Dead Sea products refers to cosmetic products based on materials extracted from the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

, such as

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, mud, and

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

History

Ziva Gilad, a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

technician, came up with the idea of marketing

mud after watching women tourists scooping up the mud to take home. In 1988, a single stand selling bottles of Ahava body scrub to tourists earned $1 million. The

Dead Sea Works The Dead Sea Works ( he, מפעלי ים המלח, ''Mif'alei Yam HaMelakh'') is an Israeli potash plant in Sdom, on the Dead Sea coast of Israel. History Under the British administration, concessions from the Mandatory government were given ...

is the world's fourth largest producer and supplier of potash products. The company also produces

magnesium chloride Magnesium chloride is the family of inorganic compounds with the formula , where x can range from 0 to 12. These salts are colorless or white solids that are highly soluble in water. These compounds and their solutions, both of which occur in natu ...

, industrial salts,

de-icer Deicing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only deice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or prev ...

bath salts Bath salts are water-soluble, pulverized minerals that are added to water to be used for bathing. They are said to improve cleaning, enhance the enjoyment of bathing, and serve as a vehicle for cosmetic agents. Bath salts have been developed wh ...

, table salt, and raw materials for the cosmetic industry.

Health benefits

A 2007 study was published that tested the effectiveness of Dead Sea mouthwash and moisturizing cream on cancer patients who were experiencing

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can v ...

and

mucositis Mucositis is the painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes lining the digestive tract, usually as an adverse effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for cancer. Mucositis can occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal ( ...

while receiving a mixture of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

. The study showed that the patients receiving the Dead Sea products saw an improvement in their condition, although further randomized studies were warranted.

Rhinosinusitis Rhinosinusitis is a simultaneous infection of the nasal mucosa (rhinitis) and an infection of the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses (sinusitis). A distinction is made between acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis. Background Because sinu ...

patients receiving Dead Sea saline

nasal irrigation Nasal irrigation (also called nasal lavage, nasal toilet, or nasal douche) is a personal hygiene practice in which the nasal cavity is washed to flush out mucus and debris from the nose and sinuses, in order to enhance nasal breathing. Nasal ir ...

exhibited significantly better symptom relief compared to standard

hypertonic In chemical biology, tonicity is a measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient; the water potential of two solutions separated by a partially-permeable cell membrane. Tonicity depends on the relative concentration of selective membrane- ...

saline spray.

Mud pack therapy

Dead Sea mud pack therapy is believed to temporarily relieve pain in patients with

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

of the knees. According to researchers of the

Ben Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

, treatment with mineral-rich mud compresses can be used to augment conventional medical therapy.

Salt bath therapy

In 1989, an Israeli dermatologist tested the effect of Dead Sea salts on 50 patients with

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

. 47 patients out of 50 (94%) experienced significant relief. The most improvement was shown in patients who soaked in a solution of 1 kg (2 pounds) of salt 3 times a week for 6 weeks in a row.

Criticism

Lack of long-term research

While some dermatologists claim that the minerals found in Dead Sea products can be helpful for ailments such as

skin rashes A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cra ...

, others have expressed skepticism due to a lack of long term scientific research backing up the claims.

Environmental damage

In July 2011, a ''Dead Sea Protection and Rehabilitation'' bill was proposed that would regulate the industry

, as well as a bill that would tax products produced from Dead Sea components. The bill was supported by

Gilad Erdan Gilad Menashe Erdan ( he, גִּלְעָד מְנַשֶּׁה אֶרְדָן, ; born 30 September 1970) is an Israelis, Israeli politician and diplomat serving as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations since 2020. Erdan previo ...

as well as by several members of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

, but did not pass. Environmentalists have stated that the vaporizing of the sea's water to produce commercial products as well as the water being piped to hotels have contributed to the lowering of the Dead Sea's water levels.

Political issues

Some consumers and human rights groups have endorsed boycotts of Dead Sea products and other materials made in or along the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

of the Dead Sea, citing concerns such as blatant violation of human rights in Israel or of certain companies being "economically linked to Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories."

References

{{Reflist, 2 Dead Sea