DIY treatments with oats have been to soothe skin for ages….. literally. Its use in skincare dates all the way back to 2000 BC. I mean, if it was good enough for Cleopatra…
Oats have anti-inflammatory properties, can help calm and soothe skin and treat eczema and skin rashes. They also contain saponins- a mild cleansing agent. I’ve been suffering from pretty bad hives and rashes that come out of nowhere for the last couple of years and I recently found out that I have dermatographism. Every single time I change my clothes, workout or get out of the shower, I break out in the most annoying, itchy hives on my legs, back and arms. In addition to prescribing antihistamines, my dermatologist also told me to stick to fragrance-free body wash and soap and go for formulas for sensitive skin. Well, I’ve already been doing that for…. as long as I can remember.
While the antihistamines help, they knock me out cold- they make me sleepy and tired so I found something else that really helps to soothe my skin: oat bath soak. When my cousin and I were young and not really allowed to play with makeup, we’d have fun trying different DIY beauty treatments. Some of them were fun- like flower petal and sugar scrub- some were plain dangerous- like a lemon face scrub that gave me an awful sunburn- and some actually worked- like an oat face mask. I think it was my aunt who used to always talk about how oats are great for sensitive skin and it’s something I recently remembered when looking for natural ways to deal with my dermatographism.
So, today I’m telling you about four of my favorite DIY skincare treatments with oats: Coconut-Oat Body Scrub, Soothing Bath Soak, Sensitive Skin Mask and Rose Face Mask.
COCONUT OAT BODY SCRUB
I always use organic, all-natural rolled oats- whether it be for cooking or beauty treatments. To make this Coconut-Oat Body Scrub you’ll need about 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/2 of rolled oats and 1/4 cup of coconut palm sugar. I blend the oats in a food processor until smooth, mix them with coconut oil (you might have to soften it a little beforehand) and add coconut palm sugar. You can also add some passion fruit tea leaves- that will give it a nice scent. Use in a shower or bath, rinsing with warm water.
Ideally, I would slightly boil my oats and simply mix them with a little coconut milk or water but the problem with using a scrub like this is that you’ll end up making a big mess in your shower/bath and will risk clogging your tub (I still like to do this once in a while in winter, but there’s always A LOT of clean-up involved, which is why most of the time, I just make this version, with blended oats).
SOOTHING BATH SOAK
This is super simple and always brings instant relief to my skin. I mix 1 cup of oats and 1 cup of my favorite eucalyptus Epsom salt and blend in a food processor until the oats are powdered and I mix it in with my bathwater. The water will become soft and milky and your skin will feel smooth and soft. The key here is to really process and blend your oats very well so that they don’t settle on the bottom of your tub (nothing wrong with that, but again, you can end up making a mess). If you can’t get them to powder consistency, then you can also put your bath soak in a sock or a cloth, tie it up and drop it in your tub under running water- sort of like a tea infuser. To make things even simpler, you can just blend your oats, store them in a jar, and add them to your bath, mixing it with your favorite body wash, etc. You can also try adding some essential oils (but be careful with those, some can be irritating) and lavender buds. I personally think that when it comes to sensitive skin, simple is always the way to go.
FACE MASK FOR SENSITIVE SKIN
This is another little treatment that comes in handy now that my skin is a bit dry and irritated. Mix about 3-4 tablespoons of blended oats with 1 tablespoon of yogurt to get a thick, paste-like mask. I like using cultured coconut milk for this, but you can also use greek yogurt. Water will work too. Rinse after about 15-20 minutes with lukewarm water.
ROSE FACE MASK
I love rosewater as a skincare ingredient so it only makes sense to include a recipe for a rose face mask in this post. I found a recipe for this mask on Kale & Caramel and my skin loved it. I like to make this in fresh batches so I use 2-3 tablespoons of oats (once again, blended on high speed) 1 tablespoon of culinary-grade rose petals and just enough rose water to make this into a paste/mask (about 2 tablespoons). I keep this one for 10-15 minutes before rinsing off and follow up with my usual skincare routine.
There are a ton of different DIY treatments with oats out there, but as always, I want to remind you guys to remember to do your own research before trying them out and patch-test if you using ingredients that your skin isn’t familiar with. I think that one of the best DIY treatments with oats, and one that will almost never irritate your skin, is a simple bath soak with powdered oats. If you have eczema, or like me, you find that your skin is constantly dry and itchy, I guarantee that the soak will bring instant relief to your skin.