Spa Bath Salt Expert Clears Up Bath Salt Drug Confusion

I’m sure, like me, when you heard the recent news about a street drug called bath salts that allegedly caused a man to gruesomely attack a homeless man, you were horrified. Upon reading about it, I also quickly realized that the bath salts that caused this horrible reaction have nothing to do with the bath salts that we trade in at spas. Still, I’m sure there are plenty of people—some of whom may be your clients—who are confused. Thankfully, one industry guru has released a statement to clear things up.

"It was clear from the beginning that real bath salts were not the cause of this attack," says Lee Williamson, president of San Francisco Bath Salt Company (SFBSC), a manufacturer of legitimate bath salts. "However, it is reassuring to finally put the speculation surrounding this particular issue to rest."

Though most commonly known as "bath salts," the street drug is also sold under other innocent names such as "plant food" and "glass cleaner," Williamson explains. "The mass media really overused the term 'bath salts' with this case. They were able to take something so seemingly innocuous as bath salts and elevate the story to national prominence with shock value," he says. "Any extra exposure that our industry can get is generally a good thing. But I never would have imagined that a street drug commonly known as 'bath salts' would become a national crisis, resulting in a media frenzy.”

Did you get questions from your clients regarding the bath salts controversy? How did you handle it?