Research & Development

The Science Behind ThermoPure®

What is in ThermoPure®, where each ingredient comes from, and the research we read while formulating it. Ingredients first, papers second — and we say where the two do not line up.

Warm light shines through droplets on a bathroom window at dusk.

Ingredient Breakdown

Six ingredients. What each one is, where it comes from, and how it behaves in water.

Magnesium Chloride

Pharmaceutical Grade

What It Is

A magnesium salt, supplied as flakes
Pharmaceutical grade
Dissolves in warm or cold water
The mineral base of the formula

Background

Magnesium chloride flakes, solar-dried from ancient salt-lake brine on the Tibetan Plateau. Pharmaceutical grade, no additives, no anti-caking agents. Large, light flakes that dissolve in warm or cold water.

Dead Sea Salt

Jordan Dead Sea

What It Is

Harvested from the Dead Sea in Jordan
A mineral salt, not table salt
Largely magnesium, potassium and calcium salts
Coarse crystals

Background

Coarse salt harvested from the Dead Sea in Jordan. Magnesium, potassium and calcium chlorides in the ratio the water holds them. No colourants, no fragrance, no flow agents.

A small mound of fine white MSM crystalline powder on dark slate

OptiMSM®

Pharmaceutical Grade

What It Is

Methylsulfonylmethane, an organic sulfur compound
A branded, distilled grade of MSM
Odourless white crystals
Water-soluble

Background

OptiMSM® is a distilled form of MSM. Distillation is the purification step that separates it from crystallised MSM; the brand exists to identify that process and its supply chain.

Menthol

Natural Peppermint Extract

What It Is

An organic compound found in peppermint oil
Gives the water a cooling note on the skin
Carries the formula's peppermint scent
One formula, used warm or cold

Background

Menthol is what makes mint feel cool. It changes how water feels against skin rather than the temperature of the water — a bath with menthol in it reads as colder than the thermometer says.

A blank matte black stand-up pouch on dark slate

ThermoPure™ Complex

Proprietary Blend

What It Is

Our own blend
The warming half of the thermal contrast
Works alongside the menthol, not against it
Composition not published

Background

ThermoPure™ Complex is the part of the formula that produces a warming undertone underneath the menthol's cooling one. That contrast is the thing the formula is built around. Its exact composition is not published.

Kunzea ambigua sprig with small white fluffy flowers and fine narrow leaves on dark slate

Australian Kunzea Oil

Tasmanian Kunzea ambigua

What It Is

Steam-distilled from Kunzea ambigua foliage
Grown and distilled in Tasmania
Contains α-pinene, 1,8-cineole and viridiflorol
Gives the formula its green, earthy scent

Background

The oil is steam-distilled from the leaves and stems of a shrub that grows wild along the Tasmanian coast. A green, earthy scent that stays on the skin after the bath.

An outdoor ice bath at dawn with floating ice and a thin veil of mist above the water

Research We Read

Papers on cold water immersion and on the minerals in the formula. They are studies of those things, not of this product — where the method differs from how you would actually use ThermoPure®, the note underneath says so.

Sports Medicine • 2016

Machado AF, Ferreira PH, Micheletti JK, de Almeida AC, Lemes IR, Vanderlei FM, Netto Junior J, Pastre CM

Can Water Temperature and Immersion Time Influence the Effect of Cold Water Immersion on Muscle Soreness? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

DOI: 10.1007/s40279-015-0431-7

Finding: Across nine studies, cold-water immersion slightly reduced muscle soreness compared with resting, with the best results at 11–15°C for 11–15 minutes, although the underlying studies were generally low quality.

The review studied cold water itself, not ThermoPure® or any benefit from adding bath minerals.

PLoS One • 2017

Kass L, Rosanoff A, Tanner A, Sullivan K, McAuley W, Plesset M

Effect of transdermal magnesium cream on serum and urinary magnesium levels in humans: A pilot study

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174817

Finding: In this pilot study, 25 participants were assigned to magnesium cream supplying 56 mg/day or placebo for two weeks; serum and urinary magnesium changes were not significant overall, and only the non-athlete magnesium subgroup had a significant serum increase from its own baseline.

This tested a cream left on the skin, not a bath additive, and evidence for transdermal magnesium absorption remains limited.

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition • 2017

Withee ED, Tippens KM, Dehen R, Tibbitts D, Hanes D, Zwickey H

Effects of Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) on exercise-induced oxidative stress, muscle damage, and pain following a half-marathon: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

DOI: 10.1186/s12970-017-0181-z

Finding: In 22 half-marathon runners, the MSM group reported less muscle and joint pain, but differences between groups over time were not statistically significant for pain, muscle damage or oxidative stress.

Participants took 3 g/day of MSM orally for 21 days before the race and two days afterwards, so this study does not establish an effect from MSM in bathwater.

The Four-Stage Experience

The formula is built around a contrast between a cooling note and a warming one. Here is the order you notice them in.

Cooling Note

Menthol comes through first, alongside Kunzea oil and its scent on the skin.

Thermal Contrast

ThermoPure™ Complex warms underneath it

Mineral Soak

Magnesium chloride and Dead Sea salt in the water

Adaptation

Post-bath. Warmth returns and the body adjusts.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The studies referenced are for informational purposes and do not constitute endorsement of specific claims. Always consult with a healthcare professional before beginning any new recovery regimen.