Transdermal Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate
NanoDoom 04 Sep 2013
Some years ago, I got on the whole transdermal magnesium bandwagon.
I smeared my legs and arms in with magnesium 'oil', which wasn't an oil at all, but magnesium chloride + water.
After 2 years or so, I came across some information that definitely made me realise that what I had been doing did absolutely nothing for me. Basically, none of the magnesium ever reached my bloodstream.
So I quit doing magnesium by application on the skin.
Now, years later, an acquaintance of mine kept insisting that Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate definitely does penetrates the skin and reaches the bloodstream.
All I could tell him was that I had been 'had' before with this transdermal magnesium nonsense, and I wasn't going to be fooled into it once again.
But I did remember that the stuff I covered my arms in back then was Magnesium Chloride - and not Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate.
Now I'm thinking maybe there is something to this after all.
Can anyone here confirm that the Hexahydrate form does penetrate skin (easily)?
I'd also like to hear from people who can debunk this. Either way, I want to know.
I do have a very sensitive stomach that cannot handle any magnesium supplements. Being able to do it transdermally would make life a bit easier for me. But I don't want to smear useless Mg all over my arms again, when its no good anyway. (all it ever did was make my skin itch and burn)
Thanks.
niner 08 Sep 2013
It's possible that the magnesium "oil" you used before was not very pure, and it was actually a contaminant that was causing the skin problems you had. When people are naming compounds, they often just drop the water part. Thus, you could buy a bag of magnesium chloride ice melter at the Home Depot, and it would really be the hexahydrate, but they would just call it "magnesium chloride". It would also have a lot of contaminants in it, so it's probably not a great source of high quality magnesium. It might be what some of these internet magnesium sites are using, though.
I don't really like the transdermal magnesium idea. The amount that actually gets in is kind of unpredictable. We evolved getting magnesium from our diet, not from soaking in concentrated solutions of it.
NanoDoom 08 Sep 2013
Basically, no form of Magnesium Chloride can actually be lipid soluble, correct?
So, the term Magnesium Oil is always bunk?
I have extremely limited knowledge about these matters. But I've always had the idea that skin generally likes lipids (oil) and takes it in fairly easily. Whereas the skin doesn't like to absorb water - at least not to the extent of taking it all the way in to the bloodstream.
I think this company that promotes this Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate 'Oil' (its a spray) claims - or at least implies - that the magnesium will reach your bloodstream when you spray it on your skin. And, thus, can replace any oral magnesium supplements you might be taking.
I've never heard of anything water-based reaching the bloodstream via topical administration. (I might be wrong, of course)
But from personal experience I know that something like Emu oil will reach the bloodstream. (I mixed some cannabis extract in some Emu oil, and rubbed a bit of it on the back of my hand. Ten minutes later I was high. Tried the same with Argan oil, and never got high. This makes me think only some oils reach the bloodstream.)
I'm going to have to see the bottle that this Magnesium 'Oil' comes in, so I can see the ingredients (their website doesn't list the ingredients). If it contains water and no actual oil, I'm going to assume this product will never reach my bloodstream.
niner 09 Sep 2013
I've always found the whole "magnesium oil" thing to be pretty sketchy, and this latest look at the literature isn't changing that picture. If someone were to develop a liposomal system where magnesium chloride was wrapped in a lipid membrane of submicron diameter, then you might be able to sneak some Mg through the skin. If the skin were cracked and dry, Mg salts have been shown to improve skin quality, although even here, it's not clear that there's a significant systemic delivery. In a technique known as Iontophoresis, an electric current is used to drive ionic substances into skin. This might be another way to deliver Mg transdermally. It would probably be best to go with something like green smoothies (watch your oxalate level, though), or a diet that incorporates a lot of leafy green vegetables. Low doses of magnesium chelates spread throughout the day, maybe at the end of meals, might be another way to get Mg without messing up your GI tract too much.
zeocen 09 Sep 2013
Would taking it orally have any actual effect or would I benefit more from a proper oral supplement? And if so, which one?
The only thing I've felt with transdermal application is a tingling or burning if it contacts with a sore, oh and the subsequent oily discomfort.
Nepomuk 06 Oct 2013
zeocen 09 Oct 2013
So even taking it orally it still wouldn't be very sufficient in terms of magnesium supplementation?
