Lye Treatments

How to make a lye compress

1. Warm the lye in a water bath to around 38–40 °C — as warm as bath water.
2. Soak a cotton cloth in the warm lye. Gauze, a cotton cloth or an old cotton T-shirt will all do.
3. Apply the compress. Wrap the painful joint twice, or lay the cloth along the affected nerve.
4. Insulate. Cover with plastic or cling film and then with a towel or a woollen cloth to retain the heat.
5. Leave on for 15 minutes to several hours. For lasting results, complete a course of 12–14 procedures.

Cold compress

If you cannot tolerate a warm compress or you have varicose veins, follow the same steps using unheated lye.

Even easier: a lye applicator

The body applicator is a cotton cloth already soaked in lye and sealed in a sachet — you need neither a cloth nor a container for the lye.

1. Place the sachet in a bowl of warm water (38–40 °C) for 3–5 minutes.
2. Take out the warmed cloth and place it along the nerve or around the painful joint.
3. Insulate with plastic and wrap in a towel or a woollen cloth — from 15 minutes to several hours.

Do not heat the applicator in a microwave oven. If you have varicose veins, use it cold.

How to give a lye massage

1. Apply a lye gel or oil — over the whole body or only on painful and stiff areas.
2. Rub in with gentle circular movements until the product is spread evenly.
3. Leave it to absorb — from 20 minutes to several hours. Once the water evaporates, only the salt remains on the skin.

What lye adds to a massage

• speeds up the metabolism;
• helps balance the nervous and muscular systems;
• relieves muscle pain;
• protects against cramps;
• nourishes and strengthens the skin, hair and nails.

Do you work at a computer all day?

Pain in the wrist, elbow and back has become a "modern" complaint. Rub lye massage gel into the arm you use for the mouse, from wrist to elbow — and carry on working. Your arm recovers while you use it.

Do you play sport?

More and more sports doctors use lye products in recovery procedures after training and matches. Lye is a concentrate of magnesium — the mineral muscles need after exertion — and massage delivers it exactly where it hurts.

Full-body bath

1. Fill the bath with 60–70 litres of water, no warmer than 38 °C.
2. Pour in 500–2000 ml of stabilised Black Sea lye and stir.
3. Relax in the water for 15–20 minutes.
4. Rinse your skin thoroughly with clean water.

Local baths for hands and feet

Dissolve 50–100 ml of lye in 5–10 litres of water and soak your hands or feet for 10–15 minutes.

• Warm bath (around 38 °C) — for colds.
• Cold bath — for swollen legs or varicose veins.

Make your bath even more enjoyable: add a few drops of essential oil — juniper, lavender or another of your choice.

If you have high blood pressure, take lye baths only under medical supervision.

How to do lye frictions

1. Take a shower so that your skin is clean and your pores are open.
2. Soak a sponge or cloth in diluted lye. For the first few times start with a weak solution — 1 part lye to 10 parts water. That is exactly the amount of lye in ANCHIALO shower gel.
3. Rub down the whole body and leave the lye to work for 5–6 minutes.
4. Rinse thoroughly with water.
5. Build up gradually. Increase the concentration with each following procedure — up to 1:1. How strong a solution you use depends on how sensitive your skin is.

What to use

• ANCHIALO shower gel with 10% lye — created especially for frictions;
• stabilised Black Sea lye, diluted with water;
• body applicator — a cotton cloth already soaked in lye;
• massage gel or massage oil with lye.

How to use it

• ANCHIALO toothpaste with Black Sea lye — for daily brushing;
• ANCHIALO mouthwash with 10% Black Sea lye — after brushing;
• ANCHIALO stabilised lye — dilute with water from 1:1 to 1:10 and rinse your mouth.

What lye does in the mouth

• normalises saliva function;
• increases the resistance of tooth enamel and helps strengthen it — protecting against tooth decay;
• maintains the normal acid-alkaline balance in the oral cavity;
• reduces swelling of the gums.

How to prepare the solution

1. Mix the lye with distilled water in the ratio given in the table. Start with the weaker, 2% solution.
2. Pour the solution into the nebuliser following the device's instructions.
3. Breathe calmly through the mask or mouthpiece.

Use distilled water only, not tap water. If you have a chronic condition, or for children, consult a doctor first.

What it helps with

• peripheral nervous system problems;
• after-effects of central nervous system damage;
• musculoskeletal injuries;
• gastrointestinal problems;
• chronic inflammatory processes in various organs and tissues;
• gynaecological problems.

Ask about a lye treatment at your nearest physiotherapy or rehabilitation centre.

Do you run a rehabilitation centre, spa or massage studio? See our partner terms in the Trade Zone.