Meet a Mom: Cassandra Mays, Salt Remedy | North Houston Moms

Today’s Meet a Mom is a mom to 3 grown children and grandma to 2 littles, and the proud owner of Salt Remedy – Cassandra Mays! Salt Remedy offers all natural salt therapy for respiratory issues where clients come in with difficulties from asthma, allergies, COPD and many other respiratory ailments. In 2016, Cassandra’s own child was suffering from ashma and allergies, and while visiting Israel she learned of all the healing properties of salts and minerals in the Dead Sea. When they arrived back in the U.S., they found salt therapy in the Dallas area and it really helped her daughter. There was no salt therapy in the Houston area, so the inspiration behind Salt Remedy began. She opened the doors later that year and Salt Remedy remains the only salt room in the Greater Houston area. Salt therapy is for all ages from baby to great-grandma. Their kid’s room is a favorite, with 3 inches of pink Himalayan salt on the floor. It’s called the Himalayan Salt Beach, because the kids come in and play and get well with out even realizing it! Adults love the spa like therapy rooms with zero-gravity chairs – for 45 minutes in the community room, or 25 minutes in the Private room, you lay back and breathe deeply while listening to soothing music. Salt Remedy also has many wellness products like local honey, elderberry syrup, skin care products, natural inhalers, lotions and soaps. Cassandra is proud of the fact that with the exception of the Himalayan salt lamps, everything else is made either locally or in the USA.

So, keep on reading to check out Cassandra’s #meetamom interview to learn more about all the amazing health benefits of salt therapy, why health and wellness has always been important to Cassandra, what an appointment would look like at Salt Therapy, mom life, AND and exclusive NHM’s deal!

Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in the North Houston area?

I was born in Sedalia, Missouri. We moved overseas when I was two years old, and moved from abroad to Sulphur Springs, Texas when I was 7. I moved to The Woodlands in 1992 with my husband and young son, after he got out of the US Air Force.

 

Cassandra’s children & their families

How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?

I have 3 children. Johnny (born in Germany) is 33 and married to Sophia. Adrienne (born at Conroe Regional Medical Center) is 29. She is married to Steven and has two girls ages 5 and 15 months. My youngest son is Steven (born at Memorial Hermann, The Woodlands hospital). He is 25 and married.

 

What are your favorite local things to do? (with kiddos or just for mom!) 

I have one more fur-baby, named Callie. My husband and I like to take her walking on the Waterway and then stop at Gooses Acre for a bite to eat. Their patio is dog friendly and they always have water and a treat for her. The concerts at the pavilion are also a favorite activity.

 

As hard as it is to find the time, what’s something you do just for yourself?

I like to get pedicures. I also have a fantastic massage therapist who ends our session with Tai Chi stretching.

One thing people would be surprised to know about you… 

Because we lived in four different countries by the time I was 7, I could speak 4 different languages.

 

What’s the best mom advice you have ever been given (or your own advice to mamas out there)?

People have their reasons for doing certain things. Until you’ve walked every step in their shoes that they have, do not judge them. Be full of mercy and grace.

 

Tell us about Salt Remedy! When did you open the doors and what do you offer?

Salt Remedy team

We offer all natural salt therapy for respiratory issues. Our clients come to us with difficulties from asthma, allergies, COPD and many other respiratory ailments. We have been helping Houstonians BREATHE EASY since October 17, 2016. We have salt therapy for all ages from baby to great-grandma. Our kids room is a favorite, with 3 inches of pink Himalayan salt on the floor. We call it the Himalayan Salt Beach, because the kids come in and play and get well with out even realizing it. Adults love our spa like therapy rooms with zero-gravity chairs. For 45 minutes in our community room, or 25 minutes in our Private room, you lay back and breathe deeply while listening to soothing music. It is not uncommon for us to have to wake people up, because the relaxation our therapies give, make so many people fall asleep.

We also have many wellness products like local honey, elderberry syrup, skin care products, natural inhalers, lotions and soaps. We pride ourselves in the fact that with the exception of the Himalayan salt lamps we have, everything else is made either locally or definitely in the USA.

 

What was the inspiration behind starting Salt Remedy?

Growing up, my parents owned a bakery/donut shop. My whole family worked in it together, making it hugely successful. I am my father’s child, and inherited his entrepreneurial spirit. I had always wanted to own my own business.

