It's winter, so of course flaky, dry skin is a problem for many of us. But it's even more of a problem for those with psoriasis or eczema, two chronic skin conditions. For help treating flaky, scaling, or extremely dry skin, turn to seaweed for help.
The Seaweed Bath Company's Wildly Natural seaweed products are designed to treat these sorts of skin issues. The company was founded by Adam Grossman, who has psoriasis and his skin had been suffering for years as a result of the condition. In a recent interview, Grossman said, "There are numerous benefits of seaweed, and The Seaweed Bath Co. is not the first company to realize this. Other companies have use seaweed as a base ingredient for decades. What we do differently though, is that we use bladderwrack seaweed as a top four ingredient in every product we make. The benefits of seaweed can’t really be overstated...brown seaweeds, such as bladderwrack, contain naturally occurring iodine, which can help regulate bodily functions. Bladderwrack is also used by high-end spas in their seaweed wrap offerings as a way to reduce the appearance of cellulite."
But Grossman wasn't experimenting with seaweed to reduce cellulite--he was trying to relieve the effects of psoriasis. "My psoriasis symptoms, which include inflamed, cracked and scaling skin, were so bad that it would hurt to shake hands. All of the treatments I was on at the time were topical and required that I apply an assortment of creams multiple times daily. Needless to say, rubbing lotion from one inflamed, callous area (my palms and fingers) onto another (arms, legs, feet, back) was not comfortable. I hated, and still do, putting on lotions. The grease would get all over my keyboard at work and then, if I had to meet a client or go into a meeting, I was self-conscious about my slick hands. I thought, what if I could put lotion on like I put deodorant on. It was an 'aha' moment and everything blossomed from there."
And so the Wildly Natural Seaweed Butter, a mega-nourishing formula, was born. Grossman says, "When applied, your body temperature heats the butter and allows it to melt into your skin. And now, our butters are one of our best selling lines. A key component to our Wildly Natural Seaweed Butters, besides our seaweed extract, is the fact that we use neem oil as a topical antimicrobial. This helps keep the skin clean while not extracting moisture from it."
But Grossman didn't stop with just the seaweed butter. He also created Seaweed Powder Baths that are a treat in the tub. Although it doesn't look that pretty in the tub (the seaweed's quite brown), trust me, you won't care. This soothing seaweed bath comes in four scents--lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint, citrus, and unscented. I've tried the lavender (and love it), and although I tend to be very sensitive to fragrance, this scent didn't bother me at all--in fact, I liked it a lot.
So, why seaweed? Grossman says, "It started when I decided against going on systemic, biological steroids for my severe psoriasis. At that point, all of the topical steroids had stopped working on my skin and I was pretty much covered with flaking, puffy lesions. I began to educate myself about the disease as well as get involved in the psoriasis community. As I spoke with other sufferers, a general theme emerged: current prescribed treatments provided only temporary relief and bathing in the ocean seemed to calm the disease down. Living in Florida at the time, I could attest to the fact that going in the ocean made my skin less irritated and less inflamed. So when somebody recommended I check out a thallassotherapy spa, it made perfect sense to me. Thallassotherapy is most popular in France. I called a few proprietors of these spas and asked what they recommended for psoriasis, and they said bathing in seaweed. I asked where they got their seaweed and they said Ireland. That led me on a journey that ended with my skin being 80% better without any prescription drugs and our Wildly Natural Seaweed Powder Bath being born."
Grossman also knew that in addition to making his products effective, he also had to make them pleasant to use. "Once I saw the benefits to my skin and to my friends’ skin from bathing in pure, raw bladderwrack seaweed, I knew that I had to figure out a way to bring the ingredient to market in different ways. While I love the fresh, ocean scent of pure seaweed, I realized that not everybody else does. So I asked my wife what would make her want to take a seaweed bath, and she said if it had relaxing or invigorating scents she would do it. From there, I found that pure essential oils could give the traditional seaweed bath some wonderful aromatherapy benefits. So I milled the seaweed down to a find powder and started experimenting. We filled dozens of bowls with different formulations before deciding on mixing the seaweed powder with kukui oil, argan oil, essential oils of either lavender, citrus, or eucalyptus and peppermint."
Although The Seaweed Bath Company's products are obviously ideal for those suffering from psoriasis and other skin conditions, they're also a good choce for Celiacs and those who are gluten-intolerant. Grossman says, "All of our products are gluten free. This is a huge trend for skin care products nowadays. I am gluten intolerant myself and a great number of the people I know either somewhat or entirely avoid gluten."
In addition to being gluten-free, The Seaweed Bath Company's products are also dye-free, paraben-free, and sulfate-free, making them great choices for anyone who takes a more natural approach with their personal care products.
To find out more about The Seaweed Bath Company's products and to purchase some to combat your dry, flaky skin, visit SeaweedBathCo.com.
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