Absorption of Topical Magnesium Can Magnesium be absorbed through the skin? Some athletes believe that Homeopathic magnesium lotions can reduce muscle pain. I've tried this and it doesn't work nor can I see how it can.

Homeopathic magnesium lotions don't* contain magnesium, so it seems a little irrelevant whether or not magnesium can be absorbed through the skin. However, magnesium ions can definitely be absorbed through the skin. There's no reason why that should reduce muscle pain(especially because ions would disperse throughout the bloodstream etc etc), but magnesium can be absorbed through the skin fairly efficiently.

*Footnote: they do, but not on purpose. If correctly prepared they would contain zero atoms of magnesium(depending on what 'strength' they are), but that kind of purity is impossible.