How Magnesium Baths Can Boost Relaxation and Recovery

Soaking in a hot bath is relaxing, but adding magnesium flakes may be extra soothing.

Magnesium helps reduce muscle cramps, and many people now take magnesium supplements for stress relief.

Research on magnesium absorption through the skin is mixed, but that doesn’t mean it’s ineffective, said K. Ashley Garling-Nañez, PharmD, assistant director of programs at the Center of Health Communications at The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication.

A magnesium flake bath may provide similar benefits to supplements, she added.

How Do Magnesium Flakes Work?

The amount of magnesium that can be absorbed through the skin during a bath is unclear.

However, the concept behind soaking in mineral baths is nothing new. People have soaked their feet in Epsom salts for pain relief, and magnesium flakes may also help with inflammation and soreness.

The skin is the biggest organ in the body, so it’s reasonable to believe you can absorb quite a bit of magnesium through the skin, Garling-Nañez said.

Aside from muscle relaxation, you may also feel less anxious after bathing in magnesium flakes, which could promote better sleep. Magnesium may help with anxiety due to the way it affects the brain.

“It’s a key mineral all over the body, and it has a role in how the neurotransmitters in the brain function,” Garling-Nañez said. Magnesium has also been linked with decreased symptoms of depression and lower cortisol levels.

Who Might Benefit Most from Magnesium Flakes?

If you have a diagnosed magnesium deficiency, you may need to take an oral supplement to stay healthy. But magnesium flake baths could be particularly helpful for people who can’t tolerate oral magnesium supplement, Garling-Nañez said.

This includes people with irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and other conditions that affect the gut. “With oral supplementation, you can have diarrhea, but with skin application, you avoid the gastrointestinal side effects,” Garling-Nañez said.

Are Magnesium Flakes Safe?

The only known downside to magnesium flakes is that they may cause irritation to people with certain skin conditions, Shari Lipner, MD, PhD, a dermatologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, told Verywell.

“For people with a diagnosis of eczema, psoriasis, or who have open cuts on their skin, I would recommend avoiding the use of magnesium flakes, which could exacerbate their skin condition,” Lipner said.

For people without skin conditions, Lipner recommended using one cup of magnesium flakes in a bath for 15 minutes.

It’s always best to err on the side of caution when trying new supplements, and magnesium baths are no exception.