We get a lot of questions about our topical magnesium chloride products. That’s why we’ve written this Ultimate Guide. Beginning with the ‘what’ and ‘why’, we move on to the ‘how’, ‘how much’, ‘how effective’ and ‘how safe’ questions people frequently ask.
What is magnesium chloride?
Magnesium chloride is what’s called a ‘magnesium salt’. It’s a compound of the mineral, magnesium, and the essential electrolyte, chloride.
Magnesium is used in hundreds of processes across the body. It’s essential for chemical reactions, the production and transport of energy, synthesis of protein, transmission of nerve signals, muscle function, healthy DNA, and more.1
Chloride is found in all body fluids, and it is responsible for maintaining pH balance, transmitting nerve impulses and regulating fluid into and out of cells.
You may have also heard of magnesium chloride hexahydrate (MCH) lately, and wondered whether it’s the same compound. MCH is chemically produced in a lab, in contrast to the magnesium chloride we use, which is harvested directly from seawater.
Hexaydrate means “without water” and when MCH transdermal brands make magnesium spray, cream or “oil”, they rehydrate these lab-produced magnesium flakes.
What difference does it make? MCH only includes magnesium chloride without the 90+ naturally-occurring trace minerals found in magnesium chloride from seawater. There’s reason to believe that these trace minerals in seawater are also beneficial to our health.
What do we mean by topical magnesium?
Magnesium chloride, sometimes referred to as “magnesium oil”, is known as a topical magnesium. In other words, magnesium chloride can be absorbed through the skin.
Today, we’re more aware than ever that the substances we apply to the skin are absorbed into the bloodstream. That’s why some medications are delivered through a skin patch, and it’s also why we need to be careful about what products we apply to our face and body.
But we can also use natural topical products therapeutically. People have been using minerals like magnesium topically for thousands of years. Ancient Romans and their predecessors may not have known that minerals could explain their healing baths, but they knew that long soaks in certain waters were beneficial to health.
Is magnesium chloride a natural product? How is it made?
Magnesium chloride liquid is a natural product, extracted from brine or seawater. Ours comes from salt evaporation ponds along the coast of southern California. The Dead Sea in the Jordan valley is another well-known source.
The ocean water captured in the ponds is allowed to sit for several months until it becomes a concentrated form of magnesium chloride. Ours also contains 80 to 90 other trace minerals, naturally occurring in ocean water.
Liquid magnesium chloride can be added to other solutions, like the massage gel we use in our Magnesium Chloride Gel or Balm. Magnesium chloride can be mixed with oils (as it is in the balm), but it’s a common misconception that magnesium chloride is an oil. This type of magnesium is popularly known as “magnesium oil” because of the viscous, slippery texture.
Magnesium chloride is also available in ‘flakes’, a solid, crystallized format used for baths, like Epsom salts. The flakes are prepared by heating the magnesium chloride liquid until the water is completely evaporated. In the process, the chemical structure of the product changes and it becomes a less concentrated form of magnesium chloride.
Who needs magnesium?
We all need magnesium every day. And most of us aren’t getting enough through diet.
Magnesium can help with nerves, muscles, heart, hormones, bones, teeth, and more. It provides relief from stress, improves sleep, reduces pain and has innumerable benefits. That’s because magnesium is an essential mineral for health.
Athletes and anyone with chronic body pain, or Restless Leg Syndrome tend to love topical magnesium. If you have cramps (PMS-related or otherwise), you’ll appreciate the muscle-relaxing effects.
We’re often asked if our magnesium products are safe during pregnancy. Unless you have a serious health condition, you can feel confident taking magnesium at a normal dose. Magnesium is great for pregnancy-related cramping and to keep blood pressure low, essential for a healthy, full-term delivery.
Topical magnesium is suitable for almost anyone. To learn more about the safety and benefits of supplemental magnesium, read Dr. Carolyn Dean’s book, The Magnesium Miracle.
Why choose topical magnesium?
Many people think of topical magnesium as a treatment for sore muscles. It is that, and much more.
You can expect all of the renowned benefits of magnesium from topicals: better sleep, relief from stress, pain, tension, plus the long-term protective effects for heart-health and more.
Here’s why you might want to add magnesium chloride to your regime:
- Athletes and customers with severe muscle tension, cramping and Restless Leg Syndrome choose topical magnesium as a fast-acting form of relief.
- Customers with migraines and headaches apply it to the neck and skull for pain reduction.
- Topical magnesium chloride is handy to keep in a gym bag, at your bedside or desk for quick application.
- Children who won’t take magnesium orally can benefit from magnesium chloride therapy when added to the bath.
- Some people find relief from skin conditions, like eczema and acne when they use topical magnesium.
- Magnesium chloride is antibacterial, and users find it reduces body odour and helps speed the healing of wounds.
- Magnesium applied topically may prevent or reverse skin damage from ageing and sun exposure.
