Not sure what all the fuss is about... [SEP] I will be the first to admit I hate taking baths; it bores me out of my skull. But because I have chronic pain, I've occasionally taken Epsom salt baths or bubble baths with a fantastic product called Muscle Soak. I found the salts were no longer really helping, so I thought I'd try these magnesium flakes. I take magnesium daily but a boost through the muscles that ache sounds great.<br /><br />I was floored at how quickly and completely they dissolved. The tub wasn't done filling and they were fully absorbed into the water. With salts, I have to get in and stir repeatedly to get the crystals to dissolve, often in water that's hotter than comfortable. So that was promising.<br /><br />I got in the tub and lay back, focused on the flower print on the wall....and was ready to get out in 15 minutes, but I wanted to give it the full 30. I wasn't magically relaxed or calmed by the bath as other reviewers are claiming. (You literally can't tell the flakes are there, as the water isn't salty like it is with Epsom salts.) I wasn't whisked away to a lush garden in my mind. I was just lying in a bathtub with pleasantly hot/warm water. While I was in the water and for up to an hour after I got out and showered, I felt a limited, temporary reduction in the tightness in my upper back. I put on a compression shirt to help things along but had 9/10 pain. When I can next score some Muscle Soak, I'll be going back to that. The bubbles are at least something to play with! And it is more effective on achy muscles.<br /><br />This is not a magic cure for stress or pain. I'll use it to soak my feet when they ache, but don't expect miracles. If Epsom salts don't make a big difference, these flakes probably won't either.