So recently I ran out of my magnesium glycinate pills and thought I'd give magnesium "oil" (magnesium chloride and water) a try since I saw an easy and cheap DIY. The DIY states to put one part magnesium chloride flakes to one part boiling water (I used warm bottled water because the instructions on my tub advised not to use hot water). According to everyone, this is an optimum way to supplement magnesium and is just as good as the professional stuff.
HOWEVER, I was unsure what the dosage is. How many sprays I should get per day kinda thing. I need at least 300, if not 400 mg of magnesium a day to fully receive the benefits. Everyone seems to assume, "oh, 600 mg of magnesium chloride is 600 mg of magnesium ain't it," but upon further research this is far from the truth. Only 12% of magnesium chloride is elemental magnesium! So, that 600 mg is only 72 mg magnesium.
You can see for yourself here down on Table 2. Therapeutic Uses of Magnesium
I spent all yesterday crunching the numbers based on what I've found here and here, but I'll try to summarize it here.
My spray bottle is 8.4 fl oz/250 ml big, and each 8 sprays is 1 ml. I managed to fit 14 tbsp of flakes and 14 tbsp (207 ml) of warm water into it. I suppose the flakes thickened the water a bit.
1 tsp = 600 mg of MgCl2 (magnesium chloride)
3 tsp = 1 tbsp
So, my 14 tbsp = 25,200 mg of MgCl2 (3,024 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 100.8 mg/ml(8 sprays) (12 mg elemental Mg)
I'm more or less 114 lb, and the recommendation is 3-4 mg/lb, so I need 342-456 mg.
12 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/228 sprays : Recommended total/day for 3/lb
12 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/304 sprays : Recommended total/day for 4/lb
Aren't those numbers absurd!?
So then I looked up other professional magnesium oil brands' concentrations.
Asutra's oil is 1.3 kg/Liter. So that's 1.3 grams MgCl2, or 156 mg elemental Mg/ml. They estimate each spray is 20 mg!
Ancient Mineral's oil is 100 mg Mg/ml, and their "Ultra" is 55mg Mg and 40 mg OptiMSM/ml.
You see what I mean? The DIY 1:1 concentration is no where near those numbers... No wonder I woke up this morning feeling painfully anxious in my chest! I only sprayed myself yesterday about 50 times in total I think. That's not even 80 mg... At least my skin's super soft like a baby's. :'P
So you may be thinking, just add more flakes! The thing is, my 2 lb tub from Asutra isn't even enough to match their concentration! I counted it all, the tub only has 56 tbsp worth of flakes (I already used 16 for the main bottle and a small deodorant one). I'd need 58 tbsp to get to half of Ancient Mineral's concentration!
58 tbsp = 104,400 mg of MgCl2 (12,528 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 417.6 mg/ml (50.1 mg elemental Mg)
50 mg/8 sprays = 200 mg/32 sprays : Twice/day
50 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/55 sprays : Rec. total/day for 3/lb
50 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/73 sprays : Rec. total/day for 4/lb
That 55 sprays is the minimum I'd need per day, which is a bit more manageable maybe...
And if I wanted a bit higher, say 75 mg concentration? 87 tbsp! A full 100 mg concentration? 116 tbsp!
116 tbsp = 208,800 mg of MgCl2 (25,056 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 835.2 mg/ml (100.2 mg elemental Mg)
100 mg/8 sprays = 200 mg/16 sprays : Twice/day
100 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/27 sprays : Rec. total/day for 3/lb
100 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/36 sprays : Rec. total/day for 4/lb
Only then can I have a manageable 27-30 sprays a day.
Bottom line, this is one DIY that is not worth it to me. I need my magnesium, I can't skimp out on it lest I go back to crying nearly every day! This DIY is still probably good for local pain, massaging, sleep, and hair & skin, but for actual supplementation I'd stick to the real deal or just go back to pills...
Also, both the Ancient Minerals and Zechstein sites touch on why you shouldn't DIY. That is, it won't be as concentrated or pure, and it will have a cloudy residue of by-products (which is harmless but y'know):
https://www.ancient-minerals.com/bath-flakes-vs-oil/
http://zechsteininside.com/en/faqs/
So there. I'd need to buy two Asutra tubs each at $14 for barely short of the full 116 tbsp I'd need for 100 mg/ml concentration. Could I even fit all that in my bottle!? Meanwhile I could just buy two Asutra 4 oz bottles at about $17, and have 156 mg/ml! Sigh... At least my DIY Tend Skin is still every bit worth it.
