I don't have first-hand experience with transdermal magnesium (Mg). However, many substances are absorbed by the skin and make their way into the blood--including things like formaldehyde from clothes sizing, fire retardant from kids nightclothes (required by law!), perfumes, etc--so it seems reasonable that Mg could be absorbed that way, particularly if it was in an oil-based carrier (although the carrier would be absorbed too). However, the skin is also a natural barrier, so it doesn't absorb most substances very easily or in large quantities (though there are exceptions, such as DMSO).
The gut, on the other hand, has a much larger surface area than the skin, and readily absorbs nutrients that come into contact with it. I am therefore skeptical that Mg applied to the skin would be absorbed any better than Mg when you ingest it. As a technology, transdermal is great for compounds that you want to be absorbed slowly over a period time or in very small doses. But the body needs a fair amount of Mg every day, and of course even more when you're deficient.
[[MORE]]In addition, the gut provides a safety factor that's not present with transdermal (or IV) administration: if you get too much, the body will get rid of it, one way or the other. This isn't as big a deal with Mg as it is with other minerals. Too much copper, for example, when given by IV, can be fatal; but the gut acts as a safety valve and tends to help prevent copper poisoning by causing you to vomit if you accidentally ingest too much. The gut wall can also alter the extent to which certain minerals are absorbed or not absorbed, depending on your current health needs.
I'm not aware of any studies about how long it takes to correct deficiencies, although I imagine they must exist; this is a well-known phenomena in the field of Environmental Medicine. From a theory perspective, keep in mind that many mineral absorption / transport
mechanisms are active -- that is, rather than relying on a concentration gradient to cause them to be absorbed, they have to be actively carried into the body by a transport system of some kind (ion pumps, ion channels, etc).
Another issue is that many minerals serve their ultimate functions in the body by being at the center of an enzyme: zinc, molybdenum, Mg and selenium, for example. Enzymes are complex proteins that actually have to be grown--so it's not a matter of just having some mineral ions floating around in a big soup. Those ions have to be captured and an enzyme has to be grown around them. If you don't have enough of certain minerals, then the associated enzymes are not created in the same amounts as they would be otherwise.
When you're deficient in certain enzymes, it can put a load on others, causing the body to divert more resources in certain directions, and away from the production of other enzymes. Also, certain health conditions or environmental factors--such as leaky gut, candidiasis, food allergies, celiac disease, chronic fatigue (low ATP) and exposure to toxins--can interfere with the absorption of minerals and other nutrients.
The combination of the issues above can conspire to make it difficult for some combinations of mineral deficiencies to correct, and one deficiency can slow down the correction of another. In my case, I found my deficiencies tended to correct one at a time over a period of many months, rather than all at once, even though I always supplemented with everything I was low in.
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