What is Epsom Salt?
Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is a chemical compound comprising three elements—magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen—and is a common addition to homemade therapeutic products. Like table salt, it would have the chemical formula NaCl, but Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, which has the formula MgSO4. It is a naturally occurring mineral compound rich in magnesium and sulfate, which is vital to humans [1].
Epsom salt was initially discovered in 1618 in the water of Epsom in southern England. Epsom was a fashionable spa town where people of high social status would go to drink the curative waters [2].
What Does Epsom Salt Do?
Epsom salt has many uses and advantages. It is primarily used for bathing to relax a tired body, heal swelling, and heal minor ailments. Epsom salts help relieve many symptoms after bathing [1].
It also soothes skin conditions such as eczema, sunburn, insect bites, and poison ivy. The most popular and the only way to use Epsom salt to treat such afflictions is to dissolve 1 to 2 cups in a bath filled with warm water [3].
Epsom salt baths enhance nutritional uptake, support the detox systems of their bodies, soften bowels (an aid to remove toxins and the old and unwanted), and relax. Epsom salt is effective because magnesium is essential for many systems like:
- Your heart
- Circulation
- Your ability to utilise insulin
- Numerous functions performed by your nervous system
- The action of your cells to detox and flush heavy metals and other contaminants.
Sulfates, the other major component of Epsom salt, are required for:
- The healthy functioning of muscle protein
- For healthy joints
- The digestive tract
- Detoxification in the pancreas [4].
However, as noted earlier, if many people feel better but cannot absorb any magnesium or sulfate from bath water, that doesn’t mean they didn’t experience the benefits of Epsom salt baths [4].
Benefits of Epsom Salt
Epsom salt, a magnesium and sulfate chemical compound, has many bodily benefits. Despite the confusing similarity in names, Epsom salt is not table salt. Table salt is sodium-based, while Epsom salt is magnesium-sulfate-based [4].
However, the most crucial benefit of Epsom salt is increasing the nutrient supply. Minerals contained in Epsom salt are essential for humans’ bodies and are hard to get enough of via a regular diet. To solve that problem, people tend to bathe and absorb these minerals through their skin [4].
Bathing in Epsom salt can also stimulate and support the body’s elimination channels. This helps assist the body’s detoxification and flushing of heavy metals, essential for ultimate health [4].
One of the benefits of Epsom salt is its treatment of constipation, which could relieve those with this affliction [4].
Moreover, Epsom salt can help replace emotional eating with a warm bath for relaxation or de-stressing, promoting a healthy lifestyle and weight control [4].
Moreover, sulfate is abundant in Epsom salt, which is crucial for producing adequate muscle protein, healthy joints, proper digestive tract functioning, and detoxification of the pancreas [4].
Other purported benefits of Epsom salt include:
- Relaxation
- Reduction of inflammation and muscle aches
- Increased circulation
- Better sleep
- Improved skin health and composition [4].
Interestingly, a 2004 study found elevated levels of magnesium and sulfate in blood after Epsom salt baths. This could mean that your body is absorbing the mineral through your skin, although research must confirm this [5].
How is Epsom Salt Applied?
Epsom salt is a naturally occurring compound of magnesium and sulfate. It’s often sold as a home remedy for a variety of ailments. If you buy the crystals, people typically add a couple of tablespoons to a warm bath to be soaked in to relieve aching joints, sore muscles, itching from eczema and sunburns, or the irritation of insect bites [3].
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Epsom salt can also be used in a foot soak or compress to get it directly on the skin. For a foot soak, mix enough Epsom salt to dissolve in a basin of warm water and submerge your feet to soak sore, aching muscles [1].
Besides its use as a bath and soak, Epsom salt can also be added to shampoo to help remove excess oils from hair. Mix equal parts Epsom salt and a dollop of shampoo and wash your hair to help rid it of oils—especially for those with oily hair [6].
When mixed with hair conditioner, Epsom salt can boost volume and define curls. Combine equal parts Epsom salt with a dollop of conditioner, spread it all over your hair, leave it in for around 20 minutes, and then rinse [6].
Can Epsom Salt Help With Ankle Sprains?
Suspended in water, Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate, is a common ingredient for pain-relieving foot soaks and baths that may also act as an exfoliant [7]. Claims that Epsom salt relieves inflammation and swelling – expected outcomes of an ankle sprain – echo the salt’s place in soaks and baths, but again, the science trails behind [8, 9].
Some of the most common ankle sprain injuries result in ongoing conditions with symptoms of pain, swelling and instability of the ankle. Although Epsom salt baths are often discussed as an option for general muscle aches, sprains and oedema, this is not a well-studied option for injuries related to ankle sprains. Epsom Salt Council claims that magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt) could act to decrease oedema and inflammation; however, again, there needs to be more research to prove this [9].
Despite any superficial use of Epsom salt toward the health of the foot and the ankle, such as to treat fungal infections, soften roughened skin, or draw out splinters, none of these purposes relate to the spraining of an ankle [7].
In conclusion, while Epsom salt baths might induce some general benefits such as a sense of relaxation and perhaps reduce inflammation, there isn’t any substantial scientific evidence to persuade anyone that Epsom salt can help ankle sprains. Always check with your healthcare provider regarding any kind of treatment.