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Herbal Magnesium Cream – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Zest-Citrus Magnesium Cream – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Island Spice Magnesium Cream – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Sensory Gold Magnesium Cream – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Baby Calm Balm Magnesium Cream – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Magnesium Oil Spritz – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Magnesium Lotion – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
Magnesium Chloride Salt Flakes (Food Grade)
Magnesium Mineral Drops 
Magnesium Pomegranate and Charcoal Cleanser – all natural plant based ingredients infused with natural magnesium chloride salts (chemical free)
All Elektra Magnesium Creams can be used for:
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Why Magnesium is Essential for Skin Health
Magnesium has many crucial roles in maintaining the integrity and function of the skin barrier
Helps to pull moisture into to keratinocyte cells of the skin. Water and electrolytes are essential for bio-electrical conductance, nerve function and touch sense.
Is a key regulator of skin pH, detoxification (clearance of channels and pores) and barrier protection.
Is essential for the production of proteins such as collagen and elastin, which form the meshing structure of skin.
Is vital for the energising of the immune system, which is integrated into our skin barrier.
Skin microbiome balance depends on magnesium.
Healing requires sufficient magnesium supplied to mitochondria so they produce ATP, the body’s bio-electrical units.
Has calming anti-inflammatory properties, promoting faster healing.
Acts as an antioxidant to help neutralise free radicals and protect skin against oxidative damage.
Skin Structure
Skin is composed of three primary layers: the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous. This barrier is our fort against the ravages of the environment. It is the largest organ of the human body, accounting for about 15 % of the total adult weight, and a surface area of between 1.5-2.0m2. It is crucial for protection and hydration, acting as a shield against pollutants, allergens, and UV radiation. The skin maintains moisture balance by keeping water in via fats called ceramides. It regulates body temperature, protects against infection by keeping harmful microorganisms out, and supports the skin's natural pH and immune response.
Thickness and type of the skin vary significantly over all parts of the body and from individual to individual. For example, skin of the forearm is thinner than the skin of the palms. Absorbability of cream is less on palms due to a deficiency of oil pores. The majority of pores on the palms are sweat pores, which have the role of excretion rather than absorption. The pores are also denser and more tightly packed on the palms compared to sweat pores in other types of skin, as on the top of the hand. If the palms dry out too much due to use of detergent soaps and alcohol based sanitizers, they tend to lose grip, and the sense of touch is also diminished.
The amount of melanin produced by skin also affects resilience, as it is an antioxidant hormone that protects against photo radiation. This is why UV radiation causing redness triggers melanin production as a defence mechanism. However, too much sun exposure can cause excessive burn and damage at deeper levels. An interesting fact is that people with a genetically higher concentration of melanin and therefore darker skin, do not suffer the same level of skin deterioration or sensitivity as those with white skin, and neither do they suffer the ravages of eczema and psoriasis.
A compromised skin barrier which doesn’t hold enough protective fats, or contains enough antioxidants, including melanin, therefore allows too much moisture to evaporate, which leads to dryness and irritation, as well as conditions like eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. With enough skin damage and free radicals that are not neutralised by antioxidants, the immune system can become overloaded and unable to cope, leading to formation of rogue skin cancer cells.
Magnesium for skin barrier integrity and homeostasis
Magnesium influences the formation of the natural lipid transport system occupying spaces around the scaffolds of skin cells in the stratum corneum (the outermost layer), and creating a watertight seal that prevents both excessive water loss, as well as the penetration of irritants. Formation of collagen proteins are also dependent on magnesium.
Keratinocyte Regulation: Magnesium levels influence the differentiation and transformation of keratinocytes into their drier flatter form - ‘corneocytes’, which form the harder protective outside layer of the barrier. An optimal balance in the calcium/magnesium ratio is beneficial for the recovery of epidermal homeostasis. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium in this ratio leads to excessive hardening and dryness.
