Magnesium Body Butter Recipe

When I was having difficulty sleeping following Covid infection, it was suggested that using magnesium might be helpful. Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for overall well-being and has numerous benefits for your physical health, mental clarity, and emotional balance. It is especially important for recovery from illness. I was willing to try anything and tried massaging magnesium body butter into the soles of my feet before bed. I am now sleeping better and whilst it may be as much due to the lavender oil as to the magnesium or the soothing bedtime routine, it is certainly a pleasure to use this body butter. It is also said to be good to apply to the neck and shoulders to help soothe headaches or used to help ease muscle cramps.

Magnesium is an important nutrient. It has multiple functions within the body: it is required for the proper growth and maintenance of bones and for the proper function of nerves, muscles, and many other parts of the body. I am taking oral magnesium capsules.

There is much less evidence for the effectiveness of topical magnesium application but I decided that it was worth a try when I saw claims that applying magnesium chloride topically supports overall health in many ways, including:

• increase sleep and quality of sleep, which is fundamental to good health
• reduce muscle cramps, restless legs and growing pains
• help to reduce menopause symptoms such as night sweats and hot flushes
• help depression and anxiety by promoting a sense of peace, calm and wellbeing
• treat headaches and migraines
• Help treat symptoms of chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, peripheral neuropathy.

Magnesium Body Butter

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa butter (or shea butter or mango butter)
1/4 cup magnesium oil*
40 drops lavender essential oil

Melt the coconut oil and cocoa butter in a double boiler or in a Pyrex jug hooked over the side of a saucepan so that it doesn’t sit on the bottom of the pan.

Let the oils cool until they start to get cloudy. You may need to put them in the fridge for a while depending on the temperature where you are.

Mix in the magnesium oil and lavender essential oil. Transfer the mixture to whatever bowl you will be using to whip it in later on.

Then put it in the fridge until it has hardened to a semi-solid state. You don’t want it to be too hard though, you need to be able to push your finger into it. Mine set too hard the first time round but I left it out until it softened again.

Whip the body butter – I used a hand-held mixer – until it is soft and fluffy.

Spoon the body butter into your containers. This was a lot more difficult to do than just pouring the melted ingredients into jars but it is worth it for the lovely soft, fluffy finish that feels lovely on your skin.

*Magnesium Oil

If you want, you can make your own Magnesium Oil using magnesium chloride and water.

1/2 cup magnesium chloride flakes
1/4 cup water (preferably distilled to extend the shelf life)

Put magnesium flakes in a Pyrex jug and pour the boiling water over the top.

Stir continuously until the flakes dissolve completely.

You can add a few drops of an essential oil (e.g. lavender) if you want, especially if you are using it by itself as a spray rather than adding it to the body butter.