Epsom Salt Crystals Facts: Here's What You Should Know!

Epsom salt is also known as magnesium sulfate.

Epsom salt crystal carries with it several health benefits. It is more commonly known as bath salt.

The science behind the formation of an Epsom salt crystal is a fairly simple one. You can try making them at home as well. For this, you will need a bowl or a glass, some Epsom salt, and warm water. You can start by mixing the salt and water in a bowl.

Allow it to dissolve properly. Following this, keep the mixture in your refrigerator for a few hours. Voilà! Your Epsom salt crystal is ready.

The Epsom salt crystal have also been used to cure several ailments, like insomnia and constipation. Magnesium is a very important mineral for our body.

If there is any deficiency of this particular mineral, it can lead to several health problems. In such a case, consuming Epsom salt crystals, per the recommendation of your doctor, can help restore the balance.

It is also used to help ease the pain of any kind of muscle soreness that you may suffer from. Just add some Epsom salt crystals to your bathwater, and you are good to go.

Epsom salt crystals have also proved to be effective for agriculture use. When there is a problem of magnesium deficiency in the soil, Epsom salt crystals are used to solve the issue.

The Formation of Epsom Crystals

The scientific name for Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. Epsom salts can have various health benefits, like healing sore muscles and curing illnesses like constipation and insomnia.

An interesting fact about Epsom salt is that it is not at all similar to that of table salt. In fact, the name Epsom salt was given after its place of origin, Epsom, England. A very common name of Epsom salt is bath salt.

The formation of Epsom salt crystals is fairly simple. It begins with dissolving salt into hot water.

The temperature of the water is of extreme importance since it determines how much salt can be dissolved at a time. As we all know, molecular space can be increased with the help of heat. Therefore, the hotter the temperature of the water, the more salt you can dissolve.

Eventually, the process of crystallization occurs, and solid crystals are formed when the water starts to cool down. Also, when the water evaporates, the formation of the crystal structure of the salts speeds up as well.

Physical Features Of Epsom Salt Crystals

The Epsom salt crystal is monoclinic in shape, unlike sugar crystals. It resembles the shape of table salt, although it can be available in larger shapes as well.

And when you go to a store or look online to buy Epsom salt, you are most likely to find a much bigger size than the usual size of salt crystals. The shape of Epsom salt crystals resembles that of a prism.

The reason behind the popularity of Epsom salt crystals is their various health benefits. It is used to treat pain, swelling, sore muscles, and various other diseases like insomnia and constipation, and arthritis. The human body needs magnesium for proper functioning.

If there is a depletion of this particular mineral, it can lead to various health-related problems. That's when magnesium sulfate or Epsom salt comes into play. Consuming Epsom salt crystals can relieve you of at least some amount of suffering, if not all.

The Uses Of Epsom Salt Crystals

Commonly known as bath salts, Epsom salt crystals have several health benefits. Magnesium sulfate can be used to treat the magnesium deficiency in your body.

Not only that, magnesium sulfate, or Epsom salt crystals, have also proven to be very effective at curing soreness in your foot muscles. Furthermore, it can also help to produce melatonin in your body.

Melatonin is a type of hormone that promotes sleep. Some claim that the amount of magnesium that gets absorbed in your body when you consume it by mouth is much more when you do the same through your skin.

As a result, many people who suffer from constipation are told to consume Epsom salt crystals along with water. On the contrary, the consumption of Epsom salt crystals can cause some negative side effects, like bloating and liquid stool.

Epsom salts have also proven to be very effective in agriculture. For any form of magnesium deficiency in the soil, Epsom salt is used to restore balance. Some of the types of plants on which it is used include rose, tomato, cannabis, and potatoes.

How To Grow Epsom Salt Crystals

The science behind how Epsom salt crystals form is a fairly simple one. The formation of Epsom salt crystals involves the process of dissolving Epsom salts in warm water. The binding of the Epsom salt with water molecules occurs faster when the water temperature is higher. Alum crystals are in fact the fastest-growing crystals.

You can even try to experiment with making Epsom salt crystals at home. Not many ingredients are required in this process. You will only need Epsom salt, a small bowl or glass, and hot water.

You can start by adding Epsom salt and water into a bowl or glass. Following this, stir it well, so that the salt gets properly dissolved in the liquid.

There may be some undissolved crystals in the mixture. Once you have done this, keep the dissolved salt solution in your refrigerator for at least three hours and then take it out. The crystal growth occurs much faster when you put the solution in the refrigerator.

You will then see a bowl full of Epsom salt crystal spikes. You can elevate this experiment further by adding food coloring to your crystals as well. You can also regulate the shape of the salt crystals according to the temperature.

If you want large-shaped crystals, then you can use heat. You can also try cooling it for a thin needle-shaped salt crystal.

While making this solution at home, one needs to consider a few things. The first thing to consider is making sure that the amount of water and Epsom salt used is be well-balanced.

You should pour out any extra liquid from the bowl because otherwise, you won't get the desired results. It can also cause the Epsom salt crystal to melt at a much faster rate.