In this article today, we will talk about the Himalayan salt lamp, famous for its aesthetic purpose and health benefits.The crystal lamp is well known for generating negative ions with its many health benefits, as well as being able to capture pollutants in the surrounding air.
Before we get into the lamps, lets go a bit further and talk about the actual Himalayan salt
Himalayan salt, as the name suggests, is rock salt/halite found only in Pakistan and some parts of Tibet
What's so special about this salt is how it contains the same 84 natural minerals and other elements we have in our bodies, and how its unique cellular structures can store vibrational energy.
This characteristic of storing vibrational energy is the one utilized in the Himalayan Salt Lamps, claimed to be able to emit negative ions, producing positive energy waves into the air.
You can check out other benefits of Himalayan salt both as decoration and edible salt in an article from Global Healing Centre here.
Generally, there are two types of Himalayan Salt lamps. The first hides a small bulb inside a large piece of pure Himalayan salt such as in this photo below.
The other type is a decorative basket or other containers filled with large crystals of salt like this one.
Both types function the same. Thus, the differences are purely by design. In both types, the light from the light bulbs are penetrating the semi-transparent Himalayan salt, creating a pleasant visual effect and beautiful colorations.
Salt naturally attracts water molecules from surrounding air. With water molecules carrying pollutants like dust, pollen, and sometimes even bacteria and viruses.
After attracted by the salt, the pollutants will remain on the salt, thus indirectly cleaning the surrounding air.
On the other hand, the heat produces by the light bulb inside the lamp will release the water vapor back to the surrounding air, while the pollutants will remain on the salt. This process indirectly cleans the surrounding air and the water vapor it contains.
Himalayan Salt lamps are also famous for its capability to generate negative ions. However, before we discuss Himalayan salt lamps negative ion functionality, let us first learn about the positive and negative ions and its benefits.
Negative ions are commonly produced by natural phenomena such as thunder and lightning, ocean waves, waterfalls, and even sunlight. These natural things are commonly perceived to be good for human bodies, like how we often feel more relaxed after a holiday on the beach.
On the other hand, positive ions are often created by electronic devices such as your TVs, computers, vacuum cleaners, and are commonly associated with stress, allergies, and sleep trouble.
As we know in common physics, positive and negative ions attract each other, thus an increase of negative ions (i.e, from the Himalayan Salt lamps) can allow more of them to bond with positive ions, neutralizing the negative qualities of the surrounding air.
The big question is, will Himalayan salt lamps actually produce negative ions when lighted?
The answer is yes, the heating of the light bulb will evaporate water vapor previously trapped on the salt, as in the process mentioned above. The evaporation will release negative ions in the process.
The main benefits of the Himalayan salt lamp, as mentioned, is its ability to generate negative ions and to capture pollutants in the surrounding are.
Therefore, those benefits will mean:
The downside of a Himalayan salt lamp as a negative ion generator is that it will only covers a limited area compared to a dedicated negative ionizer.
Thus, the lamp is best placed quite close to where you spend a lot of your time.
For example:
Same principle can be applied to a commercial setting like a spa, restaurants, and hotels.
To achieve the best possible benefits, you must remember that Himalayan salt lamps' benefits came from its evaporation process. Thus, a warm enough light bulb with enough wattage is necessary.
Typically most Himalayan salt lamps will use E12 candelabra fittings, you can check for our collection here.
To check whether the wattage or heat is enough, simply touch the crystal salt surface when the lamp is powered on for a while. If it is not warm enough, or even worse if it drips water in a humid environment, consider increasing the wattage of the bulb or change to another type of bulb.
Thanks for sharing such an informative article. I also have Himalayan salt lamps in my house. These lamps are just more than awesome. They are not only beautiful but also have healthy and healing benefits for human mind and body as you have mentioned above. They eliminate all the dust particles and smoke from the air and make it pure and fresh. They help me in relieving stress and depression and improve the sleep cycle. I bought my lamps from ittefaqco at a very reasonable price and they are of great quality.
These Himalayan salt lamps are great. I started using them a couple of months before, they helped a lot in reducing my depression and anxiety which I used to suffer almost daily before using them. So I definitely recommend these beauties. I got them from Saltean, and I’m satisfied with my investment on these.
Best Regards!
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Gaynor
December 04, 2018
I want to use my salt rock lamp in a campervan. Can I change the bulb it came with to a LED (I’ll have a 12v system only) and change the plug to a 12V system – will this still work (even though potentially less effective – my space is roughly 4m x 1.5m. I’m wondering if an LED lamp will produce enough heat to have a beneficial effect. If so, I’m wondering if I need to buy a different salt rock that’s suitable (if this exists) or whether I can modify the one I have. The one I have is roughly 1kg in weight. Thank you in advance