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Magnesium oil
Hi everyone,
I’m new to the forum
I just have a quick question about magnesium oil and preservatives.
I’m a die hard DIY person and have been making my own magnesium body butter for the last 12 months.
The ingredients are shea butter, grapeseed oil, vitamin e, and 25% magnesium oil (filtered water and magnesium chloride flakes as a saturated solution) with a blend of essential oils.
I slowly blend the magnesium oil into the cream base and it holds it emulsion well.
I have been making it for myself and a few family members in small tubs that they use up quite quickly, within about 2-3 weeks.
I have a few friends asking for some too however I thought I should check first if I need to add a preservative to the mix? I have a few batches that I have had for months and they appear totally fine (I also know this doesn’t mean they are totally fine).
I understand that water breeds life and any cream/ lotion with water needs a preservative to keep it safe however magnesium oil alone (filtered water and magnesium chloride flakes) doesn’t need a preservative and has a shelf life of 12 months +. Also my cream base alone contains no water so by itself doesn’t need a preservative.
Just wondering if made with magnesium oil is an exception to the preservative rule or still needs one.
Thank you for your time
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7 Replies
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You still need a preservative.
Microbes need two things to grow. Food & Water.
- The reason your cream doesn’t need a preservative by itself is because there is no water around for microbes to grow. (for safety reasons I’d still include a preservative but many would not)
- The reason the Magnesium chloride solution doesn’t need a preservative is because there is no food around for microbes to grow.
When you mix the two products you’ve now created the perfect environment for microbes to grow. Water + Food
Thus, you need a preservative.
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Hi Perry,
Oh great, thank you!
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You say it “holds it (sic) emulsion well.” You don’t have an emulsifier in the product. Have you had it stability tested? “Well” is subjective and with water/oils and no emulsifier you are likely to see some separation eventually.
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@Microformulation maybe the shea butter is the emulsifier
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I don’t think that is it. Have you had it stability tested?
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Hi everyone,
I’m just a little die hard DIY lover, it doesn’t bother me if they separate eventually.
But I do have to say I have two tubs that I made over 12 months ago (I don’t use i just wanted to see what happened to it) and it is still exactly the same as the day I made it.
I don’t know if it has something to do with the large amount of shea butter and oil to magnesium oil ratio? Which is 75% butter/ oil to 25% magnesium oil. I just blend it for about 5-10 minutes and it ends up a lovely texture.
I also have one other question about the magnesium oil in products.
So if I leave magnesium chloride flakes out in an open bowl, after about 12 hours they melt to a liquid. Obviously react with the moisture in the air and turn to a liquid state.
If I was to use that in my magnesium cream instead of making up magnesium oil, I understand I still need to use a preservative but does this make the cream potentially more stable and at less risk to attack because of the very minimal water content?
Thank you for your help and time
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As long as water is present, add a preservative.
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