Have you been wondering how to make magnesium oil from magnesium flakes? Use this quick and easy method to make your own magnesium oil or brine for magnesium spray, or magnesium lotion.
How to make magnesium oil from flakes
Magnesium oil (also called brine) is a wonderful thing to keep on hand. I love it for adding to a bath or foot soak, for making a magnesium oil spray, or for making magnesium lotion.
If you want to know how to make magnesium lotion, I show how to make the best organic magnesium lotion recipe, which you can check out here.
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What is magnesium oil?
Magnesium oil is a mixture of dissolved magnesium chloride flakes and water. It’s not truly and oil. But, when you know how to make magnesium oil from flakes, and combine the magnesium flakes with water, it creates a brine with an oily feel.
How to make and use magnesium oil
You can buy magnesium oil, or you can make it yourself from magnesium chloride flakes. It’s easy!
My favorite magnesium flakes are from Ancient Minerals. They do a great job sourcing very high quality, pure magnesium from the Ancient Zechstein seabed in The Netherlands. There are other good brands of magnesium flakes, too.
After I show how to make magnesium oil from flakes, I’ll talk more about different ways to use your new magnesium oil, how magnesium works, and more, so be sure and read on!
Magnesium oil recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups magnesium chloride flakes
- 2 cups distilled water
Instructions:
- In a pan on the stove, bring water to a simmer.
- Add flakes and stir until dissolved.
- Allow to cool.
How to use magnesium oil
After your magnesium is cooled, you can use it as a spray, make a lotion, or just add it to water for a foot soak or full body bath. Using magnesium through the skin is called transdermal magnesium therapy.
It’s wonderful to take a bath with magnesium flakes or oil added, but there isn’t always time for that. To get the same results, I like to use magnesium on my skin in spray or lotion.
To make a magnesium oil spray, I just pour the magnesium oil into a spray bottle (preferably glass), and spray it on my skin. I like to spray it on my stomach and thighs, and I do it every evening before going to bed. It’s like a bath in a bottle!
Since straight magnesium brine can tingle and itch some when you first use it, another great way to use magnesium oil on the skin is in a magnesium lotion. This way you get the skin moisturizing benefits of a lotion, and magnesium on the skin, without discomfort. I show how to make magnesium lotion here.
Magnesium is amazing
Our bodies need magnesium for over 600 enzymatic reactions. We use magnesium for energy metabolism, protein synthesis, as well as brain, heart, and muscle health. Magnesium also helps our bodies to absorb and use calcium (source).
Magnesium is pretty important! Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is common.
How do we become deficient in magnesium?
One of the reasons for magnesium deficiency is that modern, industrialized farming practices deplete our soil of important minerals, including magnesium.
Stress, sugar consumption, alcohol and caffeine use, as well as prescription drugs also cause our bodies to use up magnesium faster.
Benefits of magnesium oil I have experienced
I’m going to share some of the magnesium oil benefits that I have personally experienced after using it for over 10 years. Here are some things I’ve noticed:
- Relief from headaches and migraines
- Sore muscle relief
- Hormone balance
- Better sleep and relaxation
- Anxiety relief
If you struggle with any of those symptoms, check with your doctor to see what they recommend for you personally as far as magnesium supplementation.
Internal verses external magnesium
Applying magnesium oil to the skin allows the magnesium to absorb more quickly and completely compared to taking magnesium internally. The body can easily absorb magnesium this way, which raises magnesium levels.
Also, using magnesium on the skin skips the digestive system, so digestive upset is avoided. With magnesium on the skin, also known as transdermal magnesium therapy, overdose is impossible. The body uses just what it needs (source).
What kind of magnesium should you use?
Again, since everyone is different, I recommend talking to your doctor to see what they recommend as far as a magnesium supplement for you personally. There are different forms of magnesium for internal supplementation, and certain ones work better in certain situations.
I take an internal magnesium supplement, and I put magnesium oil on my skin every day. I like to do both in the evening right before going to bed.
Other ways to get magnesium naturally
Although it’s hard for our body to do, we can get magnesium from food as well. Some foods that contain magnesium are:
- Seafood, like salmon, tuna
- Vegetables, such as artichokes, asparagus, brussels sprouts, peas, broccoli, cabbage, green beans
- Green leafy vegetables
- Fruit, including avocado, banana, raspberries, figs
- Nuts and seeds
- Legumes
Magnesium oil FAQs
These are questions I get asked frequently that have to do with magnesium oil.
- Where do you spray magnesium oil? I like to put magnesium oil on my stomach and thighs. Those are areas with thinner skin, so the magnesium can absorb easily. They are also areas that won’t tingle and itch as much as some other areas. Some people also apply magnesium oil to their feet.
