Uses and benefits of Epsom salt

Epsom salt is so useful because it’s a safe, inexpensive and easy-to-find source of magnesium and sulfur—two minerals that are essential to human health and offer a multitude of other benefits.

Hero Image

What can Epsom salt be used for?

  • Epsom salt’s health benefits range from treating skin irritations to fighting off seasonal colds and flu.
  • Fitness enthusiasts swear by it to ease muscle and joint pain.
  • Epsom salt can be used in a beauty routine as an exfoliant and cuticle softener.
  • It can even be helpful in the garden and in crafting.

Why is magnesium sulfate important?

Magnesium and sulfur are essential minerals, which means your body needs them to function properly.  The majority of Americans, however, don’t get enough of either in their diets, which can lead to a wide range of health issues. Here’s why they’re important:

  • Magnesium helps regulate the activity of more than 300 enzymes in the body, and a deficiency can contribute to high-blood pressure, hyperactivity, heart problems and more.
  • Sulfate (a compound ion of sulfur and oxygen) helps flush toxins and is vital to skin, joint and bone health.

How Epsom salt works

Integrative medical specialists and researchers tout the ability of magnesium sulfate to be absorbed through the skin, making Epsom salt baths a safe and easy way to increase the body’s levels of these essential minerals. And preparing an Epsom salt bath can be as effortless as dissolving 1 to 2 cups of Epsom salt into warm bathwater and enjoying a relaxing soak.

You’ll find many variations on this basic Epsom salt bath, as well as recipes for Epsom salt compresses, scrubs and more, in the sections that follow.

The history of Epsom salt

Also known as epsomite, Epsom salt gets its name from the English town of Epsom, where it was discovered bubbling from an underground spring by cowherd Henry Wicker in the early 1600s. Wicker’s cows refused to drink the water but after wading through it, he observed, their wounds seemed to heal faster. Word spread, beginning a centuries-long fascination with Epsom salt and a greatly expanded understanding of its many benefits.

Read more about the fascinating history of Epsom salt.