Wound Healing: Magnesium promotes cutaneous wound healing by several mechanisms:
Promoting Cell Migration: It enhances the migration of keratinocytes and fibroblasts from the dermis through pathways like the MEK/ERK/MMP7 pathway, which is essential for the early stages of wound repair. “Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests potential benefits in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, wound healing, and photoprotection.” 1 But remember not to apply salts directly to open wounds, as they sting the exposed nerves. Magnesium chloride salt solutions can be absorbed from anywhere on the body without broken skin, and the body can transport the available magnesium to wherever it is needed most.
Increasing Proliferation and Neovascularization: Magnesium increases basal cell proliferation and the formation of new blood vessels, accelerating the healing process because of access of more blood with oxygen and nutrients to supply cells.
Collagen Synthesis: It supports fibroblast activity and collagen production, which are important for tissue repair and strength. If the collagen structures of the skin have become too thin and weak they cannot hold enough protective fats and tend to lose too much moisture. This is also associated with excessive skin sensitivity as the nerves under the epidermis have less protection. Fats are protective and numbing so that nerves do not become over-stimulated and hypersensitive.
Anti-inflammatory Effects: Magnesium possesses calming anti-inflammatory properties. By enhancing the efficiency of the immune system, magnesium influences the decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor) and IL-6 (interleukin 6), making it a helpful treatment for conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. 1
Hydration – Magnesium makes us ‘juicier’! Magnesium chloride salts are hygroscopic, and by attracting and structuring water molecules, can increase the expression of aquaporin-3 (AQP3) in keratinocytes, a protein involved in transporting water and glycerol, and thus supporting skin hydration. Magnesium ions are also essential for hydration in the plasma of cells, and for mitochondrial metabolic function.
Antioxidant and Anti-ageing Properties: In addition to having its own antioxidant effect by donating two spare electrons (Mg2+) to neutralise free radicals, magnesium also acts as a cofactor for many antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, vitamins and trace minerals, helping to protect epidermal cells from oxidative stress or damage caused by UV radiation and environmental stressors, and thereby contributing to photoprotection and anti-aging effects. 2
Fats (lipids): An important partner together with magnesium
Just as cell membranes are comprised of a lipid bilayer, the skin barrier also relies on adequate fats. Natural skin oils are made up of ceramides, which are a bit more solid and waxy, and form a lipid matrix around the keratinocyte cells and water pockets, like the mortar around bricks in a wall. Cholesterol and ceramides are crucial skin barrier lipids, working together with fatty acids in a roughly 1:2:1 ratio (cholesterol : ceramides : fatty acids) to keep moisture in and irritants out. The skin microbiome relies heavily on this balance, which then influences immune system function, as the soldiers and police force of the skin.
Sebum is more fluid and excreted by sebaceous glands. It consists mainly of triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and free fatty acids, with minor amounts of cholesterol and cholesterol esters. Sebum moisturizes the skin and hair, contributes to the skin's antimicrobial barrier (via certain fatty acids), and helps form the overall surface lipid film.
If there is a deficiency in production of natural skin oils, then it helps immensely to supplement with natural oils for skin care and barrier protection.
The body uses fats to help hold moisture in, to work as an insulator protecting nerves, and to cleanse. Liver cells also use fats to cleanse. Fats can absorb toxins and free radicals very efficiently, but can become oxidised (lipid peroxidation) in the process. Lipid peroxidation is the oxidative degradation of lipids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in cell membranes, caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) like free radicals, which damage cells and tissues. It involves membrane dysfunction, cell death (like ferroptosis), and the production of harmful byproducts that contribute to aging and diseases such atherosclerosis, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. These used up fats need to be removed or else they will clog up tubes and vessels in the body, causing disease with circulation problems, low oxygen environments and metabolic syndromes.
In the skin it’s the pores or hair follicles that can get clogged with excessive sebum and wastes. Magnesium works with certain enzymes and sulphates to break down the fat molecules so they can be transported and excreted. Old lipids are replaced by new ones after cleansing.
