Should You Spray Magnesium In Your Belly Button?

Oral supplements have seemingly never been more popular on social media, where wellness influencers routinely show off their lengthy daily supplement routines.

While most take their vitamins and minerals orally, a new trend has emerged that involves supplementing certain substances through a different route: the belly button.

On TikTok, content creators swear by spraying both magnesium and castor oil into their belly buttons, claiming that doing so helps their sleep, digestion, and stress levels.

Many of these influencers say taking their supplements this way offers all the benefits without any of the side effects. Oral magnesium supplements, for example, can cause stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting in some people.

Spraying these two substances into the belly button morning and night may, in fact, help prevent unwanted side effects of oral supplements, but experts say there isn’t much research to support the idea that you’ll actually reap any of the benefits, either.

“This is most likely a health fad fueled by social media, and I don’t know any doctors who would recommend spraying magnesium or castor oil on the belly button,” says Thomas Pontinen, M.D., LCP-C, a double-board certified physician and co-founder of Midwest Anesthesia and Pain Specialists.

Why put magnesium in the belly button?

The trend of applying magnesium oil to the belly button is rooted in the idea that the navel is a central absorption point in the body, says Janis Covey, PharmD, a doctor of pharmacy and the owner of Kosmatology.

“This practice is often included as part of Ayurveda and holistic wellness,” Covey tells WellnessPulse.

Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine from India that uses natural approaches, including herbs, plant medicine, diet, oils, spices, yoga, massage, and meditation to optimize health.

While the belly button trend may be based on an idea within Ayurveda, Covey says there is currently not enough scientific evidence to support the claim that substances can be properly absorbed by the body through the belly button.

“Even if magnesium oil or castor oil do benefit gut health, these substances wouldn't be very bioavailable if applied to the belly button, which is just normal skin, despite its appearance,” Pontinen says. “It doesn't offer a direct pathway to the gastrointestinal tract. It used to be the entry point where the umbilical cord meets the baby's GI tract, but once you grow, it's nothing more than a scar from the umbilical cord severing.”

The benefits of magnesium

The evidence does, however, support the notion that magnesium, when taken properly, can benefit gut health.

Magnesium is an essential micronutrient that helps regulate digestive function, Pontinen explains, and it helps reduce the risk of gastrointestinal inflammation. The best source of magnesium is through foods such as avocados, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fatty fish, and more, but oral supplements can also be beneficial when necessary.

Covey says magnesium can also improve sleep by inducing relaxation and increasing melatonin production. It can also reduce anxiety and stress by supporting the nervous system and helping with cortisol regulation.

When used correctly, castor oil can also help improve digestive function, as it is a powerful laxative, Pontinen says. However, according to the available research, Pontinen says neither of these substances are most effectively absorbed through the skin and are better used when ingested.

The bottom line

Putting magnesium and castor oil in your belly button may not give you the desired effects, but it won’t likely hurt you, either.

Aside from potential minor issues like skin irritation, Pontinen says there isn't much harm in applying these substances to the belly button.

“After all, the placebo effect is real and if people enjoy this practice while maintaining hygiene and the rest of their health, then it can still help them,” he says.

What does concern him, though, is how believing in these fad remedies might prevent people with genuine gut or other health issues from seeking professional help and evidence-based treatment.

“Misinformation like this can lead to delayed diagnosis of serious conditions, self-medication, and worsening of symptoms over time,” he says. “If someone is struggling with digestive issues, magnesium and castor oil may be used, but only in appropriate forms and with correct administration.”