Halo therapy facilities usually include salt rooms and salt walls, which are installed proportionally based on the actual area space provided. Various venues are suitable for such installations including hotel spas, fitness clubs, day spas and private villas. By Mr. Xu Hongtu
Five years ago, some SPA equipment companies such as TouchAmerica and Starpool had already begun to study halo therapy and launched halo therapy equipment in the China market. In fact, this concept has been popular in Europe and the United States for a long time. A good many wellness publications have included reports on halo therapy and plenty of experts have recognized it, as well as helping to promote the idea.
Generally, a salt room involves a salt wall and a heater proportionally placed inside. The heater makes the temperature rise and thus volatilizes the salt wall tiles into micro-sized salt particles. The salt wall is made up of natural Himalayan salt tiles all of the same size, originating from Pakistan. Some 250 million years ago, due to the diastrophism, a vast sea turned into the Himalayan Mountains and the original crystallized sea salt beds become the pink rock salt used in salt therapy today. Thanks to the high altitudes and fresh air, the salt is free from pollution and maintains a high purity as well as rich mineral composition with as many as 84 elements, 2-3 times more than ordinary sea salt, and particularly rich in NaCl.
The heated salt micro-particles not only cleanse the air to enable healthier breathing, but also, being inhaled into the body, stimulate blood circulation, heal respiratory diseases, improve mood and alleviate stress and anxiety. Besides, salt therapy has marvelous effect on the skin by promoting skin metabolism, fighting bacteria and inflammation, and repairing minor wounds. As a result, your skin will be left tender and smooth. For those who suffer rheumatic arthritis, salt therapy can decrease selenium and zinc concentration so as to alleviate the pain.
Today, salt therapy is still in the market education stage and most spa people don’t really understand its advantages. Main venues offering salt therapy now are high-end luxury hotels. First, they want to take salt therapy as a selling point for their services and marketing promotions. Secondly, with the increase of air pollution, salt therapy can truly help guard against the dangers of such pollution and restore a healthy life for all.
So what is the difference between salt therapy and sauna? They differ little in temperature, both about 42-47oC. However, some salt rooms adopt a lower temperature of about 30-35oC.
But the materials for building a salt room and a sauna room are totally different. First of all, a salt room for halo therapy is of course made up of salt, while a sauna room is constructed with bamboo. Nevertheless, their interior structure and furnishing are similar. In other words, a salt room can be a qualified sauna room while the latter cannot substitute the former.
Like sauna, salt therapy will also take away body water and electrolytes as people sweat. Since the heated salt will release abundant sodion which, when entering the body’s microcirculation through the pores opened by the high temperatures, will supplement plenty of microelements that the body needs, as well as the lost salt due to perspiration. So there is no time limit for salt therapy. No matter how long the session lasts, it won’t cause problems for the body. So one can have the treatment once or several times a day. On the contrary, one sauna session should be limited to 5-15 minutes, otherwise there will be dangers of body problems and the treatment frequency varies according to individuals.
Halo therapy has a remarkable power to heal respiratory diseases such as asthma, trachitis, pharyngitis and rhinitis. Halo therapy at a comparatively lower temperature can be done by all people including pregnant women and infants. But Sauna is not recommended for pregnant women, infants and children and those suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure. Halo therapy is very good, particularly for people with respiratory diseases. Patients will notice obvious changes 15 minutes after they enter the salt room. They will find their breathing becoming easier and deeper and their mind clearer and more sober. However, sufferers of serious respiratory problems are not advised to have sauna.
Please note that, since the volatilized salt due to high temperatures may have the danger of being melted in humid environment, therefore, the salt room should be kept away from facilities which will make the environment humid such as steam rooms. Humidity inside the salt room should be controlled under 40%. It is also recommended to install dehumidification and fresh air equipment.
The salt wall can also serve as a decorative wall. Lights can be set up around or behind the wall. It will create a marvelous effect when being reflected through the rosy salt tiles.
Due to the corrosive properties of salt, iron frames should be avoided and the load bearing capacity of the wall needs to be taken into account.
The maintenance for the salt wall is very simple. As long as the interior humidity is kept under 40%, a salt wall can be used for decades after installation. But we need to add salt tiles above the heater after certain period.
Another advice is to place inside the salt room some lounges featuring wood materials and leather surface to avoid being corroded by the salt.
