Our skin is the largest organ of the body and has a surface of 1.5 to 2 square meters. Our skin is the first barrier for many substances and it prevents dehydration. Our skin excretes water, waste products and salt. Including sweating. But the skin can also absorb substances. This concerns small fat-free substances such as vitamins (A, D, E, F and K), salts, acids and bases. That is why the sea often does us so much good (although nowadays it contains a lot of polluted substances), and we like to use salt baths and mud masks / mud packs.
“The absorption of magnesium through the skin is probably caused by active absorption of magnesium by the sweat glands,” explains Dr. Richard Danel of the Magnesium Health Institute. Our bodies likes magnesium so much that our sweat glands actively retrieve the magnesium from the sweat that evaporates on our skin. Our sweat glands don't know the difference between sweat on the skin or magnesium oil on the skin. It has been proven that the warmer the environment, the better the magnesium is absorbed. So putting on magnesium oil in the sauna works very well. Make sure you stay well on your towel, because magnesium detoxifies and the sweat that drips from your body when you've put magnesium oil on it, is even dirtier than usual.
Magnesium oil is not an oil. It is 31% magnesium chloride dissolved in water. The water molecules group around the magnesium ion, which makes the solution feel oily. However, you will notice that the liquid does not behave oily. It is very soluble in water (not oil) and can therefore always be easily diluted with water. You can not combine it with oil for a massage and it is not greasy (oil is).
The purest form of magnesium chloride is magnesium oil of 31% or higher and the magnesium flakes. These are extracted in Veendam (Groningen). This is not considered a dietary supplement, but is classified as a cosmetic. You use it on the skin in its pure form, as a gel, serum or lotion. You can dilute it in the bath (foot baths and baths). You can also take magnesium as a supplement, but using throught the skin is safer, faster and more effectively. The daily dose for magnesium differs per person. In the Netherlands, we officially adhere to the following RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance):
Average adult man | 300-350 mg |
Average adult female | 250-350 mg |
Pregnant woman | 300-400 mg |
Nursing woman | 350-400 mg |
Kids 4-13 years of age |
120-200 mg |
Teens 14-18 years of age |
200-350 mg |
Overdose
It is quite difficult to get too much magnesium through food or through the skin. Via the skin is very safe because the skin does not absorb more than the body needs. You can get an overdose by taking supplements (orally).
The poisoning value of magnesium is between 2000-2500 mg/day.
Long before you reach the maximum value, your body has already started to work out the excess magnesium from your body. The symptoms in order from mild to increasingly severe magnesium poisoning:
Application of magnesium oil
Spray the magnesium oil on the skin. Leave it on for 10 minutes and then wash it off with water. A chloride layer remains on the skin that can irritate. Especially if a lot of waste products are pulled out of the skin. If desired, rub your skin with cream afterwards.
Buy magnesium oil
There are several brands of magnesium oil and magnesium flakes. Most come from the same source. Pure magnesium oil usually has a concentration of 31% or higher and contains no ingredients other than magnesium, chloride and water (aqua). However, there are more and more products with additives. Below I will give you two links to reliable magnesium suppliers. There are even more good and reliable brands.
[note] You can also take magnesium in the form of supplements, but most supplements have an effectiveness of much less than 15% and it reacts strongly with other foods you use as also with painkillers. The maximum absorption effectiveness of magnesium through the skin is 75%.