Stinging Nettle Magnesium Lotion

This homemade magnesium lotion features stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), an herb that fights inflammation, plus cypress essential oil which gently warms and stimulates circulation – making it useful for those with sore muscles, restless legs, leg cramps, or arthritis.

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To make this lotion, you’ll need:

• dried stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) – purchase from a place like Mountain Rose Herbs or Amazon, or pick your own and dry them at home; this herb can be used topically for inflammation or eczema
• oil of choice for infusing – you will infuse the nettle into this oil and use it to make the lotion; sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, or jojoba oil are some good choices, but feel free to use your favorite oil here
• magnesium oil – I grab whatever my local health store has in stock, or if I purchase online, I look for the Ancient Minerals brand (see more about magnesium oil below)
• unrefined hemp oil – using unrefined hemp oil helps give this lotion the green color, you could use a different kind of oil (or more nettle infused oil), but the lotion will be more of a white or pale yellow color.
• distilled water (or aloe)– water that doesn’t have minerals or impurities usually found in tap water; you could use liquid aloe in its place for extra skin soothing properties
• emulsifying wax – I use the kind from Mountain Rose Herbs; don’t try to swap this out for beeswax; see the note below if you’d rather use beeswax
• natural or organic approved preservative of your choice – I use Geogard ECT; see my article 10 Natural Preservatives for more options, or if you’re not aiming for all natural you can use 1% Optiphen Plus
• essential oils: cypress (or cedarwood, or juniper), and lavender (optional – softens the overall scent and adds pain relieving and relaxing properties)

About Magnesium Oil

If you’re not familiar with magnesium oil, it’s a magnesium chloride solution that’s applied topically, to help leg cramps, growing pains, nerve pain, and muscle spasms. It’s also used to help relax muscle tension and promote better sleep.

Even though it’s called magnesium “oil” – it’s actually a brine of magnesium chloride flakes and water. It gets its name because it feels kind of oily when you rub it between your fingers.

Since it’s water-based, it won’t easily mix into oil-based products unless you add an emulsifier.

You can buy magnesium oil ready made, or you can make your own magnesium oil by dissolving an equal amount of magnesium chloride flakes into simmering hot water.

Nettle Infused Oil

If you’ve never made an herbal infused oil before, be sure to first read my article about How to Make Herb Infused Oils (+FAQS & Tips).

Here’s a quick summary of how to make the nettle oil:

• Fill a jar about halfway with dried nettle.
• Optional step: Stir a small splash of 100 proof or higher vodka into the dried nettle to help extract some of the plant color and compounds that the oil is unable to extract.
• Fill the jar with oil, stir, cap, and infuse for 3 to 4+ weeks, shaking every day or two, or as you remember to.

There are alternative methods and more detailed instructions in my oil infusing article.

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No Time to Make Your Own?

If you’re too busy or overwhelmed to make your own magnesium lotion, I can completely relate – I’ve been in that situation several times too!

In that case, I recommend the Magnesium Lotion Shop.

Their magnesium lotions are non-greasy, creamy, won’t sting your skin, and contain 250 mg of Zechstein Magnesium per teaspoon.

Their products were created by Tiffany T., a fellow natural living blogger, to help her own family members, and this is the kind I use when I’m too busy to make my own!

Stinging Nettle Magnesium Lotion Recipe

You’ll need a scale to weigh out the ingredients.

Ingredients:

Oil/Wax Group (oil phase)

• 34 g (1.2 oz) nettle infused oil (17%)
• 10 g (0.35 oz) unrefined hemp oil (5%) – added after heating
• 11 g (0.39 oz) emulsifying wax (5.5%) – I use Mountain Rose Herbs brand

Water/Liquids Group (water phase)

• 64 g (2.26 oz) magnesium oil (32%)
• 79 g (2.79 oz) distilled water (39.5%)

Cool Down Phase

• 2 g Geogard ECT (ecocert approved preservative) or 2 g Optiphen Plus (not natural, but paraben-free and formaldehyde-free)
• optional essential oils: up to 40 drops cypress essential oil + up to 20 drops lavender essential oil

Alternate nature-derived preservative idea: Use 8 g (4%) Leucidal SF Complete and decrease the water amount to 73 grams (36.5%) (This preservative is a weaker option, but considered most natural of the choices; shelf life will be reduced to a month or two.)

Directions:

1. Combine the infused oil and emulsifying wax in a heatproof jar. (I use small canning jars.)
2. In a separate heat proof jar, combine the magnesium oil and water (or liquid aloe) and cover this jar lightly with lid to prevent evaporation.
3. Place both jars down into a saucepan containing a few inches of water.
4. Heat the pan over medium low until the wax is completely melted.
5. Remove from heat and stir the hemp oil into the hot oil/wax mixture.
6. Pour the magnesium oil/water mixture into the oils/wax mixture.
7. Mix until the lotion cools to under 104 degrees F (it’s okay to take an arm break now and then if hand-stirring), then add the essential oils and preservative and mix well.
8. Pour into jars and keep uncovered until completely cooled, to avoid condensation inside the lids.
9. The lotion usually thickens up overnight.

Shelf life if made with Geogard ECT is about 3 or 4 months. If made with Optiphen Plus, shelf life will be closer to 6+ months. If made with Leucidal SF Complete, shelf life may be up to one or two months.

If you don’t want to add a preservative, store in the fridge and use within a few days. You can also try freezing in small portions for future use. (I’ve successfully frozen many kinds of lotions and creams, but can’t be certain how magnesium lotion will freeze – you’ll have to experiment!)

Mixing Tips: I often use a fork and arm power to mix up lotions with Mountain Rose Herbs emulsifying wax, but you can also use a hand mixer with a single beater and a tall narrow container. If you use an immersion blender (stick blender), mixing time will be significantly reduced- do not overblend with an immersion blender or you may “break” the emulsion.

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Want more natural lotion recipes like this one?

Plus in-depth information about herbs, oils, butters, emulsifiers, essential oils, and other natural ingredients to use in homemade lotions and creams?

Check out my best-selling product, the Handmade Lotions & Creams eBook Collection!

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A Version with Beeswax:

This recipe was designed especially for emulsifying wax which can support a high rate of water-based ingredients.

Beeswax formulations require a completely different ratio of oils/wax and water. So you can’t just swap in beeswax for the emulsifying wax.

If you’d like to make a beeswax version of this recipe:

1. Go visit my recipe: How to Make a Lotion for Leg Cramps & Growing Pains.
2. Substitute the arnica and comfrey infused oil with nettle infused oil and hempseed oil instead.
3. Add a few drops of cypress (or cedarwood, or juniper) and lavender essential oil.