WHERE "DEAD SEA" MUD REALLY COMES FROM

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These pictures were taken at the plant of the largest Dead Sea product manufacturing company in Jordan. I think most people envision their high priced Dead Sea mud coming directly from the idyllic shores of the actual Dead Sea. Well, it doesn't. It comes in bags from land owned by the Arab Potash Factory (they produce potassium chloride used in fertilizer), a heavily industrialized area around 20 kilometers south of the actual Dead Sea. It is purchased for around 30 cents per kilo, processed in a factory in Sahab, and then sold for up to $60 a kilo. A healthy profit margin for mud. These pictures show how the mud is processed. 1: Mud from the Arab Potash Factory arrives in canvas bags. It is removed and placed in plastic barrels. 2: Water is added to the mud and it is liquified using a large blender-like machine. 3: The muddy water is poured through a screen to filter out large impurities like rocks and sticks. The mud then sits in the barrels for 2 days to allow harmful chemicals to separate from the mud. 4: The mud is pumped to the roof of the building and is spread into thin layers and allowed to dry for two weeks. This evaporation process also leaches unwanted ingredients from the mud. After two weeks, the hardened mud is shoveled off the roof and put into large plastic bags. 5: The mud chips are placed into an industrial blender. It is here that many of the healing ingredients of "Dead Sea" mud are added along with water. 6: The final product is put into a fancy container. It will soon be purchased by an overweight American hoping to take a few years off her wrinkly face.