產地。「使用優質鹽擦洗去角質時，可以以一種輕柔的方式擦洗，這有助於清潔和去除死皮細胞，同時又可防止油脂流失，因此等於洗滌和滋潤同步進行。」普萊斯並說，鹽功用很多，是其他像糖這種另一個流行的去角質成分所望塵莫及的。鹽潔膚功效更強，但千萬不要用在臉上，因為那裡肌膚太嬌嫩了。「要使用正確等級的鹽，如果你想拋光潤色，而不是抓傷皮膚的話。身為消費者，即使產品上標示著『海鹽』，你還是應該先測試和觸摸是否適合自己的膚質，先用手指揉搓，並確定它是否觸感柔軟。」

Salt-based beauty products are also very stable and have a long shelf life since, unlike sugar, it doesn't dissolve, Price says. Massage a salt scrub in a circular motion, she suggests, paying particular attention to elbows, heels and feet. “I can't decide if a salt scrub is invigorating or relaxing. ... But the texture of the salt penetrates deeper than a washcloth and it just feels so good,” She says.

普萊斯又說，鹽底美容產品品質穩定，保存期限又長，因為鹽和糖不同，它不會溶解。她並建議，用鹽按摩去角質時，手指要圓形轉動，尤其要注意手肘、腳跟和腳部。「我不能掛保證說，用鹽擦洗就一定可以活絡或者放鬆肌膚……但鹽的質地和肌理穿透力遠勝過澡巾，而且感覺這麼棒。」她說。

And, salt isn't just for skin. Allure's Wells points to an increasing number of salt-based hair products that give you the day-at-the-beach tousled look. Think of it as spritzing a little ocean water on the hair - without the seaweed, she describes. “It will take away some shine — that's trendy now, though,” Wells says. She warns, however, that the salt can be drying, especially for color treated hair. “But it makes the hair look great temporarily and it washes out.”

值得一提的是：鹽不只可以美膚。《Allure》總編輯威爾斯指出，愈來愈多以鹽為基底的護髮產品，可以給妳有如到沙灘玩一天的蓬亂感。她形容說，把它想成噴灑一點海水在頭髮上，但又沒有海藻糾纏。「這會使頭髮失去一些光澤，但現在就流行這樣。」威爾斯說。但她也警告說，鹽會使頭髮毛燥，尤其是染過的頭髮：「但它會使頭髮乍看有款有型，而且容易清洗。」

For a fraction of the cost of commercial treatments, salt can also whiten and brighten your teeth. Add a 1/4 cup of salt to a food processor or blender and pulverize it to make it not so abrasive. Mix it with 1/2 cup baking soda. Store it in a small container. When you are ready to treat your teeth, sprinkle some of the mixture into your hand, dip a wet toothbrush into the mixture and brush your teeth vigorously. Salt can also reduce swelling around your eyes. You can achieve the result by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt in two cups of hot water, soaking cosmetic pads in the solution and placing them over your eyes.

另外，只要花商業美白牙齒一小部分的錢，鹽也可以使牙齒美白發亮。只要添加1/4杯鹽到食物處理器或攪拌器內把它磨碎，使它不至於磨損牙齒，再加入半杯小蘇打，然後存放在小容器裡。準備美白牙齒時，撒上一些混合劑到手上，再用濕牙刷蘸混合物，用力刷牙就行了。鹽也可以幫你消除眼睛周圍腫脹，只要加1茶匙鹽到 2杯熱水中，再把化妝棉浸泡在溶液中，然後放在眼睛周圍，就可達到消腫功效。

This undated photo provided by Ahava shows the Dead Sea. Sea salt is praised by insiders for its skin-enhancing exfoliant, cleansing and moisturizing properties. This product image provided by Carol's Daughter shows Ocean Sea Salt Body Scrub. This product image provided by Lush shows Ocean Salt.

這張日期不詳的死海照片，是由Ahava（愛海薇）美容公司提供。美妝界盛讚海鹽可改善膚質去角質，並具有潔膚和保濕功能。小圖為Lush提供的海鹽美膚產品。（美聯社）