Seaweed, An Unlikely Love Story


I don’t remember when I fell in love with seaweed.


I remember always


loving it. Seaweed was a natural part of my childhood - inspired largely by my grandmother, when she was in her 50s. She injured her leg and, to heal it, she bathed in the ocean (every day) and packed seaweed around her joints - a ritual she continued for the rest of her life.


Through my grandmother’s passion


for the sea, I came to understand and appreciate seaweed’s power to heal - and why generations before me held seaweed in such high regard.


Seaweed is old - over 300,000 million years. Ancient Greeks used seaweed - Pliny the Elder described using seaweed for treating joint disease. The Victorians used it to treat skin infections, sprains, bruises, as well as for beauty and to enhance sexuality. During the Victorian era, seaweed bath houses grew in popularity. On weekends, visitors from England would descend on the coast of


Ireland where they’d steam and


soak in hot seawater and brown algae. Dead skin cells were sloughed away, circulation was improved, and swollen prostate glands appeared to shrink. No surprise that seaweed bathing became a must for newlyweds as well as couples seeking to revive their libido. Oh, those Victoria


ns. Although the seaweed bathhouse


culture died out, the healing benefits of


seaweed persevered. Along the


Brittany Coast, fishermen would tell how, in hauling away kelp, their hands were softened.


Today, seaweed is more mainstream than most people know. The average person consumes seaweed (as a food


additive) ten times a day - in salad dressing, ice cream and beer. Seaweed is used as a fertilizer, as a calcium-rich supplement to strengthen our bones and in toothpaste to whiten our teeth.


Seaweed, with its hydrating and


moisturizing properties, is also our skin’s best friend. I’m often asked which seaweed is ‘best.’ For me, that’s like asking me to choose my favorite child. So I’ve narrowed my ‘best’ to three favorites: Undaria algae, Gigartina and Macrocystis.


Undaria (a.k.a. Wakame) prevents the breakdown of hyaluronic acid in the body, which is necessary to keep skin smooth and firm. Gigartina, a sexy red color,


is extremely moisturizing and amazingly powerful, stimulating cell Adding seaweed to your seaweed ritual hot bath, daily


wellness regimen is easy and fun, as it is a very tactile ingredient. My daily


laced with dry pieces


starts with a of


Gigartina. When the seaweed touches the water, it immediately plumps, and for 20 minutes, I soak. Then, like my grandmother so many years before me, I pack the seaweed around my joints and bathe in the sea of life.


Jenefer Palmer, OSEA www.oseamalibu.com


regeneration and bolstering the body’s immune system. Macrocystis contains a high iodine, vitamin and mineral content, and is the `It-Girl’ for healing sun-damaged wrinkles.


skin and preventing


www.spaprofessionalmexico.com


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