A short history of salt therapy
Salt therapy began deep underground, in the salt mines of Eastern Europe. The modern salt room brings the same kind of air above ground.
From the salt mines of Eastern Europe
Salt therapy traces its roots to the salt mines of Eastern Europe, particularly the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland, one of the oldest salt mines in the world. In 1843 a Polish physician, Feliks Boczkowski, wrote about the atmosphere of the mine and the people who worked in it — among the earliest written records of time spent in a salt-rich underground environment. The Salt Therapy Association gives its own account of these origins.
The rise of speleotherapy
Over the following century, spending time in salt caves became a recognised practice across Eastern Europe, known as speleotherapy, or cave therapy. Salt mines and caves in Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Austria were developed into retreats, and people travelled specifically to spend time underground in the naturally salty air.
From underground mines to modern salt rooms
For a long time the experience was only available to people who could travel to a salt mine. That changed in the second half of the 20th century with the halogenerator — a device that grinds pharmaceutical-grade salt into a fine, dry aerosol and disperses it into a room, recreating the air of a salt mine above ground. This is halotherapy, and it has since spread from Eastern Europe to salt rooms around the world.
Salt therapy today, in Doncaster
At Pure Salt Therapy we use a professional halogenerator and pharmaceutical-grade Pharmasal salt from Salinen Austria, in a room lined with Himalayan salt, to bring the salt room experience to Doncaster city centre — a calm, dedicated space where you can sit back, relax and breathe.
Related links
Halotherapy is a complementary wellbeing practice, not a medical treatment. It does not diagnose, treat or cure any condition and is not a substitute for advice from your GP. Please do not stop or change prescribed medication. If you have a health condition, speak to your doctor before booking.