Dead Sea salt is a mineral-rich salt harvested from the Dead Sea, a landlocked lake bordering Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank. What sets it apart from regular sea salt or table salt is its unusual mineral makeup: while ocean salt is roughly 85% sodium chloride, Dead Sea salt is only about 30% sodium chloride. The rest is a concentrated mix of magnesium, calcium, and potassium salts that gives it distinct properties for skin care, bathing, and joint health.
Why Dead Sea Salt Is Chemically Unusual
The Dead Sea sits at the lowest point on Earth’s surface and has no outlet. Water flows in from the Jordan River and surrounding springs, then evaporates in the desert heat, leaving minerals behind in ever-increasing concentrations. The result is water that contains about 293 grams of dissolved salts per liter, nearly nine times saltier than the ocean’s 35 grams per liter, according to NOAA data.
That extreme concentration produces a salt with a composition you won’t find anywhere else. Roughly half of Dead Sea salt (50.8%) is magnesium chloride. Sodium chloride makes up just 30.4%, followed by calcium chloride at 14.4% and potassium chloride at 4.4%. Trace amounts of bromide and other minerals round out the profile. This heavy magnesium content is the main reason Dead Sea salt behaves so differently from the salt in your kitchen or a standard bath soak.
What It Does for Skin
The high magnesium concentration drives most of Dead Sea salt’s skin benefits. Magnesium salts calm inflammation, improve skin texture, and help the skin hold onto moisture. Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution has been shown to improve skin barrier function, enhance hydration, and reduce inflammation in people with atopic dry skin. For anyone dealing with rough, irritated, or chronically dry skin, this means the salt does more than just exfoliate. It actively supports the skin’s ability to repair and protect itself.
Dead Sea salt also dissolves and absorbs more readily through the skin than regular sea salt, which makes it a popular base for mixing with essential oils in bath products and scrubs. The fine mineral content penetrates rather than just sitting on the surface, which is part of why Dead Sea treatments have been used for skin conditions for centuries.
Benefits for Psoriasis and Arthritis
The therapeutic use of Dead Sea minerals has a surprisingly solid evidence base. A systematic review of clinical studies found that Dead Sea balneotherapy (the formal term for therapeutic bathing) is beneficial for psoriasis and carries a good safety profile. People with psoriasis have traveled to the Dead Sea region for treatment for decades, and the combination of mineral-rich water, low-altitude UV exposure, and dry climate creates conditions that are hard to replicate elsewhere.
The same body of research found clear benefits for several rheumatologic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and knee osteoarthritis. Across 31 clinical articles reviewed, Dead Sea mud and salt bath treatments consistently showed improvements in joint pain and stiffness. The anti-inflammatory properties of magnesium likely play a role here, along with the gentle warmth and buoyancy of mineral-rich baths that allow joints to relax and move more freely.
How to Use It at Home
You don’t need to visit the Middle East to get the benefits. Dead Sea salt is widely available online and in health stores, and home baths can approximate the mineral concentration of an actual Dead Sea soak. Clinical studies have used a 2% to 2.5% salt concentration in bathwater, which works out to roughly 2 cups of salt dissolved in a standard bathtub. Some protocols use significantly more, up to 4.5 pounds for a full therapeutic bath, but a 2% solution is enough to see skin benefits and is easy to maintain at home.
Water temperature matters. Studies typically use water around 37°C (about 98.6°F), which is comfortably warm but not hot. Soak for about 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with fresh water afterward. Hot water can strip oils from your skin and work against the hydration benefits, so keep it warm rather than steaming. For a simple body scrub, mix a handful of fine Dead Sea salt with a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba and use it on damp skin before rinsing.
Dead Sea Salt vs. Epsom Salt
People often compare Dead Sea salt to Epsom salt since both are used in therapeutic baths, but they’re quite different. Epsom salt is pure magnesium sulfate, a single compound. Dead Sea salt contains a complex mix of over 20 minerals, including magnesium chloride, potassium, calcium, and bromide. Both deliver magnesium through the skin, but Dead Sea salt provides a broader mineral profile that more closely mimics what your skin encounters in natural mineral springs.
Epsom salt dissolves completely and leaves no residue, while Dead Sea salt can leave a slight mineral film on the skin that continues to work after you get out of the bath. For pure muscle relaxation, either works well. For skin conditions, barrier repair, or inflammatory issues like psoriasis and eczema, Dead Sea salt has more clinical evidence behind it.
What to Look for When Buying
Quality varies significantly among products labeled “Dead Sea salt.” Pure Dead Sea salt should be sourced from Israel or Jordan, and the best products list the mineral content on the packaging. The salt typically comes in coarse white or light gray crystals. If a product is bright white and dissolves instantly like table salt, it may be heavily processed and stripped of the trace minerals that make Dead Sea salt worth using in the first place.
Avoid products that blend Dead Sea salt with regular sea salt or sodium chloride fillers, as these dilute the magnesium and mineral content that provides the actual benefits. Bath products labeled “Dead Sea salt” as a secondary ingredient, like bath bombs or scented soaks, often contain only a small percentage of the real thing. For therapeutic use, buy pure Dead Sea salt in bulk and add your own oils or fragrances if you want them.