I found in my local pharmacy a magnesium citrate based pill (took forever to find one amongst the other types like oxide etc), so I think I'm going to get some and see how it goes.
amar7 14 Oct 2013
Anyway here's an example Dr, Sircus claims
"Transdermal delivery of medicines is generally considered safer, more efficient, convenient and less painful than injections or IV’s."
http://drsircus.com/...dermal#_ednref7
Do you think he is a sellout or just wrong? I plan on adding magnesium supplement and still not sure which delivery method and form. Do you belive that transdermally there is really not an efficient raise in blood magnesium levels, no matter the applied amount?
niner 15 Oct 2013
Anyway here's an example Dr, Sircus claims
"Transdermal delivery of medicines is generally considered safer, more efficient, convenient and less painful than injections or IV’s."
http://drsircus.com/...dermal#_ednref7
Do you think he is a sellout or just wrong? I plan on adding magnesium supplement and still not sure which delivery method and form. Do you belive that transdermally there is really not an efficient raise in blood magnesium levels, no matter the applied amount?
I think he's a quack. Also wrong. I don't know about sellout, but he sells stuff at his site. That's not a good sign.
zeocen 15 Oct 2013
Anagram 3.3 15 Oct 2013
According to my math, it would be 27 mg of Mg for every 1 gram of Chlorophyll A, about a leaf. This is about 7% of the daily requirement and probably an OK way of obtaining your daily Mg, considering bio- availability.
niner 16 Oct 2013
Anyone think of transdermal Chlorophyll?
According to my math, it would be 27 mg of Mg for every 1 gram of Chlorophyll A, about a leaf. This is about 7% of the daily requirement and probably an OK way of obtaining your daily Mg, considering bio- availability.
Leafy green vegetables are a good source of magnesium, but only if you eat them. You could rub kale or chard on your skin all day long without getting a significant amount of systemic Mg out of it.
Nepomuk 21 Oct 2013
zeocen 21 Oct 2013
I can't believe I brought into transdermal magnesium, especially his product. Although I was taking it orally, I've now been taking 400mg of Magnesium Citrate every day, 200mg in the morning and 200mg at night. First day was interesting for the bowels but after that everything's been fine.
woleile 26 Dec 2013
I was sure that I've read about studies about transdermal mag, but maybe my memory is wrong.
Well, there is this:
http://www.epsomsalt...ium_sulfate.pdf
And some anecdotal evidence: I have a kid with phase II liver detox problems. One manifestation was wild hyperactivity and violence when he ate high-phenolic foods. I discovered that an Epsom salts bath would stop one of the reaction in about 10 minutes. Now, that was mostly the effect of the sulfate. But too many of those baths in one week would give him diarrhea. That was the magnesium. This is a test anyone can do at home to answer for himself the question of whether magnesium is absorbed through the skin.
zeocen 26 Dec 2013
6ort 01 Sep 2014
Gerrans 01 Sep 2014
That does not smell right to me. No declaration of interests, and some dodgy referencing to such sources as Holy Water, the Fountain of Youth. What is the European Journal for Nutraceutical Research?
One reason I do not buy the idea that transdermal magnesium oil has much effect is that skin is pretty impermeable, once you get past the very outer layer. It may have been shown that some magnesium gets into the bloodstream, but I find it hard to believe a serviceable amount does. Trans-snake-oil-magnesium, I call such tackle.
Edited by Gerrans, 01 September 2014 - 01:49 PM.
niner 01 Sep 2014
Yeah, as Gerrans pointed out, this has all kinds of issues. One of the authors is affiliated with the hair mineral analysis company that did the testing. They claim that blood is a poor representative of magnesium status, based on a dodgy reference. Red blood cell magnesium is normally considered a reliable measure. They repeat the Internet mythology that Mag oxide has only 4% bioavailability, when it's far higher than that if correctly measured. I think this was a study cooked up specifically to pimp a particular brand of mag chloride, and intended to look like science, but it's not peer reviewed, nor are most of the references.
kurdishfella 23 Nov 2019
just a caution, be careful with magnesium oil because once it gets on your clothes or bed in high amounts it will never dry out and it gets sticky and leaves a stain and smells. I accidentally spilled in my bed and now my sheet is hardened and cold and it looks like i pissed all over myself!
Edited by farshad, 23 November 2019 - 02:28 AM.