The soft pink hue of Himalayan rock salt makes it more noticeable and desirable at the same time. These tiny glittering crystals look quite mesmerizing and the lovely pink color just adds to its natural beauty.
Anytime you see this salt you might wonder about its origin or the reason behind its beautiful pink color. Himalayan salt is usually seen in small bottles stacked on supermarket shelves or in jars placed in our kitchen cupboards.
Well, that’s just about Himalayan crystalline salt that exists in the form of small crystals. But what about the products that are made from this salt? They also have a pink color? If yes, then why so? We will find answers to all these questions for you.
However, for those who don’t know much about Himalayan salt, let’s first do a quick introduction and then move on to the point of interest here – what is rock salt made of and why is it pink?
What is Himalayan Rock Salt?
Often given to others as a gift or usually found piled high in grocery stores or spas, Himalayan salt is an excellent edible salt and bath salt known to have a wide variety of health and therapeutic benefits .
Not only is it used to give beautiful presentation and flavor to different cuisines, it also has a wide range of other benefits.
The name of this rock salt clearly explains the place of its origins which is none other than the famous khewra salt mines in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. This salt is carefully mined and extracted from these mines in large quantities which are then distributed all over the world.
Amazing health and beauty products are made from this rock salt, namely face and body scrubs, bath salts , tonics and sole water. Himalayan salt lamps are also quite famous and are not only a source of light but also provide therapeutic benefits to their users.
Origin of Himalayan Rock Salt
The color and composition of this rock salt depends on its origin as well. To find an answer to why Himalayan salt has a pink color, we must have solid knowledge about its origin.
It is believed that about 800 million years ago, a salt bed was formed due to evaporation from a huge ocean. The salt bed was then compressed by tectonic and environmental processes and covered by lava at the foot of one of the highest and most famous mountain ranges in the world, known as the Himalayan Range.
Although the salt bed has been there for centuries, the lava surrounding it has made it quite difficult for other environmental pollutants to get in and affect its purity.
The vast deposits of salt are crushed and broken into very small pieces to obtain the crystalline version of rock salt. This whole process is exclusively mechanical and workers work by hand to obtain a pure version of Himalayan rock salt crystals.
Himalayan rock salt is often considered pure and free from any type of processing. That’s why it’s most commonly used as a main ingredient in health and beauty products.
However, few people know that the basic reason behind the pink color of this salt is the presence of certain minerals in it. So let’s take a detailed look at this and see for ourselves why pink Himalayan salt from Pakistan is pink.
Why is Himalayan salt pink?
There are many minerals in Himalayan salt . The normal table salt that we use in our daily lives is made up of sodium chloride.
However, Himalayan salt also has sodium and chloride as its main components, but along with that, it has eighty four minerals which are the building blocks of this salt. So if you’re wondering which mineral is the main component of rock salt? So you have your answer now.
The Himalayan rock salt has an important percentage of sodium chloride, but it also has some other minerals that are responsible for its pink color. Some of these minerals are iron, zinc, manganese and potassium, however, others are elements like oxygen, potassium, magnesium, calcium and hydrogen.
Therefore, Himalayan salt has more minerals than any other type of salt. Especially the presence of traces of iron oxide gives this saline pink color. This pink color makes this salt unique and recognizable.
Does the pink color make Himalayan rock salt more beneficial?
Pink Himalayan salt has a wide range of uses and one of them is to give good color and flavor to food. It is believed that the pink color of Himalayan pink salt imparts certain properties to it that make it much better than regular table salt. However, there is no scientific theory to support this argument. Many people use this marketing strategy to promote their rock salt products.
There is no doubt that these products are beneficial for health, but it is not because of the pink hue of this rock salt, but because of the minerals that cause this pink color.
Himalayan pink salt products
Some of the most common Himalayan pink salt products are edible salt, bath salt, and animal lick salt that are made from rock salt crystals. Himalayan bath salt is widely known to rejuvenate the skin and make it look healthier than ever before. licking salt is very popular with farm owners for their animals.
Other very common salt products are the Himalayan rock salt candlestick and salt lamps that have therapeutic properties and also serve as excellent illuminators.
Final result
Rock salt is a fascinating product of nature that comes with an ethereal pink hue due to its mineral components and has a vast array of uses in our everyday life as well.
