Magnesium Chloride: What Is It and What Is It Used For?
Magnesium chloride is the basis of magnesium oil, magnesium flakes and many bath additives. But what exactly is it – and how do the different forms differ?
What is magnesium chloride?
Magnesium chloride (chemical formula MgCl₂) is a salt made of magnesium and chloride. It occurs naturally in seawater and in ancient salt deposits. In solid form it binds water and is then usually found as magnesium chloride hexahydrate – white flakes or crystals that dissolve easily in water.
Where does magnesium chloride come from?
There is synthetically produced magnesium chloride and magnesium chloride from natural sources, such as the Dead Sea or the Zechstein deposit. Around 250 million years ago, the Zechstein Sea covered large parts of northern Europe. Today its salts lie about 1,600 metres below the Netherlands, where they are dissolved with water and extracted as brine.
The main forms
- Flakes / hexahydrate: solid, for dissolving in water – for example for foot baths and full baths.
- Magnesium oil: a ready-made, concentrated solution of magnesium chloride and water for spraying on.
- Magnesium gel: magnesium chloride in a gel texture that is easy to massage in.
What is magnesium chloride used for?
In everyday life you mainly come across magnesium chloride in body care: as a bath additive, as a spray for massaging in after sport or as part of an evening body-care routine. It also has technical uses, for example as road salt or in food production (e.g. as “nigari” for tofu).
Dissolve magnesium chloride yourself or buy magnesium oil?
If you have flakes, you can mix a solution yourself. Ready-made magnesium oil has the advantage that the concentration is always the same and it comes straight in a spray bottle. Our magnesium oil contains 31% magnesium chloride from the Zechstein – with no fragrances or preservatives.