Epsom Salt for Beauty: Can it Reduce Cellulite?

For several generations, Epsom Salt has been a trusted all-purpose remedy. From relieving arthritis pain, reducing bruising, healing sunburns, to allegedly curing insomnia, is there anything that Epsom Salt can’t do?   It also has several uses around the home and garden. With so many practical applications, it’s no wonder that Epsom salt is found in so many households.

In this article:

1. What is Epsom Salt?
2. What are the beauty uses of Epsom Salt?
3. Epsom Salt and Cellulite
4. What Exactly IS Cellulite Anyway?
5. If Not Epsom Salt, What Can We Do About Cellulite?

Rumor has it that Epsom Salt is also good for cellulitis, and that an Epsom Salt wrap can help cellulite to look less noticeable. But is there any truth to those old wives tales? Let’s take a look into the facts about Epsom Salt and Cellulite. 

What is Epsom Salt?

Although it sounds like it might be tasty sprinkled on french fries or popcorn, you would be wise to keep this so-called “salt” out of your mouth. It is a salt in molecular structure only, and not advisable to eat. 

Epsom Salt is scientifically known as Magnesium Sulfate, and is a mineral compound of magnesium and, you guessed it, sulfate. Both are essential in a healthy body, and perform important functions. Magnesium regulates enzyme activity, over 300 different types actually. Magnesium also is a great remedy for improving your sleep, enhancing your ability to concentrate, reducing stress, increasing insulin’s effectiveness, and preventing blood clots and hardening of the arteries. Meanwhile,  Sulfate helps the body to form proteins, flush toxins, absorb nutrients, and decrease the effects of migraine headaches.

The reason for the widespread popularity of Epsom Salt baths is due to the fact that both Magnesium and Sulfate can be absorbed through the skin, so reaping the benefits of these nutrients is as easy as adding a spoonful to your bath water.

What are the beauty uses of Epsom Salt?

Epsom salt also functions as a great beauty enhancer, and works to exfoliate and soften dead skin. To make your own super easy Epsom Salt paste at home, mix a handful of Epsom salt with a tablespoon of olive oil or other bath oil. Gently scrub your wet skin to get exfoliated and softened, then rinse completely.

You can get the same effect on your face by using Epsom salt as a facial cleanser. Just mix together half a teaspoon of Epsom salt with the cleansing cream of your choice and gently work into your skin, rinsing occasionally with cool water.

Another option is the well-known practice of bathing with Epsom salt to ease stress and relax your body. Stress reduces the level of magnesium in the body, but Epsom salt works to replace the lost stores of magnesium. Epsom salt used in bathing is rapidly absorbed into the skin, which assists in restoring proper magnesium levels within the body.  This amazing ingredient also raises the level of serotonin in the body, which assists in managing stress. In short, Epsom salt enhances the body’s ability to regulate electrical functions and lower both blood pressure and adrenaline levels.

Epsom Salt and Cellulite

It seems like Epsom Salt is something of a health and beauty miracle, so can it tackle the most common beauty problem that 90% of women face? Cellulite is much more prevalent in women than in men, but studies report that at least 10% of men are affected as well. It is most commonly seen on the hips, thighs, stomach, buttocks, and chest regions, though it can appear anywhere that there is fat over muscle, which is the entire human body. 

Epsom Salt can help tone and restore skin, and since the effects of cellulite are seen on the skin, one might assume that the two coincide. Really, while Epsom Salt may appear to work as a reducer of cellulite for some, it’s not necessarily a dependable remedy. There are many places where you can find DIY recipes for Epsom Salt compresses for cellulite, or other similar products, but most of them are versions of old wives tales that don’t hold up as well as other potential cellulite solutions.

To understand why, we must first understand what Cellulite is.

What Exactly IS Cellulite Anyway?

Almost everyone experiences Cellulite at some point in their life. At least, almost all women. And that doesn’t mean just all bigger women. While being overweight can lead to more Cellulite, our weight isn’t actually what causes the dimpled appearance that earmarks this annoyance. That is because Cellulite isn’t simply the presence of fat.

Some superficial fat exists between our dermis and muscles to act as an additional barrier from the outside world. Fat is a squishy, mobile, naturally created padding to keep our muscles and bones from being injured by the little bumps and lumps we take every day. There are strands of connective tissue called Fibrous Septae which connects the dermis to the layers below. When fat cells enlarge or push up into the dermis, then the normally loose Fibrous Septae become tightly pulled, creating the ridges and dimples seen in the image above. The other leading cause of cellulite is hardening of the Fibrous Septae, which is made of collagen.

If Not Epsom Salt, What Can We Do About Cellulite?

Since hardening collagen is one of the big root causes of Cellulite, anything we can do to soften that collagen and make it more flexible is the best possible solution. That will stop the dimpling effect and voila, no more unsightly lumps. To that end, there are hundreds of anti-cellulite creams and various other products on the market to do exactly that. 

A key in fighting off cellulite is to have a consistent daily plan that involves the use of an effective cellulite cream. You want to look for a cream that has collagen in it, as well as Vitamin C and peptides. Vitamin C integral to the body when making its own collagen, and Peptides are the very building blocks that our bodies use to make collagen as well. 

 If you have no idea where to find an effective cream, or if you’ve tried anti-cellulite creams before with no effect, why not take a look at our cellulite cream comparison chart to find a cream that really works? We’ve reviewed the top products on the market and have found some clear winners, check out our results here!