HACKETTSTOWN, NJ - Pass the salt, please...
“I’m not anxious, but I don’t know, a little tightened up,” says Steve Thulin, “I come here, decompress, everything loosens up and I just feel great.The smell of the salt, it makes me feel wonderful.”
As salt caves pop up across the region, those who suffer from ailments from allergies and anxiety to asthma and even acne are asking, could this be a natural way to get some relief?
“I think it’s just nice to be able to come somewhere and relax and feel like you can unplug from the world a little bit. We’re so consumed with our phones, so to come somewhere and just destress, it’s great,” explains Budd Lake resident Elizabeth Zilberman, “and then the health benefits are just a bonus really.”
Here at Saltopia in Hackettstown, New Jersey, staff and regulars swear by breathing in the ancient Himalayan salt air. Proponents of salt therapy argue negatively charged ions in salt may actually improve our health, mood and blood sugar levels. From the floors to the walls, every inch of this cozy cave is covered in over 17 thousand pounds of pure, Himalayan pink salt.
“Believe it or not, halotherapy, salt therapy has been used for hundreds of years in Europe and it’s just really new in the United States and even though it’s holistic, so you’re not really supposed to just focus on the salt cave therapy for any illness you might be considering it for. It is a really great, relaxing environment and it can’t hurt you so why not try it,” says Saltopia owner Kimarie Santiago, “One of the benefits that I always see people coming in for is for respiratory illness. What the Himilayan salt does, as it’s being warmed, as the salt crystals are being warmed, they’re absorbing water molecules in the air and as they’re absorbing all those water molecules they’re transitioning them into negative ions so our Salt Cave is entirely bouncing with negative ions right now. But what do negative ions do? Because negative sounds negative right? In this case, it’s actually a good thing. Because for every two negative ions, we’re cancelling a positive ion. Positive ions are everything from airborne allergens and pollution to electromagnetic fields.”
Sessions inside the 11 thousand square foot facility typically last half hour and will run you ten bucks. And while western medicine does not support the findings behind salt therapy, Saltopia urges practicers to know, their information is educational and not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor. But for salt cave first timers like Sue from Hackettstown, the allure of treating her migraine headaches was enough to inspire a session inside…
“I used to get migraines for the longest time and I knew that was one of the benefits. I’m also a New Jersey state counselor so self care and finding new things to help me, help others is always something I’m looking for,” Sue Santos tells PBS39 News Tonight Reporter, K.C. Lopez, “I am a type A personality. I am very rigid and I can’t relax; when I get my nails done, they’re always like, relax, relax. But right away I could feel my body melting into the chair and the music.”
Meanwhile, beyond the curtain in the store front of the 11 thousand square foot warehouse, visitors can pick up authentic certified Himalayan salt lamps and take the salt cave experience to-go; helping purify the air and bringing an overall sense of peace to their home. Saltopia also features a vast selection of naturally harvested, chemical-free sea salt and infused sugars available for purchase.
“Garlic salt, onion salt, we also have chocolate salt and cabernet wine salt,” Santiago rattles off a list of what Saltopia sells, “So, it’s fun because that’s kind of a good step into the experience and once you get in to--comfortable playing with those, then you can move into our gentleman farmer line which are all male personalities. Literally in my mind I created a cowboy flavor and a businessman flavor.”
Owner and New Jersey native, Kimarie Santiago started infusing salts as a hobby. Her family loved her creative, gourmet creations so much they encouraged her to start a business. That small business quickly grew from selling a handful of items at farmers markets across the Garden State to presenting regularly on QVC. Santiago says she set out to make a common table ingredient healthy for her family, which quickly erupted into the business that today is Saltopia.
“The number one ingredient in everything we eat and everything we make, including ice cream, is salt. But manufactured salts, including table salts, are mixed with chemicals,” says Santiago, “Those same two chemicals, an anti-caking agent and a pouring agent, are the same agents found in lawn fertilizer so imagine putting that on your food? Yikes. So for me, I was working hard and spending all the extra money on organic foods, the last thing I wanted to do was put salt with chemicals on it. So that’s really how the concept came [about].”
With over 120 different flavor-infused sea salts, this local business is ready to help make the most commonly used ingredient in family kitchens healthy, natural and sodi-yum!