- Can I put magnesium on my face? I wouldn’t. Facial skin isn’t the best place to absorb magnesium, and the sensitive skin on the face could be irritated by magnesium.
- Can you use too much magnesium oil? If you’re using it on your skin, the body will absorb only what it needs, so overdose is impossible. If you use too much, you might end up with a mess 🙂 I use about 1-2 teaspoons of magnesium lotion or about 6-8 sprays of magnesium oil every day.
- Can I use homemade magnesium oil to make magnesium lotion? Yes! Just use it in place of purchased magnesium oil or brine.
More on magnesium
Have you tried magnesium oil?
What have you used it for? Share in the comments!
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The information in this blog post is my personal experience and opinion. It is for general information purposes only, that may not apply to you as an individual, and is not a substitute for your own physician’s medical care or advice. Always seek advice from your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding nutrition, medical conditions, and advice. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read on this blog.
How to Make Magnesium Oil from Flakes
Have you been wondering how to make magnesium oil from magnesium flakes? Use this quick and easy method to make your own magnesium oil or brine for magnesium spray, or magnesium lotion.
Materials
- 2 cups magnesium chloride flakes
- 2 cups distilled water
Instructions
- In a pan on the stove, bring water to a simmer.
- Add flakes and stir until dissolved.
- Allow to cool.
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When you put the hot liquid (to make the lotion) in your food processor it doesn’t ruin it does it? I haven’t had my for a long time and it was expensive and I don’t want to ruin it. The instruction say not to!
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. How long can we store the magnesium oil without getting rancid?
Are the bath flakes the same magnesium flakes mentioned in this post? Is it more cost effective to make my own brine from the flakes than buying the brine already made? Thank you for all that you do! O have learned so much and really enjoy your personality!
I am going to try making tallow balm after watching your videos! If I also make this magnesium oil, do you think I could add it to the balm?
Hi! Can I use filtered water (I have a Berkey) instead of distilled water? Thanks!
Thank you for all your work and for sharing. I finally made it, Mine looks yellow – could this be due to Olive oil?, it looks and feels more like a “balm”I couldn’t mix it fast enough or perhaps my brine had too much water ?
X
Are there any additives I can use to make the lotion not feel so drying? Thanks!!
The magnesium itself can be drying, and I find that the oils and butters in my lotion recipe help to combat that: https://bumblebeeapothecary.com/best-organic-magnesium-lotion-recipe/
Hi. I cant wait to try this recipe. If I use your magnesium brine from flakes recipe would that give my cream a shorted shelf life since it has water added to it? Or could I just use flakes instead of the brine? Thank you x
It hasn’t in my experience, I find the magnesium acts like a preservative in a similar way that salt does 🙂
Love the benefits of magnesium, but I was curious as to if there was a way to calculate how much elemental magnesium is being absorbed with each teaspoon?
Great question! For my magnesium lotion recipe, two teaspoons deliver approximately 560 mg of elemental magnesium. Hope that helps!
Hi Marisa, any idea how much elemental magnesium is absorbed per spray? I saw you use about 6-8 sprays. Do you know about how much magnesium this equates to?
Each spray may vary in the exact amount, but every 1ml of magnesium oil should be 100mg of concentrated magnesium. Hope this helps!
Doesn’t seem like anybody else experienced a failed emulsion, but mine separated after cooling.
Any tips on my next shot at it ?
I tried to follow directions. Used a wand instead of a food processor……. don’t know if that was the error.
Sorry to hear that, and I’m happy to help! I haven’t tried an immersion blender, so that could be the issue. I also try to make sure the oil mixture is nice and hot before blending.
I just finished mixing and the water did separate from the lotion. Both the water/magnesium flakes and oil/beeswax/shea butter were hot but I didn’t wait for them to cool down for the mixing of the two parts. Is there where I failed? And is there a way to redeem this separation of water? Should i just toss the water off?
For anyone looking at this later:
The water and oil solutions need to be the same temperature for the mechanical emulsion to hold well.
Appreciate this!
Is there a reason to use distilled water? Can I use filtered water at home?
Great question! Distilled water is supposed to be the most pure and has less of a chance of unwanted substances in it. I have made it with filtered water at home and it still worked fine 🙂
I’ve heard from people who simply used tap water only to have their ‘oil’ turn black. It mixes w/ hard water substances and makes the appearance unappealing.
Thanks for sharing!
I am super excited to try this lotion. Is there specific storage and length before the lotion expires?
I find that the magnesium brine acts a lot like a preservative, in much the same way that salt acts as a preservative. In my experience, it is good at room temperature for around 6 months to a year. Hope that helps!
If you make the magnesium oil as above with distilled water am I right thinking it will be ok in a spray bottle for at least 6 months then?
Thanks
Thank you!!!