How to start a Successful Salt Therapy Business?

According to the Salt Therapy Association, “Halotherapy is a Dry Salt Therapy that utilizes a halogenerator to grind and crush 99.99% Pure Grade Sodium Chloride (salt) into micronized particles that are dispersed into a salt room, salt cave, or salt chamber via a dry salt aerosol that works to aid respiratory concerns and skin conditions.”

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

Dry pharmaceutical grade salt is heated and then it is ground and crushed into very tiny microparticles in a machine called a halogenerator. These dry aerosol microparticles of salt are then dispersed into the SALT Booth®, salt room, or salt cave during a typical session. As the person relaxes, the microparticles are inhaled. The particles penetrate deep into the lungs, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli. Bacteria and pollutants are dissolved as salt enters the lungs and respiratory system by eliminating mucous and opening constricted airways.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association Reference and Resource Guide, Page 7, How Dry Salt Therapy Works. https://www.salttherapyassociation.org/images/STA-Reference-and-Resources-Guide-022819-RED.pdf

According to the Salt Therapy Association, salt therapy is safe*.  It is a 100% drug-free, non-invasive, comfortable treatment. The only people who should avoid salt therapy are those with severe chronic respiratory issues and those with open wounds and sores. It is advisable that people going into a salt chamber remove all personal jewelry, glasses and other belongings since salt can be corrosive to exposed metal.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

*As with any type of treatment, results may vary. We always encourage our clients to have their customers consult their local physician with regard to salt therapy.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association “Frequently Asked Questions” Educational Card

*Yes, salt therapy is safe for children. It is a highly recommended natural treatment. There are no potentially harmful side effects. The treatment is suitable for children of any age (as young as 1-month-old). Interestingly, children respond to the therapy more quickly than do adults.

During a salt therapy session, children can play with toys, read books and interact with other children.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

*As with any type of treatment, results may vary. We always encourage our clients to have their customers consult their local physician with regard to salt therapy.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association “Frequently Asked Questions” Educational Card

According to the Salt Therapy Association, halotherapy is recognized as a safe and effective wellness practice for preventive and restorative health care. It is not a medical treatment and does not offer a cure! Halotherapy is not recommended for people with contagious diseases, fever, open wounds, cancer, severe hypertension, mental disorders, and active tuberculosis. Pregnant women should consult with their doctor before using halotherapy. Anyone with serious health concerns needs to seek proper medical advice and care.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

*Some people are concerned about the intake of salt because of issues relating to diet, high blood pressure, and hypertension. This type of salt intake is connected to the digestive tract.  Dry salt therapy is different since it associated with the respiratory system. When inhaled, the amount of micro salt particles entering the respiratory system is extremely low, so it doesn’t present any risk to your health. It actually kills bacteria, reduces inflammation, and expands airways.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

*As with any type of treatment, results may vary. We always encourage our clients to have their customers consult their local physician with regard to salt therapy.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association “Frequently Asked Questions” Educational Card

With regard to salt therapy, side effects are infrequent. Some people might experience a mild tickle in the throat or an increase in coughing due to an excess mucus buildup. This is an indication the therapy is working. Other effects might be a slight skin irritation for those with hypersensitive skin.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

*As with any type of treatment, results may vary. We always encourage our clients to have their customers consult their local physician with regard to salt therapy.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association “Frequently Asked Questions” Educational Card

Salt therapy has provided benefits for those with the following conditions:

‍Reference: Salt Therapy Association Reference and Resource Guide, Page 8. https://www.salttherapyassociation.org/images/STA-Reference-and-Resources-Guide-022819-RED.pdf Salt Therapy Association “What is Dry Salt Therapy?” Educational Card.

Salt rooms are designed to provide dry salt therapy in a man-made environment that can vary by size, design, and function.  A salt cave is a type of style and décor of a salt room that often resembles a cave-like environment.

There are basically two types of salt rooms—passive and active.

Passive salt rooms provide an environment using various salt elements and décor, along with the right temperature, humidity, and climate conditions. This is done to mimic the look and feel of salt caves and mines, which can provide a therapeutic effect known as Speleotherapy.   These facilities often do not utilize any equipment (halogenerator) to disperse salt into the air.

Active salt rooms provide a much more effective salt therapy environment utilizing a halogenerator to grind salt into micron-sized particles that are then dispersed into the air.  The décor and style of the room can vary from a simple children’s theme to a more spa-like environment and from a more clinical look to an elaborate cave-like room.

Most salt rooms are set-up to have several people at once sitting and relaxing in the room at a time.  Sessions are typically scheduled and start at specific times for approximately 45 minutes.

A halogenerator is a specific type of technological equipment that is used to create an effective modality of providing dry salt therapy.  A halogenerator is the most important piece of equipment that providers of halotherapy utilize in transforming a chamber into a salt room.

How Does a Halogenerator work?

• It has a feeding mechanism where you place salt crystals that then release the salt into a grinder.
• The grinder is typically made of a blade and cutting mechanism that can precisely crush, grind, and cut the salt crystals into precise microparticles.
• These particles are then dispersed by a blower/fan mechanism that pushes the salt particles into the salt chamber room.

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Yes, a halogenerator is needed for dry salt therapy (halotherapy). If there is no halogenerator, there is no halotherapy. The halogenerator takes pure grade sodium chloride and grinds, crushes, and disperses it in a salt room or SALT Booth®. Thus, the halogenerator is the most essential part of a therapeutic salt room.

That salt is then inhaled to combat respiratory conditions and absorbed by the skin to help with skin issues.

The only salt to be used in dry salt therapy (halotherapy) is pure grade sodium chloride. Salts such as Himalayan salt and dead seas salt have no respiratory benefits and should only be used as decor.

