Believed to possess both anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties, magnets have been an alternative medical mainstay for treating pain since ancient times—and some experts say that they may provide beauty benefits as well. Today, it’s estimated that Americans spend approximately $500 million per year on therapeutic magnets (think wraps or bracelets that target pressure points on the body), with reports tagging the world market at $5 billion. With statistics like that, it’s no surprise that several skin-care companies have recently debuted products that incorporate magnets, and their counterpart of electromagnetic energy, as key anti-agers. But can the promises of wrinkle-reducing magnets really restore vitality to your skin?
The basic theory behind magnetic therapy is that the force of the positively charged particles is able to influence the molecules in the body—without touching them. Many ancient cultures, including those in Egypt, China, Persia and Europe, used magnets in one form or another to treat ailments, disorders and wounds, but it wasn’t until after World War II that “magnetic therapy” became popular in the United States, branching off into its own form of alternative medicine. After the war, Russian doctors experimented with magnets by placing them on specific pressure points of amputee patients, many of whom experienced a reduction in pain. This makes magnets a seemingly useful tool in assisting with healing and reducing pain, since they appear to enlarge blood vessel diameter (which increases circulation) and the flow of oxygen in the blood stream.
“Magnetic therapy is really about normalizing cellular activities and opening the way for proper nutrients to get to the cells. Environmental damage depolarizes the skin cells, and magnets help bring tissue from a state of inactivity back into order,” explains Szilvia Hickman, senior vice president of Szep Elet, distributor of ilike Organic Skin Care. “Magnetic stimulation gets the tissue fluids flowing again. Waste products are removed, edema and congestion is regulated, inflammation is decreased— and cell metabolism reverts back to normal.” Hickman notes that there are three common areas that magnetic therapy targets: cell metabolism, the reduction of inflammation and detoxification.
Have you incorporated magnets into your beauty routine?