My daughter has always suffered with allergies and asthma. Her life has been a series of trying everything from allergy shots, to diets, to breathing treatments to help her breathe easy. In January 2016, my husband and I were visiting Israel with my sister and brother-in-law. While we were at the Dead Sea, we learned that the properties of the salt and minerals in the sea are very healing, especially for respiratory issues. My sister remembered, at that time, about a friend of hers in the Dallas area who had symptoms like my daughter. However, her friend had found a salt room which she visited and had gotten rid of her symptoms. We decided we wanted to try this for my daughter. We visited the salt room in Dallas, and it helped. The problem is that there wasn’t one in Houston at the time. So we did a lot of research, got mentors and consultants and opened Salt Remedy. I am so proud that ours is an independent; we are not a franchise. We are the only salt room in the Greater Houston area. Our business plan includes growing the business to be all over the Houston area.

 

What did you do before starting your own business (or still do if you still work outside of Salt Remedy)?

Before I opened Salt Remedy, I was a stay-at-home mom, who also taught fitness classes and had a few personal training clients.

For me personally, I was also a competitive triathlete in the local area.

 

Himalayan Salt Beach – Kid’s Room

Has health & wellness always been important to you or when did that begin?

Being healthy and well is innate to me. I was playing softball when I was 9. That was in the 70’s when girls didn’t have much opportunity to participate in sports. I continued to play other sports and was on the dance drill team in high school.

When my father was diagnosed in his 50’s, with cancer, I decided that I was going to do whatever I had to, to be healthy, so that I can hopefully avoid a horrible diagnosis, or at least fight through and overcome anything bad. Health and wellness is everything to me.

 

What are the benefits of salt therapy? And can you walk us through what that appointment looks like?

Salt therapy has so many benefits beyond just breathing well. We use pharmaceutical grade salt, which is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral (studied against the common cold), and anti-inflammatory. When you breathe these microscopic particles of salt, they are able to get into every part of your respiratory system. It acts as a scrub brush, thinning mucus secretions and breaking up mucus blockages. So, you end up expectoration the bad stuff and opening up the airways. The salt is also good for skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, and helps with anxiety and sleep by helping you produce serotonin.

When someone comes in for an appointment, they are greeted with the soft red glow of pink Himalayan salt lamps as they relax in one of our zero gravity chairs. We have calm spa music or ocean waves, which lull most of our clients to sleep.

The kids room, or Himalayan Salt Beach, is quite different. With a ton of pink Himalayan salt on the floor, they love playing with our kitchen set, beach toys and dinosaurs. We do not provide childcare, so we require and adult stay in the room with the kids. We do not charge a fee for the attending adult, although one will need to pay for each of the children. Our kid-clients love coming in and it is so fun that most of them feel comfortable enough that we get hugs around the legs, and many “thank you for letting us play,” comments.

 

What has been the most rewarding thing about your work?

I LOVE seeing people feel good and breathe well. So many people come to us because they feel at the end of their rope. They are tired of taking medications. They are tired of feeling bad, and they are just tired. When they come to us, many of them find the relief they have been looking for, for so long. So many times, we can see the discouragement and frustration on their faces when they first start coming. Most time, those same faces become happy and joyful. I also love that our clients feel like we are an extension of their family. They feel at ease telling us about their daughter’s upcoming wedding, the surgery their dog is going to have, or how their son has just come back from overseas. We truly are a big salty family here.

 

How do you balance owning your business and being Mama?

In my case, my kids are grown and out of the house. However, I like to go visit my two who live out of town, and I love spending time with my daughter, her husband and their children. So it can definitely be a juggling act to arrange trips out of town, or trying to take time off to surprise my granddaughter and pick her up from school. However, I have a wonderful staff of employees. They always look out for me and encourage me to take the time I need with family. They are incredible.

 

What are your future plans and dreams for Salt Remedy?

It has always been in our plan to expand Salt Remedy and eventually have locations all over the Greater Houston area. COVID and the shutdown, put a damper on the plans. However, 2021 year has been a record-breaking year. Keep you eyes open. I believe you will see more Salt Remedy locations in the near future.

 

Any events or deals North Houston moms can be on the lookout for?

Our normal first-time visit in any of our rooms is $20. However, if a NH Mom wants to book a sessions between now and February 28, we will give you $5 off that first session. I would like to mention that a fun way to experience Salt Remedy is to get a group of your friends together to do a session. Our group room typically has four chairs, but we can accommodate up to six people who book together as a group.

 

To learn more about Salt Remedy:

Website: www.saltremedy.net

Facebook: @saltremedy

Instagram: @saltremedy

TickTock: www.ticktock.com/saltremedy

 

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