Magnesium positively affects skin by acting as a humectant to boost hydration, calming inflammation, regulating oil (sebum) production, protecting against UV damage as an antioxidant, strengthening the skin barrier, and supporting collagen/healing, which helps with conditions like dryness, acne, rosacea, and aging by promoting repair and maintaining a youthful, supple appearance. It's absorbed well through the skin, especially via magnesium chloride, for topical benefits.
Skin health and elasticity
Collagen production: Magnesium is vital for the production of collagen, the structural protein that keeps skin firm, elastic and youthful. Adequate collagen synthesis helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, making magnesium essential to maintain smooth healthy skin.
One of the best forms of magnesium is magnesium glycinate, as it's well-absorbed and doesn't typically cause digestive issues like some other forms (such as magnesium citrate, which can have a laxative effect). Always consult with your midwife or healthcare provider before adding new supplements to your routine.
Large doses (taken continuously) might cause too much magnesium to build up in the body, causing serious side effects including an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, confusion, slowed breathing, coma, and death.
Altered magnesium levels have been linked to inflammatory skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis, and acne vulgaris (AV).
Ten common signs of low magnesium include fatigue, muscle cramps/twitches, loss of appetite, nausea, weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, numbness/tingling, headaches, anxiety/irritability, and insomnia, with more severe deficiency potentially causing seizures or high blood pressure. These symptoms often start subtly and worsen, affecting both physical and mental health.
Magnesium Chloride.
This form is known for its potential to be easily absorbed through the skin, making it popular for topical applications such as magnesium oil or bath salts to help with muscle relaxation and stress relief. It can also be taken as an oral supplement.
Risks of Magnesium Supplements
Magnesium supplements can cause nausea, stomach pain, and diarrhea. Additionally, this mineral often cause softening of stool. Magnesium interactions: Magnesium may not be safe for individuals taking diuretics, heart medications, or antibiotics.
If you're taking a magnesium supplement, let your prescriber know before starting these medications. Calcium and high doses of zinc may prevent your body from absorbing magnesium. Separating these supplements can help ensure you're getting the amount you need.
Your body needs magnesium to function normally. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include low appetite, nausea or vomiting, muscle spasms or tremors and abnormal heart rhythms. A blood test or urine test can be used to diagnose magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency is usually treated with supplements.
It turns out that magnesium can bind to and either activate or dampen important neurological receptors in our body which have a role to play in sleep. Fluctuating levels of magnesium in the body can also impact how much hormones we produce, like melatonin (the sleep hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone).
Some good sources of magnesium are:
Magnesium may play a role in premenstrual syndrome (PMS), PCOS, and perimenopause symptom management. "For most women, I recommend Thorne Magnesium Bisglycinate," says Peterson. "It's a highly bioavailable form that supports relaxation, hormone health, and restful sleep without gastrointestinal side effects."
Magnesium levels naturally decline as we age, and this decline is associated with the formation of wrinkles and sagging skin. By replenishing magnesium levels, we can potentially slow down the aging process and maintain a more youthful appearance.
Magnesium improves circulation, ensuring that oxygen and vital nutrients reach the skin cells. This helps reduce the appearance of dark circles and under-eye bags by promoting a more even skin tone and reducing discoloration.
Applied topically, magnesium oil works quickly on localised areas as it's absorbed rapidly through the skin. It can start to take effect within an hour and show noticeable benefits within a week of regular use.
One of the biggest factors is the presence of calcium in the diet, as high calcium foods can reduce your magnesium absorption (and vice versa). Foods containing sugar and caffeine may have similar effects.
Yes! Taking Vitamin D and Magnesium together can help support a healthy immune system. Vitamin D aids Magnesium absorption, and Magnesium helps Vitamin D work better.
Multivitamin. There is evidence that vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, biotin, and the minerals chromium, iron, selenium, and zinc play important roles in maintaining skin heath. Additional supplementation may be helpful for specific skin conditions.
When taken in doses greater than 350 mg daily, magnesium is possibly unsafe. Large doses might cause too much magnesium to build up in the body, causing serious side effects including an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, confusion, slowed breathing, coma, and death.
For women especially, magnesium is important because it plays a role in hundreds of different functions involved in hormone regulation. Thankfully, increasing dietary magnesium intake and taking a daily supplement can reverse symptoms and optimize blood sugar levels, mood, sleep and menstrual cycles.
You should not mix magnesium with certain antibiotics (tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones), bisphosphonates, diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, some blood pressure drugs, and diabetes medications, as it can block absorption or alter effects, requiring spacing or avoidance. Also, separate magnesium from high doses of zinc, iron, calcium, and high-fiber/phytate/oxalate foods to prevent interference with absorption.
Magnesium influences keratinocyte proliferation, fibroblast migration, collagen synthesis, and barrier function. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests potential benefits in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, wound healing, and photoprotection.
While magnesium tends to come up on podcasts in the context of improving sleep or supporting healthy muscle function, the mineral actually plays a vital, much broader role in all kinds of bodily functions across the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems, says Daniel Chavez, RD, CSCS, a ...
Early signs and symptoms of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. As magnesium deficiency worsens, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms can occur [1,2].