After an extensive conversation with a close Peach and Lily friend about her friend’s dry and sensitive skin, I felt her woes having experienced that myself growing up with mild eczema and therefore slightly dry skin.
Hopefully, this entry is helpful to anyone with dry and/or sensitive skin!
Who might love oats?
Anyone with eczema (me!), dry skin (me!), poison ivy, poison oak and insect bites.
And, what’s so great about oats?
Oat lipids and proteins help to rejuvenate the skin barrier and maintain it - this will help with the dryness. The oats also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant chemicals - this will help with the sensitivity and help slow down aging!
So what do you do with the oats?
Well, eating them is good to start with, but most directly, using products with colloidal oatmeal is worth a try!
And here’s a simple DIY trick. We’ve tried it and love it even though there definitely was that initial* ?!?!* moment. I mean, putting food on your face and not into your face is always a little counter-intuitive.
SO SIMPLE THOUGH.
Take a handful of oatmeal - any oatmeal you’d buy at the grocery store will do. Soak in water for a few minutes. Squeeze out the excess water. And rub GENTLY onto your face like a normal foam facial cleanser. And then wash off. It left our skin feeling clean and smooth. Some people seem to only use this as their facial wash. We ended up following up with a very small dab of our normal facial cleanser but noticed the oatmeal did add to the softness and did a good job adding a bit more hydration. Worth a try in our books.
And the super-condensed skinny on the science
Compounds within the oats called avenanthramides help sooth irritation and inflammation. Oatmeal also contains chemicals called saponins that help clean the skin. Colloidal oatmeal has been approved by the FDA to treat skin irritation (like eczema and so forth).
Raising a glass full of oats to all those out there with dry/sensitive skin! Cheers.
-Alicia
