Ever fantasised about walking into a cave made of crystals, then chilling out under a blanket for an hour? That’s what Salt Room therapy is all about, and the salt-crystal cave in question has been built in the corner of a Bondi Junction parking lot.
Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy or speleotherapy is meant to help ease the symptoms of allergies, skin conditions and asthma. On the day we attended, we were lead into a chilly room, its walls lined with translucent white bricks of salt, its floor covered in fat chunks of the stuff.
There was a halotherapy machine tucked into the wall next to us, whirring as it filled the air with tiny salt particles. Within five minutes, having rubbed our bare feet on the salt, and licked the wall, just to see (it tasted salty), we’d become bored so we snuck out to grab our phone. Fortunately, texting doesn’t change the efficacy of the treatment. Speaking of efficacy, the Lung Foundation does not recommend Salt Rooms as a proven fix for, well, anything, but it could be a fun way to switch off from your daily routine.
This asthmatic patient detected no discernable difference in breathing ability post-treatment, but our face was covered in a thin and pleasant coating of salt afterwards, like a trip to the beach with the volume turned down.