If you suffer from eczema or psoriasis, knowing the ingredients in your bar soap is essential to reducing irritation. While some ingredients irritate, others promote healing. One of these is colloidal oatmeal, which is available in our almond oatmeal bar. While oatmeal soaps and baths are not a cure, they can reduce your symptoms. Here is how colloidal oatmeal works for skin conditions.
What is colloidal oatmeal?
Colloidal oatmeal is oatmeal that has been ground into a fine powder, then suspended in liquid. This allows the oatmeal to be absorbed into the skin and soothe conditions such as bug bites, poison ivy or oak, eczema and sunburns. It is a natural anti-inflammatory, and allergies to oatmeal are very rare.
Oatmeal is also a sworn beauty treatment. It is gentle on facial skin and controls acne without excessive drying. Colloidal oatmeal is a primary ingredient in gentle baby products, as well as specialized products for skin conditions.
You can make your own colloidal oatmeal by placing one cup of oatmeal in a blender and grinding it into a fine powder. Test the powder in a glass of warm water. If it absorbs quickly into a milky liquid, the powder is fine enough. If not, keep grinding it until it achieves the correct consistency.
How do I use it?
The most common option for oatmeal treatments is a soak in your tub. You can buy oatmeal bath products or use the colloidal oatmeal you made in your blender.
This is how you prepare an oatmeal bath: Take your one cup of colloidal oatmeal and run it under lukewarm water in your bathtub. If you have a large tub, make another cup of it and run that under, too. As the tub fills, mix the oatmeal with your hand. The mixture should have a silky texture and appear milky. If it appears watered down, add more oatmeal.
It is important to avoid hot baths with this treatment. Depending on your condition, you could cause further inflammation from the heat of the water. Keep the water close to a lukewarm or cooler temperature, like that of an unheated pool on a summer day. If you are treating sunburn, you will likely want it cooler, but make the water hot enough to absorb the oatmeal.
Soak for about 10 minutes to relieve itching or inflammation. If you soak longer than that, you risk drying out your skin, which defeats the purpose of the soak in the first place. Once finished, you may feel like your skin is encased in a film. If this is bothersome, rinse off in a lukewarm shower, and once done, pat yourself dry with a towel. Do not rub, as that can cause further irritation.
If you are not a bath person, there are other options available. There are oatmeal-based shower gels, as well as lotions that work well with prescription eczema treatments. You also have the option of bar soaps, which you can buy from specialized retailers like Soaps & Scents.
Soaps & Scents offers gentle bar soaps containing oatmeal for sensitive skin. Learn more by paying a visit to our storefront in El Cajon, CA. We’d love to help you find the ideal product!
