Home / The lye
What is the lye?
Black Sea lye — a gift from the salt pans of Pomorie and Burgas. The base of every ANCHIALO product.
In short
Dense, amber-brown and priceless
Black Sea lye is what remains when sea water evaporates and the salt crystallises. A dense, oily liquid, reddish-brown, with a faint smell of hydrogen sulphide — exceptionally rich in magnesium salts.
In Bulgaria, salt is still made the classic way only in the salt pans of Burgas (Lake Atanasovsko) and Pomorie (Lake Pomorie). The water of these lakes is far saltier than the sea — locals call it “rapa” — and very rich in organic and mineral matter.
A salt pan, in section
How it is made
Four steps, no chemistry
I
The brine
Salty water from the lake fills the shallow salt pans, known locally as “frying pans”.
II
The sun
The water slowly evaporates. Nothing is added — the sun and the wind do the work.
III
The salt
The salt crystallises and settles on the bottom of the pan — a layer of 8–12 cm.
IV
The lye
Above the salt remains a dense liquid, rich in magnesium. This is Black Sea lye.
The salt pans in the early 20th century
Properties
What the lye does
It soothes pain and has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects. Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin — transdermally — and that is the strength of lye products.
MgCl2
magnesium chloride
MgSO4
magnesium sulphate
- Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial.
- Tones and relaxes the whole body.
- Relieves tiredness and heaviness in the limbs.
- Nourishes and rejuvenates the skin, slows its ageing.
- Mineralises the body and supports the immune system.
How to use
Four ways at home
Compresses
A cloth soaked in lye, or a ready applicator, on the affected area.
Baths
Lye dissolved in the bath — for the whole body.
Rubs
Rubbed in with a massage — with lye gel or oil.
Gargling
Diluted with water in the right proportion — for the mouth and throat.
The lye’s sister
The liman mud of Pomorie
Sedimentary liman mud — black, oily, smelling of hydrogen sulphide — the mud of Pomorie has been known for its healing power for centuries. In the ANCHIALO body mask it is mixed with stabilised lye.
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