Only salt rooms that provide active halotherapy have halogenerators.

All salts are not created equal! There are a variety of types of salts being used in salt rooms including Dead Sea, Mediterranean, Himalayan, Regular Sea Salt, different blends, and pharmaceutical grade salt. Salt is used as décor and salt is used in halogenerators.

Dead sea salt, Mediterranean salts, salt blends, etc… often have trace elements and various mineral content. Depending on the region where the salt is cultivated, there could also be some moisture, clay, and dirt particles that when crushed and ground, could harm the components inside the halogenerator. Likewise, people who have certain respiratory issues could have some adverse effect or reactions to some salts.

All of the validated clinical studies and scientific research for halotherapy involve using pharmaceutical grade salt in the halogenerator. Therefore, S.A.L.T. Chamber, Inc. highly recommends only using pharmaceutical salt for our halogenerators.

The salt on walls and floors do not inherently provide any therapeutic value, except that Himalayan salt in its natural form as bricks or panels, does provide some electrolyzed ions that add to the therapeutic benefit of the treatments.

The most important aspect of providing effective dry salt therapy is utilizing a reliable and programmable halogenerator.  With just a halogenerator, you can provide effective salt therapy in a climate-controlled space.  However, the space does not have to be a room where multiple people sit for a 45-60 minute session.  Specific halogenerators have been designed for other delivery methods such as a SALT Booth®, which is designed for individual or two-person usage.

Because the volume of airspace in this type of chamber is much smaller and the concentration levels of the salt from the halogenerator can be adjusted, the sessions in these type of units are significantly less and range from 10-20 minutes per session.

These units can simply be plugged into a standard wall outlet and be used right away. There are no other factors that need to be considered such as the construction, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, exhaust, or anything else!  These types of units can easily fit into small spaces.  These can be an attractive alternative given the costs of these units compared to building a salt room is relatively small.  Likewise, many customers enjoy the privacy, personalized settings of the session, and the time convenience.

When considering having salt therapy as a choice in your facility, several factors should be considered such as:

• Physical space and layout
• Construction restrictions and limitations
• Type of treatments and usage
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
• Costs
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Time
• Maintenance
• Convenience

Salt rooms can vary in size depending on the physical layout of the facility. Salt rooms can range from 100 to 450 sq. ft. and can handle from 4 to 12 people. The most common size is around 250 sq. ft. because that is what most halogenerators are able to serve without losing the therapeutic quality. However, some generators are powerful enough to handle rooms up to 440 sq. ft.

The main therapeutic benefit of a salt room is derived from the salt being dispersed in the air from the halogenerator.  There is a sensory and experiential benefit that can enhance and possibly influence the therapeutic value of the aesthetic design and ambiance of the room.  Salt on the walls and floors can impact this experience.  But depending on the type of salt being used, there may not be any therapeutic benefit. So far, Himalayan salt has proven to be the only salt that adds to the therapeutic benefit.

Putting salt on the walls can be a tedious, timely and costly expense.  Existing walls must be lined with plywood, a non-toxic adhesive should be used and depending on the look and feel, salt can be hand thrown or blown on by a machine to texture the walls with salt.  This process is labor intensive and could take weeks to install depending on how many salt rooms are being designed.  Often, in order to do this, the property owner/landlord might need to be consulted.  To date, there are no OSHA/FDA requirements.

Putting salt on the floor may enhance the experience as well.  You must take into account the existing flooring, baseboards, entry/exits and other factors to properly put salt on a floor.  Often, a platform is created to hold the tons of salt being used.  You also have to issue foot coverings for people walking in and out and a salt floor requires some periodic maintenance.  The type of salt being used on the floors makes a difference as well.

A popular and alternative trend being adopted now is utilizing Himalayan Salt panels, bricks, and décor to create an inviting ambiance that also has additional therapeutic benefit without the labor, permanent construction, and costs with salt walls.

Salt rooms require purchasing non-erosive lounging furniture for the users to relax comfortably in the room.

No electronics of any kind should be used in the salt room since they are sensitive to salt.  Therefore, any sound system must be from outside the room with special non-erosive speakers inside.  Keep in mind that users may use their own personal music system if it is enclosed in the appropriate encasing.  It is advisable that people going into a salt room remove all personal jewelry, glasses, and other belongings and often lockers are provided to the user.

According to the Salt Therapy Association, there is substantial research that has been conducted in many places including hospitals, clinics, research laboratories, and medical centers around the world. Most notably, the majority of research has been conducted where salt therapy has been utilized and where the products are developed, such as Estonia, Russia, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Austria, and Poland. Today, there are current studies occurring in the United States, as well as other places, to further validate the science behind this type of therapy.

For more information, please visit the Research Articles page of the Salt Therapy Association website.

Reference: Salt Therapy Association Reference and Resource Guide https://www.salttherapyassociation.org/images/STA-Reference-and-Resources-Guide-022819-RED.pdf

There are no special requirements for installing a Halogenerator. There are, however, special factors to consider for designing and building an effective salt room such as:

• Room size
• Dimensions
• Ceiling height
• HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)
• Salt décor
• Special components such as lighting fixtures and speakers that are salt-resistant

Most Halogenerators are very simple and easy to operate. There is a basic switch, and depending on the Halogenerator, they are pre-programmed or can be programmed for specific protocols for feeding rates, salt concentration, size of particles, length of session, etc.

Given the importance of delivering effective salt therapy, the Halogenerator is your most important choice. Obviously, reliability and quality of components is key. Customer service, warranty and responsiveness to any issues are vital to the success of your business. Other critical factors to consider include ease of operation and maintenance, programming capability, and functionality. Finally, noise levels of the Halogenerator, training, support and other aspects should be considered when choosing a Halogenerator.