Is the salt cave a new bait for spa clients?
'22.06.2017'
Source: The New York Times
In America's spa salons, salt caves / rooms are becoming more and more popular. The cost of staying in an artificial cave is considerable.
So, for example, a daily subscription to the SPA Premier57 in Manhattan it costs 75 dollars. “Dive in, enjoy, intrigue” is the slogan of the clients. There are various saunas, a meditation room and other treatment rooms in this place, but many come to the salt room. “Especially clients with arthritis. This is very useful for regulating blood pressure, ”assures salon general manager Ellis Kim.
But is it? Indeed, for such statements there is no scientific evidence.
There is no evidence that staying in a salt cave helps a child with asthma, as well as older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, says Dr. Norman H. Edelman, senior scientific consultant for the American Lung Association.
However, salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, is an ancient treatment in Central Europe and Asia that is now offered in salons in the United States in the form of salt beds, salt rooms, and salt cabins. Floor and walls lined with salt marshes and salt crystals, and zero-gravity chairs (chairs designed to relax the back) are the norm. A device known as a halogen generator crushes sodium chloride into a dry aerosol, then sprays it to simulate the microclimate of a salt cave.
It is not surprising that salt caves attract the rich. For example, in a salt cave Montauk Salt Cavewhich opened 2 a year ago in the Hamptons, a session costs 40 dollars for adults. There is a children's hour (40 dollars per child, but adults can enter for free), as well as yoga.
“The ability to look at salt and see its health benefits has become a significant part of our business,” said Allan Sheir, President of the SPA Industry Association.
Experts note that in recent years the number of salt rooms has increased in the United States. Adding salt therapy to spa services is another gold mine. People who once visited this room come back again.
Estimated by founder and executive director Salt chamber, Leo Tonkin's dry salt processing equipment supplier, there are 100 self-contained salt facilities across the country, typically two- or three-room studios, that charge between $ 30 and $ 50 per session, although discounts and membership agreements can significantly reduce the price. The original decor is also part of the bait for the SPA clients.
In addition, it is a profitable business that does not require instructors and other employees. As one of the owners of the salt caves admitted, some clients come to his studio several times a week, others appear when they are ill.
“Someone here is meditating, praying or sleeping,” he added.
