BMWs and Beauties

Salt vs. Steel

Hello new friends!  My name is LV and I am so excited to begin this journey with you.  Welcome to BMWs and Beauties!  

I've always found great interest in both the beauty world and automotive trends.  Coming from a background in the field of entertainment journalism whereby a huge impact was placed on fashion, beauty advice, fitness, and automotive, I was able to learn a lot about the importance of maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle that would enhance my overall appearance both internally and externally as well as learn about the fascinating world that the car industry brings to all.  

In this new section of our forum the beauty industry will coincide with the wondrous world that encompasses the motor-driven enterprise.  As the two merge in concept we will learn how connected they really are!

I decided to take up this week's topic to connect salt facials with steel.  What do the two have in common? Well, let's explore each and find out.

Salt facials in the beauty industry are more important than we think.  I was honored to have been invited to partake in one at the Laser Lounge and Spa in Sarasota.  I have been an advocate of facials in the past but this one I had no clue about.  I thought of the salt I use for cooking or the salt that's evident at my "happy place" the beach but having it on my face I had no clue what it would do or the benefits of it.  So I decided to indulge and here is what I found out:

Salt facials are composed of a three-step treatment that uses all natural sea salts.  If you're thinking the salt from the ocean is incorporated in the ingredient you are correct.  These facials exfoliate the skin first, and then an aesthetic ultrasound is used, followed by an LED phototherapy machine in order to be able to restore, replenish, and rejuvenate the skin.

While getting this procedure done I couldn't help thinking about my two kids who suffered a lot with eczema when they were young.  Going to the beach and having them bathe in the water miraculously took care of their skin irritation.  I never understood the reasoning at the time but reminiscing on those days and feeling the effects instantaneously during this treatment made me realize that nature does give to us so much more than we could ever imagine!

Now let's get to the steel sector shall we? We all know that steel is made from iron ore which is a compound of iron, oxygen and other minerals that occur in nature.  These materials are first mined then transformed into steel using the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace route and the electric arc furnace.  Although steel is not a natural resource per say it does come from natural resources in nature.  Most of the components in a BMW are made of steel yet did you know that BMW will begin to use steel produced by natural gas or hydrogen as well as green power sources from its supplier network and will also be increasing the use of recycled steel to be used in their standard production of cars at its European plants by 2026?

Currently, a quarter of the steel used to manufacture BMW's are used from recycled materials and circular manufacturing.  Using this secondary steel requires using much less energy which then emissions on average will be much lower than primary steel production.  Producing this clean fuel will be very impactful to nature and its components. 

We circle back now to our salt facial encounter and what does that procedures have to do with the steel components used in our BMW vehicles?  In essence, both are needed for composition.

Salt facials exfoliate dead skin that through time because of high levels of sun exposure and natural aging we need this procedure in order to recapture radiance and natural glow.  Steel encompasses the exterior of a vehicle in order for its inside to remain intact.  The materials used in the steel will determine not only its exterior façade for showcasing but also depending on what steel is used will determine how a vehicle will perform during an impact which boils down to an enterprise that cares deeply for the wellbeing of its customer based family.

How we maintain both of these areas whether it's our skin or the vehicle which transports us will undoubtedly affect our overall appearance and safety.