Zinc

A tight, smooth skin with a beautiful complexion is always a sign of health, vitality and beauty. Beautiful skin not only makes us look more attractive to other people, it also protects us from many harmful and mechanical influences, such as heat, cold, like a shock absorber against pressure loads, or UV light, as well as effectively against pathogens and dehydration. The skin is the human organ with the most tasks, it regulates our body temperature and protects our muscles and internal organs.

Zinc is a particularly important element for beautiful skin. The superelement plays an important role in almost all metabolic processes in our skin. Represented as a trace element, zinc actively supports cell division and the new formation of DNA and supplies our skin cells with fresh energy. The skin’s nutrient requirement is extraordinarily high, as it renews itself completely every 7-14 days. New cells are constantly being formed to renew the top protective layer and to heal small injuries. Zinc can, for example, reduce oxidative cellular damage after ischemia (tissue undersupply with blood). These are abilities that a typical conventional antioxidant lacks, as antioxidants are usually unable to repair.

Zinc strengthens our immune system and protects our skin cells from free radicals, similar to the antioxidants in vitamins. These free radicals are cell toxins and are formed naturally during various metabolic processes, but also under the influence of UV light. Among other things, they disturb the metabolism of the cells and can cause inflammation of the skin.

Potassium

Potassium is one of the microelements that have an important function in the human body. Sodium, iron, calcium, zinc and also potassium, in addition to other minerals, ensure that the body functions remain constant, especially the sensitive balance between the inside and outside of the cells. Potassium (the daily requirement is about 2 grams) is needed for the fluid balance and the “electrical abilities” of the cell, explicitly the transmission of electrical impulses to nerve and muscle cells.

The potassium balance is strictly regulated and excess potassium (due to excessive intake with food or potassium substitution or dissolution of potassium from the bones) is simply excreted. If too little potassium is supplied, deficiency symptoms can occur, because the organism cannot produce potassium itself.

First and foremost, potassium ensures that electrical tension is maintained between cells and the extracellular space. This basic voltage (rest potential) is coupled to a precise distribution of various elements in dissolved form (ions) between the interior and exterior of the cell. Potassium occurs naturally (98%) intracellularly and is only present in small amounts in the extracellular space. Since cell membranes are particularly conductive (or permeable) for the potassium ion with its single positive charge, potassium has a decisive influence on the above-mentioned “basic cell voltage”.

Calcium

Calcium is important in the body for the formation of bones, hair and teeth, muscle and nerve activity, blood clotting and the defence against inflammation and allergies. Calcium was considered to be the proven remedy of choice for allergy-related skin complaints associated with severe itching, erythema and wheal formation, and also as an emergency medication for insect bites.

A calcium deficiency causes disorders of horn formation, skin changes such as dry skin that becomes brittle from fingernails and bones and eczema and also tingling on the skin.

Silicon (silicic acid)

In nature, silicon is never found in pure form, but always in combination with oxygen as silicon dioxide. Silicon is an essential component of the connective tissue. Its acid is called silicic acid.

Silicic acid plays a central role for the vitality of the body cells. No other substance can bind 300 times its weight in water. A sufficient water content improves the transport of nutrients to the cells. As a result, the cells can regenerate better and the process of new formation is supported.

With increasing age, the silicon content in some tissues can decrease, for example in the blood vessels and in the skin. A typical consequence is cellulite.

Furthermore, silicic acid supports the formation of collagen and elastin. Collagen makes the skin firm and elastin keeps it elastic and smooth. Although the use of silicic acid cannot prevent skin ageing, it can help to supply the body with the silicon that is so important for beauty.

Silicic acid is found in the supporting skeletons of the smallest marine animals, the diatoms. They already lived in our primeval oceans some 650 million years ago. The skeletons of the dead diatoms were deposited on the sea floor and, together with primeval sea salt, formed huge slag heaps.

These remained when the sea withdrew completely. As did the Zechstein Sea, basically a primeval sea under our feet, which covered large parts of Europe about 250 – 258 million years ago.

Periodic phases of drying out and flooding, in which the salt concentration of the water increased drastically up to complete dryness, sediment deposits enclosed the salt and then again a phase of flooding and drying out took place, formed over millions of years enormous salt deposits in Germany, which are today hidden under thick sediment layers.

Similar to today’s Dead Sea, the sea and its salt were also trapped by tectonic continental drift and by the constant raising and lowering of the continental plates. In the end, the African continental plate pressed so hard on the European continental plate, caused, among other things, the formation of the Alps as we know them today and raised the European continental plate.

In Amberpharm Saltcream we use the completely natural Luisenhall salt, without the addition of any other substances. One litre of Luisenhall natural brine, with a salt content of 27%, analytically contains 5 mg of this silica, which dissolved in the natural brine and which is now being brought to the surface from a depth of 450 metres. Through the subsequent boiling process and the removal of the water, all other minerals and trace elements such as silicic acid are highly concentrated in addition to sodium chloride.

Minerals are not organic and since the elements are usually present as ions or in the form of inorganic compounds, they are, unlike some vitamins, insensitive to most methods of preparation. For example, they cannot be destroyed by heat or air.

Magnesium

For hundreds of years, the trace element magnesium has been considered the mineral of beauty in Chinese medicine. No wonder, because magnesium has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. This makes it an absolute super-mineral against redness and numerous skin diseases such as rosacea or acne. One possibility is to absorb the nutrient through food and food supplements from within. But you can also help to achieve a clear and even complexion from the outside for pure skin.

But magnesium scores with further advantages. In dry and sensitive skin, for example, the mineral has a calming and balancing effect. In addition, it is considered a natural fountain of youth for a simple reason: magnesium checkmates free radicals and thus fights all inflammatory and oxidative processes in the body that normally accelerate skin aging.

Dermatologists cite a second anti-aging effect of magnesium: a deficit of the mineral in the body results in a low level of unsaturated fatty acids. The latter, however, are extremely important for the skin’s elasticity, moisture and natural protective shield. So anyone who applies magnesium-containing products from the outside will not only be rewarded with cleaner skin, but also softer and visibly smoother skin.

One litre of Luisenhalle Natursole contains 560 mg/l of the trace element magnesium. The Luisenhall Saltworks has been boiling its salt for 160 years in the oldest pan-boiling plant in Europe at approx. 70 – 75 degrees. Thus the magnesium content is concentrated in the finished salt, which we use for our Amberpharm Saltcream.