The properties of oatmeal for the skin make it ideal to add to bath water. Hydrates, soothes and leaves skin soft like a baby. Do you know how to use it?
The same composition that makes oatmeal so healthy in your breakfast porridge is responsible for its being good for your skin as well when applied on the outside. Surely you already imagined it, because many cosmetic products contain oats for their ability to soften and soothe the skin. But you may not know that we can also take advantage of those properties of oatmeal for the skin in other ways, not only by using oatmeal cosmetics, but also by preparing an oatmeal bath at home.
Taking an oatmeal bath is ideal to soften and hydrate the skin, as well as to soothe itching and irritations. It is recommended, for example, to relieve itching of dry, cracked or sensitive skin, to improve discomfort in case of eczema or psoriasis, to soothe sunburned skin or to care for baby’s sensitive skin or soothe in a natural diaper irritation. It is even advised to soothe the itch in dogs, which is known as canine atopic dermatitis.
WHY IS OATMEAL GOOD FOR THE SKIN?
Oats are attributed different properties for the skin, including moisturizing, emollient, purifying and anti-inflammatory properties. Hence, it is included in creams, lotions, gels, shampoos and cleansing masks, to mention just some of the most common cosmetic products that we can find with oatmeal.
- Moisturizing power: Thanks to its high concentration of starches and beta-glucans, a type of fiber, oats retain moisture in the skin, which helps prevent dehydration.
- Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action: It are provided by its different types of phenols in oats, including avenanthramides, which inhibit the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and also soothe irritation.
- Purifying capacity: It comes mainly from saponins, soapy substances that help clean the skin.
- Softening properties: They are due to its mucilage’s, which soften both the skin and the hair.
- PH regulation: Oatmeal helps regulate the pH of the skin.
HOW TO MAKE AN OATMEAL BATH
To take full advantage of these properties of oats, it is not enough to add a few flakes to the water. Using oatmeal in the bath is very simple, but it is preferable to use finely ground oatmeal so that it dissolves well in the water. That way, it can form a thin layer that will coat and protect the skin, retain moisture and reduce inflammation.
One option is to use colloidal oatmeal, which you can find in pharmacies and stores specializing in cosmetic or natural products. Colloidal oatmeal is a flour made from very finely ground oats for cosmetic use and contains both the grain and the bran. Many oatmeal-based cosmetic products contain colloidal oatmeal.
You can also prepare the oatmeal for the bath at home, finely grinding the grain or, even easier, the rolled oats. Some add the flakes directly wrapped in a muslin, a stocking or some similar fabric, then securing the bag with a rubber band. Thus, oatmeal releases some of its beneficial substances for the skin into the water, but if the oatmeal is well ground, dissolving it in the water will give you the advantage that it adheres directly to the skin.
1. HOW TO MAKE OATMEAL
If you buy colloidal oatmeal, you won’t have to do anything. Simply separate the part that you are going to need.
If you are going to prepare the oatmeal yourself, both fine and thick flakes serve you:
- For a bath, crush a cup of flakes in the grinder, a coffee grinder or a food processor the oat flakes until you get a very fine powder.
- To find out if it is fine enough, add a teaspoon to a glass of water and stir slightly: the water should immediately take on a whitish tone, a sign that the powder remains in suspension and does not go quickly to the bottom.
- If the water does not turn whitish, keep grinding for a while longer so that the oatmeal is finer.
2. HOW TO TAKE THE OATMEAL BATH STEP BY STEP
This is the basic procedure, only with oatmeal, but you can add other skin products to the water if you wish and your skin problem allows it:
- Fill the bathtub with lukewarm water. Avoid very hot water if your problem is you have irritated or inflamed skin, as an excessively high temperature could be counterproductive.
- Add the cup of powdered oatmeal and lightly stir the water with your hands, so that it is well distributed throughout the bathtub. You will see that it turns slightly milky or whitish.
- Stay in the bathroom for at least 15 minutes. Take the opportunity to relax!
- When exiting, be careful not to slip: oatmeal that has fallen to the bottom is so soft that it can be slippery.
- To finish, dry carefully with a soft towel, without rubbing hard, giving yourself only gentle touches, and apply your usual moisturizer or treatment.
If the bath is for a baby and you bathe him in a small bathtub, less oatmeal will suffice, about a third.
If you want some ideas of other products that you can add to the water apart from oatmeal (and as long as you do not have a problem such as atopic skin or dermatitis that contraindicates it), here are some:
- A few drops of lavender essential oil to enhance the relaxing effects of the bath.
- A little bit of bicarbonate, if you have irritated skin and want to enhance the pH regulating effect.
- A little milk or honey will make your skin even softer.
- Other essential oils according to the affects you want, such as some of those proposed in these therapeutic baths.
