Atelier Doré

One of the benefits of dating me is that there is always a slew of products always in rotation in my shower. A few months ago, one lucky product tester came out of the shower holding this, demanding to know what it was. I explained it was a salt scrub. He said, « it actually DOES something compared to everything else in that shower. » He promptly took a picture to add it to his own shower. You have to love men for their need for immediate efficacy for anything to be worth their time.

Said salt scrub (that does indeed have the most immediate effect on one’s skin — I’m talking going from dry and itchy to smooth and silky in one scrub), is from SALT LIVE ENERGIZED. In addition to heavenly soaks and scrubs, SALT LIVE ENERGIZED is a premium salt air therapy center in the heart of SoHo. Founded by partners Jason and Carlos after learning the tremendous benefits of salt, SALT LIVE ENERGIZED wants to detox your lung of pollutants and promote all over better health.

Beyond their love of salt, these two have a few other tricks up their sleeve they use to increase their wellness…

What do you daily for your wellness?

CARLOS: Immediately when I wake up – right in bed – I start meditation-gratitude. I go to a place in my mind where I feel love and peace. Then, a glass of water to start the day (I’ve been doing this for 30 years, by instinct, but now we know how good it is for you). I make a smoothie with yogurt, berries & fruit, and all kinds of good things. It’s an easy way to take your supplements. All day, with all of my meals, I try to have things like salad, vegetables, shoots of ginger or turmeric.  I’m a true believer that what you put in your body determines your health.

JASON: Wellness starts in the mind. I’ve always been a go-go-go person who sometimes is so busy trying to achieve a goal that I forget to “take a breath” and be grateful. Every day I deliberately use three techniques to remind myself to be present:
I randomly stop and do “box” breathing (4 seconds in, 4 second hold, 4 second release, 4 second hold). It centers me and clears my mind.

I make myself smile whenever I realize I’m not – smiling releases dopamine which, in turn, helps the mind be happy. It’s a virtuous cycle.

I use a simple app called KARMIC that suggests a good dead a day. It helps me stop and make sure the people around me know I truly see them.

What do you weekly for your wellness?

CARLOS: I’m a beach person. It’s my way to be in contact with nature and the earth … not to mention how good it is for you. So, in the summer I try to go every week. In the winter, I go to Central Park, to be in contact with the trees and some kind of nature. Also I do my dry SALT air Therapy…I’ve been doing it for 3 years and my health has been improving.

JASON: A weekly body exfoliation. On the body I use either our SALT + Turmeric Neem or SALT + Baobab Mint body scrubs. I start dry, applying the scrub everywhere except my head, scrub scrub scrub, and then rinse off. My skin feels amazing, and I feel AWAKE.

What do you do monthly for your wellness?

CARLOS: I try to have a spa day. Right now at home, I take a bath, try different types of face masks, and sometime I make my own products with natural ingredients.

JASON: Mindfulness and stretching on the beach. I’m not an amazing meditator but I love to sit on the sand, stare into the water, pick up interesting rocks and shells, see the little beach creatures you normally don’t notice, etc. It’s like a meditation for me. I end with stretching because you can almost FEEL the toxins leaving the muscles. It’s so energizing.

What do you do yearly for your wellness?

CARLOS: Thanksgiving week we go to our beach house on Fire Island. Our town is a summer community which means nothing is open, no one is around, and basically you have a deserted island for yourself. We really disconnect from the world there. We take long walks on the beach (our dogs think it’s their own private beach!), watch and listen to the water, and practice being present with the silence and quietness and nature there. They are your best companions.  

JASON: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s a reminder to be grateful and say thank you. That week, Carlos and I go to Fire Island and unplug with our dogs. Then I sage the house completely – every door, every window, everything – and ask any negative energy to leave. I don’t know if it works, but I feel better!

Can you tell the story behind SALT Live Energized?

CARLOS: SALT LIVE ENERGIZED began on the North Fork of Long Island in Greenport three years ago, seaside, at the Sound View Hotel. We wanted to test a concept that New Yorkers deserved to have better respiratory health. That was two years before COVID. SALT’s philosophy was to promote respiratory health and help the lungs recover from urban living. Tens of thousands of people die prematurely annually because of air pollution and the cumulative effects on the body. Using naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial elements, SALT helps to mitigate that harm.

JASON: The idea started on Fire Island. Fire Island is a very special place because it’s both extremely remote and still close to the city. It’s one of the only national parks you can live in! One year we changed our pool from chemicals to salt. It changed everything. We slept better, we felt better. We started doing research and discovered there are hundreds of ways salt was used in the past. Dry salt air therapy was our first discovery. Think about it – we detox our livers and kidneys, we watch cholesterol for our hearts, we help our gut biome, we eat organic, but we breathe in dirty city air everyday! By your 30s your lungs are permanently damaged and getting worse every decade. When we learned there’s a natural way to help the lungs detox that can help people live longer and better, we wanted to tell the world. From there, the more we learned about salt – this ancient “medicine” – the more we believed. We were hooked.

What is something someone can do at home to incorporate the beneficial properties of salt into their wellness routine?

CARLOS: Look to incorporate sea salt or Himalayan salt into your body and skin care regime. It could be in your body scrub or in a salt soak. The body can absorb the trace minerals it needs from the salts – like magnesium which is one example of a mineral most of us don’t get enough of for it to truly give us its benefits.  

JASON: It’s a simple one your grandmother probably did and everyone can do it. Gargle everyday with salt water. It doesn’t taste the best, but salt is anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and sometimes anti-viral. Gargling daily helps with everyday congestion plus it’s a lot better for “keeping the doctor away” than an apple!

Favorite healing property of salt? 

CARLOS: That’s an easy one! SALT is naturally anti-inflammatory. And we know how bad inflammation is for the body. I love knowing that I’m combatting the inflammation that daily exposure to pollution and other negative elements produce.

JASON: That’s an easy one! SALT is naturally anti-inflammatory. Anything I can do to lower inflammation I try to do as much as possible!