Skin softener
Got winter-weary skin? Make this simple body scrub, courtesy of Miiamo, a destination spa in Sedona, Ariz. Blend 1/2 cup sea salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and 4-5 drops of lavender oil. Apply with smooth strokes and rinse.
Sinus remedy
Stuffy? Mix 1/2 cup warm water with 1/2 teaspoon noniodized salt, says Diane Heatley, MD, of the American Academy of Otolaryngology. Using a neti pot, pour the mixture into one nostril; it'll flow out the other. Repeat on the opposite side.
Stain buster
To remove coffee-mug stains and shine dingy wooden cutting boards, sprinkle them with kosher salt (a natural abrasive) and scrub with a sponge, says Bruce Mattel, associate dean for culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America.
Drink cooler
Mattel's suggestion for chilling champagne in a flash: Place bottles in an ice bucket with a layer of ice at the base, followed by a layer of coarse or table salt. Repeat layers until full, then add cold
water. Salt speeds the drop in water temperature.