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mayan black salt

sodium chloride

Properties

Black salt gives soap bars four very distinct characteristics: a foamy lather with very small bubbles, a very hard bar, soap that doesn’t dry out your skin, and a gentle exfoliant. As it is a gentle exfoliant, the salt works to soften skin, deeply cleanse pores, balance oil production, and thwart bacteria that can cause breakouts. Black salt has added minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium and aphthitalite – which do not occur in white salt.   

History

This salt is collected using centuries-old methods passed down through families in the highlands of Guatemala. This salt is still considered sacred by the modern Maya.

At Sacapulas, an annual celebration held on May 3rd is held in honor of the spiritual essence that presides over the salinas. Depending on sources of salt, different trace elements such as calcium, iron, magnesium and others may be included in the manufactured salt, which may add some differences in mineral value. Salt has been reported to be used in curing ceremonies, birth and death ceremonies, to prevent conception, to treat glaucoma and epilepsy, and a variety of other medicinal and ritual uses. This black salt is preferred by the modern Maya around Sacapulas for its taste and medicinal properties, believed to be useful in treating eye and stomach ailments. By cooking the black salt longer, the mineral aphthitalite becomes a part of the mineral content.

local Sourcing

We work directly with the people who extract and process the salt and pay above market prices to help support this dying tradition. An annual celebration honoring the spirits that protect salt sources continues, but younger generations are not interested in the family tradition of salt harvesting due to the intense labor and low economic rewards. A few small thermal pools remain where locals come to sit for health and therapeutic reasons. We source our black salt from Don Max. Read more about his story here.

 

SHOP products with Mayan Black Salt