HOWEVER, I was unsure what the dosage is. How many sprays I should get per day kinda thing. I need at least 300, if not 400 mg of magnesium a day to fully receive the benefits. Everyone seems to assume, "oh, 600 mg of magnesium chloride is 600 mg of magnesium ain't it," but upon further research this is far from the truth. Only 12% of magnesium chloride is elemental magnesium! So, that 600 mg is only 72 mg magnesium.
You can see for yourself here down on Table 2. Therapeutic Uses of Magnesium
I spent all yesterday crunching the numbers based on what I've found here and here, but I'll try to summarize it here.
My spray bottle is 8.4 fl oz/250 ml big, and each 8 sprays is 1 ml. I managed to fit 14 tbsp of flakes and 14 tbsp (207 ml) of warm water into it. I suppose the flakes thickened the water a bit.
1 tsp = 600 mg of MgCl2 (magnesium chloride)
3 tsp = 1 tbsp
So, my 14 tbsp = 25,200 mg of MgCl2 (3,024 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 100.8 mg/ml(8 sprays) (12 mg elemental Mg)
I'm more or less 114 lb, and the recommendation is 3-4 mg/lb, so I need 342-456 mg.
12 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/228 sprays : Recommended total/day for 3/lb
12 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/304 sprays : Recommended total/day for 4/lb
Aren't those numbers absurd!?
So then I looked up other professional magnesium oil brands' concentrations.
Asutra's oil is 1.3 kg/Liter. So that's 1.3 grams MgCl2, or 156 mg elemental Mg/ml. They estimate each spray is 20 mg!
Ancient Mineral's oil is 100 mg Mg/ml, and their "Ultra" is 55mg Mg and 40 mg OptiMSM/ml.
You see what I mean? The DIY 1:1 concentration is no where near those numbers... No wonder I woke up this morning feeling painfully anxious in my chest! I only sprayed myself yesterday about 50 times in total I think. That's not even 80 mg... At least my skin's super soft like a baby's. :'P
So you may be thinking, just add more flakes! The thing is, my 2 lb tub from Asutra isn't even enough to match their concentration! I counted it all, the tub only has 56 tbsp worth of flakes (I already used 16 for the main bottle and a small deodorant one). I'd need 58 tbsp to get to half of Ancient Mineral's concentration!
58 tbsp = 104,400 mg of MgCl2 (12,528 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 417.6 mg/ml (50.1 mg elemental Mg)
50 mg/8 sprays = 200 mg/32 sprays : Twice/day
50 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/55 sprays : Rec. total/day for 3/lb
50 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/73 sprays : Rec. total/day for 4/lb
That 55 sprays is the minimum I'd need per day, which is a bit more manageable maybe...
And if I wanted a bit higher, say 75 mg concentration? 87 tbsp! A full 100 mg concentration? 116 tbsp!
116 tbsp = 208,800 mg of MgCl2 (25,056 mg elemental Mg)
Bottle is 250 ml = 835.2 mg/ml (100.2 mg elemental Mg)
100 mg/8 sprays = 200 mg/16 sprays : Twice/day
100 mg/8 sprays = 342 mg/27 sprays : Rec. total/day for 3/lb
100 mg/8 sprays = 456 mg/36 sprays : Rec. total/day for 4/lb
Only then can I have a manageable 27-30 sprays a day.
Bottom line, this is one DIY that is not worth it to me. I need my magnesium, I can't skimp out on it lest I go back to crying nearly every day! This DIY is still probably good for local pain, massaging, sleep, and hair & skin, but for actual supplementation I'd stick to the real deal or just go back to pills...
Also, both the Ancient Minerals and Zechstein sites touch on why you shouldn't DIY. That is, it won't be as concentrated or pure, and it will have a cloudy residue of by-products (which is harmless but y'know):
https://www.ancient-minerals.com/bath-flakes-vs-oil/
http://zechsteininside.com/en/faqs/
So there. I'd need to buy two Asutra tubs each at $14 for barely short of the full 116 tbsp I'd need for 100 mg/ml concentration. Could I even fit all that in my bottle!? Meanwhile I could just buy two Asutra 4 oz bottles at about $17, and have 156 mg/ml! Sigh... At least my DIY Tend Skin is still every bit worth it.