Magnesium supports cleansing and detoxification
When the skin barrier channels become clogged with excessive oils and waste products, pores can become enlarged and inflamed, causing acne vulgaris. Other skin abnormalities can also result from lack of waste clearance, like keratosis pilaris, which causes dry, rough patches and tiny bumps often on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks or buttocks; or milia, white bumps that are essentially small cysts of trapped keratin that form under the skin. In all these variations, the common element is dysfunction of the skin’s detoxification system.
Much of the skin’s lymph waste disposal happens via glands under the skin, in the armpits and groin areas etc. The lymph wastes coming to the liver are usually packaged and dumped into the colon for elimination. If this system is compromised by digestive disorders and slow motility, the lymph takes the overload via extra skin excretion.
This is why sweating in exercise or via bathing or sauna treatment, can help to lift the load from the liver in dealing with all the waste processing. Sweat can also become smellier for a while until the toxins are cleansed out because the wastes attract microbes that like to ferment what you excrete.
If you have a high metabolic rate and produce a lot of hormones, the waste proteins of the oxidised hormones can also become a smelly problem. However, you can support the detox system to help excrete wastes via sweating, as well as soaking in magnesium baths, and hydrating better by drinking more magnesium water. Applying Magnesium Creams or Charge Lotion also helps to deodorise and top up with more magnesium to power your system.
Magnesium bathing or foot-soaking is a very effective way to allow the body to cleanse transdermally. This has been done traditionally for millennia when people travelled to mineral spas and hot springs periodically to cleanse, detox, relieve aches and pains, relax from stress, and rejuvenate. In addition, people learned to enhance the process by fasting, or receiving enemas if they were constipated. The goal is to cleanse thoroughly inside and out.
Studies over decades, such as this one, have confirmed the benefits of magnesium salt bathing: “Roughness and redness of the skin as a marker for inflammation were significantly reduced after bathing in the salt solution. [It] was well tolerated, improved skin barrier function, enhanced stratum corneum hydration, and reduced skin roughness and inflammation…Magnesium salts are known to bind water, influence epidermal proliferation and differentiation, and enhance permeability barrier repair.” 3
MAIN POINTS FOR MAGNESIUM SKIN CARE
Magnesium helps bring in moisture to cells for skin softening;
Acts as an antioxidant to neutralize free radicals and slow down skin ageing;
Empowers enzymes that help cleanse and detox the skin barrier;
Provides pH and electrolyte balance (regulation);
Energises mitochondria to strengthen immune function and healing processes;
Calms stressed skin by counteracting oxidative stress;
Provides anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing benefits.
Natural magnesium chloride salt is easily absorbed once dissolved and can be taken up by skin via bathing, or incorporation into lipids that can be massaged into skin as Magnesium Cream, Magnesium Charge Lotion and Magnesium Oil Spritz. Elektra Magnesium products are made only with natural and organic ingredients (chem-free), ensuring the highest quality. Use any combination to suit individual skin type and needs. More information about how to use is on our FAQ page, with Magnesium Dose Guide.
The skin is lipophilic: It hungrily absorbs oils for skin barrier protection. Magnesium ions that are infused with the plant oils and butters gain easier access to the epidermal reservoir, providing an excellent natural magnesium supplement, as well as a high performance skin care product.
Another article about HOW MAGNESIUM GETS IN VIA SKIN is here (link).
By Sandy Sanderson © 2025
REFERENCES:
(1) Chalupczak, N. V.; Lipner, S. R. The Role of Magnesium in Dermatology. JAAD Reviews 2026, 7, 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdrv.2025.10.004.
(2) Fujita, K.; Shindo, Y.; Katsuta, Y.; Goto, M.; Hotta, K.; Oka, K. Intracellular Mg2+ Protects Mitochondria from Oxidative Stress in Human Keratinocytes. Commun Biol 2023, 6 (1), 868. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05247-6.
(3) Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin. - Abstract - Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/med/15689218 (accessed 2025-12-19).
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