Magnesium Cream: Why We Blend Magnesium Into Our Paw Paw Cream
Magnesium cream has become one of the most searched-for skincare products in Australia — a body cream with magnesium blended into it. If you’ve seen tubs of “magnesium sleep lotion” and “magnesium body butter” appearing everywhere from pharmacies to gift shops, you’ve watched the trend grow. Here’s the full, honest story of the mineral behind it — and why we blend it with paw paw. A quick history of magnesium Magnesium has been part of daily life for over 400 years. The story goes that in 1618, a farmer at Epsom in England noticed his cattle refused to drink from a certain spring — the water was bitter with what we now call Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). Those salts made Epsom famous, and people have been soaking in magnesium baths ever since. The mineral itself was first isolated in 1808 by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy, and it takes its name from Magnesia, an ancient region of Greece. Not bad for something most people first meet in a foot soak. What magnesium actually is Magnesium is one of the most common elements on Earth — it’s in the ground beneath us, dissolved through every drop of seawater, and it even sits at the very centre of chlorophyll, the green in every plant leaf. In people, it’s an essential dietary mineral: your body uses it constantly, and you get it from foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds and whole grains. Where the magnesium in creams comes from The form used in skincare is almost always magnesium chloride, and most of the world’s supply comes from natural brines — mineral-rich waters from ancient underground seabeds and salt lakes, the most famous being deep European deposits laid down millions of years ago. The brine is purified and concentrated into magnesium chloride flakes or liquid. The forms magnesium comes in Magnesium chloride — the skincare one: creams, “magnesium oil” sprays (not really an oil — just concentrated brine) and bath flakes Magnesium sulfate — Epsom salts, the classic bath soak Dietary forms (citrate, glycinate, oxide and others) — the tablet and powder forms sold as supplements; talk to your pharmacist about those, that’s their department, not ours How a magnesium cream is made The magnesium chloride is dissolved and blended through the cream’s water phase — and in our case, that phase isn’t plain water at all: we use certified organic aloe vera juice instead. Then it’s emulsified with natural oils and butters, together with our real Australian paw paw extract (also spelled pawpaw or papaw, and known as papaya, popo, or botanically Carica papaya) — sourced from Australian organic growers, never an imported powder — and finished with less than 1% preservative, which is rare on today’s market. The full list is open for anyone to read on our ingredients page. Why we put it in a paw paw cream When we created our Paw Paw Magnesium Body Cream, we wanted to bring together two things Australians already love: the traditional skin-softening paw paw, and the modern magnesium cream ritual. As far as we know, nobody else in Australia makes a paw paw and magnesium cream — it’s genuinely our own. Many of our customers make it part of a wind-down routine — after the evening shower, before bed — a few minutes of looking after your skin at the end of the day. Let’s be straight about what it is (and isn’t) Our cream is a cosmetic. It moisturises, softens and conditions the skin — and it does those things well. It is not a medicine, and it isn’t intended to treat any condition. We’d rather tell you that plainly than dress it up — you’ll always get the honest version from us. Quick answers One cream, two Australian favourites — paw paw and magnesium, together.Shop the Paw Paw Magnesium Cream → Keep reading: what belongs in a good paw paw cream · natural paw paw cream vs petroleum ointments
Paw Paw Cream vs Vaseline & Petroleum Ointments: The Honest Difference
Turn over the most famous paw paw products (also spelled pawpaw or papaw, and known as papaya, popo, or botanically Carica papaya) in Australia and read the first ingredient. On many of them — and on a tub of Vaseline — it isn’t paw paw. It’s petrolatum, better known as petroleum jelly. Often more than 90% of the tube. What is petroleum jelly (and Vaseline)? Vaseline is the best-known brand of petroleum jelly — petrolatum, a by-product of oil refining, the same industry that fuels cars. It has been used in skincare for over a century because it’s cheap, extremely stable, and forms a waterproof seal over the skin. To be fair and honest: petroleum jelly is permitted in cosmetics and considered safe by regulators. This isn’t a scare story. It’s a choice story. Paw paw cream vs Vaseline: two philosophies Vaseline and petroleum-based ointments work by sitting ON your skin — a thick, greasy barrier that seals things in (and out). The fruit content, if there is any, is usually a small percentage carried in that petroleum base. A natural paw paw cream works differently — the plant oils and the fruit’s own goodness soak into the skin as well as protecting it, with no petroleum base. The fruit isn’t a garnish; it’s the point. What’s the difference between paw paw cream and Vaseline? Honestly, they’re different tools. If you want a plain waterproof seal, petroleum jelly like Vaseline does that one job. But if you want skincare made with real paw paw on a plant base — that absorbs rather than just sitting there greasy, and is petroleum-free — that’s a different product built for a different reason. That’s the choice we made. How we make ours Our Paw Paw Magnesium Body Cream contains no petroleum — it’s built on an organic aloe vera base, not a petroleum jelly base like Vaseline. It carries 60% real Australian paw paw from Australian organic growers, certified-organic aloe vera juice where most creams use plain water, magnesium, and natural plant oils and butters — with less than 1% preservative in the whole formula. It’s a paw paw cream and a magnesium cream in one — a combination you won’t find in the big-name petroleum tubes. Vegan and cruelty-free throughout, made in New South Wales. Every ingredient is on our ingredients page. Which should you choose? Vaseline / petroleum ointment Real McArthur paw paw cream First ingredient Petrolatum (petroleum jelly) Paw paw and plant ingredients Base Petroleum jelly Organic aloe vera (petroleum-free) Paw paw content Small % (if any) 60% Feel Thick, greasy seal Absorbs in, still protects Origin of base Oil refining Plants, grown in Australia Vegan Usually no Yes If you want a waterproof seal, a petroleum ointment like Vaseline does that job. If you want skincare that feels like it came from a fruit rather than a refinery — that’s why we exist. We’ve written a full paw paw ointment vs cream comparison here. Quick answers From the fruit, not the refinery.Shop natural paw paw cream → Keep reading: paw paw ointment vs natural cream · why we blend magnesium into our paw paw cream · paw paw salve vs cream