Milk of magnesia for your skin?

Magnesium is good; it’s an essential element. We know that and use it as Magnesium PCA (moisturizer) and Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (vitamin C, antioxidant), in one form or another, you will find Magnesium in our products.

Will you find milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) among our products? No. Why? The pH of this solution is 10.5, very alkaline. Our skin prefers to be at a pH of around 6.

Magnesium hydroxide is a common component of antacids, such as milk of magnesia.  Because of the high pH, it will kill bacteria, including those that produce odor, so you find it in antiperspirants. The problem is that fungi like high pH, so you may end up with a fungal infection. The least you will get is skin irritation because the skin doesn’t work well at such a high pH.

The only positive link between magnesium and acne that I found is that Magnesium supplementation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) significantly improved their quality of life, including improving the acne typical of PCOS.

Even antacid milk of magnesia has its complications: the osmotic force of the magnesia draws fluids from the body; high doses can lead to diarrhea, depleting the body’s supply of potassium and leading to muscle cramps. You could expect that when applied to your skin, milk of magnesia, also by osmosis, will deplete your skin of humidity.

What’s all that noise about using milk of magnesia as a “base”?

I watched the video (I was asked to), and the white liquid was applied thickly and left to dry. It was used to hide the skin completely,  covering acne. Color was applied over it, as in a painting. The whole setup works as a cover for the skin, which can’t be seen at all. Looks a bit like a Kabuki mask. I thought it was awful.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225636/