When I was handed a kilogram of Westlab Himalayan Sea Salt my initial thought was “perfect timing, I’ve just run out of salt and my meals are starting to taste a little bland”.

I then toyed with the idea that maybe the good people at Westlab knew this because they had been watching me. I soon dismissed that as outrageous, as they obviously have many more salt-based emergencies to be dealing with than the fact that some scatterbrained Nigella wannabe forgot to buy some seasoning.

Fit for a queen

Anyway, it turns out that they definitely weren’t watching me, because this particular salt is mineral based and meant for the body. I regret to tell you, dear reader, that I was a little disappointed to find this out. Not because I’m calling out for a casual stalker, but because genuinely my mash had been severely lacking in flavour. I lugged the 1kg of salt up to the bathroom and looked at it with the unhappiness a runner-up looks at their rosette with.

Then everything changed. First off, did I mention that it’s pink? I’m not a terribly ‘girly girl’, but I will admit that I felt like a beautiful fairy royal, scattering her princess dust on her loyal watery subjects when I emptied about 150g of it in my bath. It felt wonderful, and looked like the sort of bath I imagine Kate Middleton would deem appropriate.

Pink detox

I went about my bath-time activities; hair washing, body scrubbing, thinking about Ryan Gosling dressed as an actual gosling. You know, the usual. Sure, I felt more relaxed than normal, but I chalked that up to the Pretty in Pink, Molly Ringwald water I had going on. I now realise that it was probably detoxifying properties of the minerals in the salt.

It contains calcium, magnesium, and sodium, but before GCSE chemistry comes screaming back to you, let me break down what that means for you. Calcium; works to increase circulation, magnesium; helps to reduce fluid retention, and sodium; essential for the lymphatic system to aid detoxification. So  all in all, pretty good and helpful things all round!

Super soft

To be honest, the best part of the whole experience came after the bath. The salt had completely softened my skin and left me feeling very moisturised and Zen. This is not to say I have horrendously dry and calloused skin. Quite the opposite; I’ve managed to avoid all forms of manual labour for the majority of my life, but I never really knew what soft skin felt like until now. Think what you imagined clouds to feel like when you were a kid, or plunging into a vat of cotton balls.

So now comes the time where I take back everything I said previously, vis-à-vis the disappointment over it not being a kilogram of table salt. I can get that whenever, but it’s only once in a blue moon that Himalayan Salt walks into your life. I say take a chance on the salt, and reap the benefits! (Plus, 1kg is only £6!)