My oldest DD does it all the time, so I tried it. I personally felt it dried out my already dry skin.

So, a pass.

I do use epsom salts occasionally when I have muscle aches. It may be a placebo effect, perhaps a long hot bath sans magnesium would do the same.

I've taken baths with epsom salts before and didn't really notice any benefit. I take baths all the time, usually daily. A good, hot soak for me is bliss -- relaxes me and soothes muscle aches. I've said it many times before -- the bathtub is my favorite place in the house. I don't need any additives, just the hot water is enough.

When my left ankle first began swelling up (later diagnosed as arthritis), I bought a foot bath with massage options and added Epsom salts. I soaked my foot every evening for two weeks. It was comforting, but I also am not sure it did too much good. In fact, sometimes it felt worse the next day. I stopped the routine and haven't used it for a long time. Then again, the salts COULD have had an effect and I just stopped too soon. Ankle is not as sore now, but still a big ole' bump.

I tried it years ago...now...I just feed it to my roses. Magnesium helps strengthen cell walls and improves plants' uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

There are in fact some people who do not get enough magnesium. But there is some controversy as to whether, or how much, can be absorbed through the skin.

I have used Epsom salts in my bath. It has mildly analgesic qualities so good for relaxing and some pain relief for sore muscles when you overindulge.

I too am a big lover of soaking in the bath. Unfortunately my new condo has only a shower :-(( I sometimes will avail myself of my sister's bath tub.....but it's not the same as having one's own.

Not a bath taker, but a soak was recommended years ago by my chiropractor for back pain. I think I may have done so once or twice back then. Can't recall how effective it was, tho.

Makes me think of how we've always valued a good soak in the saltwater here as being good for aches and pains, etc.

I doubt there is any more benefit than water without the epsom salts.

If you want magnesium, pumpkin seeds will answer the call.

No, neither one of us have been in a tub in years - I would just as soon get comfortable, relax in my lovely bed or on it. This house has two water tanks and one year ago Christmas morning I found the 81 gal tank that served only two bathrooms leaking. Replacement now would have to be heat pump style in that size ($$$$) or two 50's side by side. I had a regularly sized tank put in to replace it since we've never used the oversized tub in our bedrooms bathroom it was installed to fill. In 10 years time I had filled that Jacuzzi tub for two just once to see how it worked and it was so loud when running we lost interest immediately.

I do know people who love a regularly taken bath to relax, I'm just not one of them. My brother and his wife bought a home with 4 lovely tiled beautiful bathrooms and not one tub. The first thing she did was gut one and add a tub. She's a bather and loves a good long soak.

I've only used Epsom salts occasionally in my garden.

I've soaked my feet for ankle pain in it. Not sure if it made a difference, though. I think the hot water worked just as well.

I rarely bathe and never with epsom salts. I do use it though to make a base in glass mason jars upon which I put a votive candle to use outside...

I've used it in my jacuzzi tub for those days when I over did it in the garden, but no longer. I found that ES will recrystallize on the jet pump impellor blades and it will freeze up over time. It may have helped relax my sore muscles but probably not a whole lot compared to the jacuzzi tub itself.

i love a hot soak in the tub but have never seen any improvements in sore muscles by using epsom salts. i much prefer a bath to a shower only because i'm obsessive about keeping the tub/walls clean. showers just spray too much water on the enclosure walls and with my bad back, wiping them all down is sheer torture.

Like other posters, there’s nothing that feels better for my arthritic hip than a long soak, but I don’t bother using epsom salts as I’ve never found any benefit from them. I never thought about using them in the garden, @User. Thanks for that tip.

Funny - the Jessica Biel story popped up in my feed today 😄

We removed both bathtubs in our house in Cathedral City and put in walk-in showers, which are easier to get into than bathtub showers.

If we want a soak, we have a spa next to the pool, and the spa is just outside the sliding doors in my bedroom there.

I've soaked my feet using epsom salts, but I don't remember why.

I take magnesium supplements, but I don't remember why I do that either other than that my doctor recommended it.

DH had the side of a toe nail removed due to the nail 'tenting' and digging into the skin. The podiatrist had him change the bandage daily for two weeks, first soaking for ten minutes in water with epsom salts. IDK if that was merely a 'feel good' measure or if there's some medicinal value to it. The toe healed entirely by the end of two weeks.

We have a big original Victorian bath which we don't use much but I find that if I've got chilled on a day long walk in winter a bath warms me up in a way a shower doesn't. I don't put anything in it. Day to day I can't be bothered to wait for a bath to fill and I get bored just lying in it.