3 Skin Care Ingredients To Look For To Prevent Eczema Flares And Calm Mild Ones
If you have been newly diagnosed with eczema, then you may not know where to begin when reevaluating your current skin care routine. If your dermatologist has prescribed an eczema medication for you to use daily or only during bad flares, then that is the most important item to include in your skin care routine, but doesn't have to be the only one. Look for these three ingredients that help keep your skin calm to prevent flares and can also stop a mild flare in its tracks, before it worsens.
1. Colloidal Oatmeal
Colloidal oatmeal is just a fancy name for very finely milled oats, and you can find it in premade skin care products or as a single ingredient. When it is present in skin care products, typically lotions and creams, you can simply apply it to the areas where you commonly develop flares every day to keep the skin calm.
Colloidal oatmeal powder with no additives can be used in several ways to prevent and calm eczema, and all are easy and affordable:
- Mix with your favorite lotion. If you have a favorite cream you love and fear switching to a new one will aggravate your eczema, then you can mix colloidal oats right into your cream. However, you should mix a mini-batch every few days and store it in the refrigerator, as preservatives in your cream may not be able to support the added oats. Just mix one-half cup of lotion or cream with about a tablespoon of oats and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Make a soothing bath. If you like to take baths, then a simple way to turn it into a skin-calming experience instead of an eczema flare trigger is to draw just lukewarm water (never hot) and toss in about two cups of colloidal oatmeal. Don't soak too long, but 10 minutes or so in this bath can calm your itchy skin.
2. Calendula
The calendula is a flower in the marigold family, and it has been considered a healing, medicinal plant for centuries. It has strong anti-inflammatory action that makes it perfect for eczema sufferers. You can purchase skin care products that already contain calendula, but be careful there are no additives that aggravate your eczema.
If you want to DIY, you can purchase calendula flower extract and add it to your favorite products or mix a little with green tea and glycerin to make a soothing toner.
3. Licorice
If you don't like the taste of licorice, then don't worry, because you don't have to eat it to obtain its skin benefits. It has a long list of uses in Chinese Herbal medicine internally and externally, and its anti-inflammatory components are what make it so great for calming eczema flares.
Like the other beneficial ingredients, you can find skin care products that contain licorice extract or you can purchase licorice extract tincture and add a drop or two to a favorite cream before applying it to irritated skin.
If you suffer from eczema, then along with following your dermatologist's advice for reducing and calming flares, try one (or all three) of the above natural remedies that really can help keep your skin calm to prevent flares and stop mild ones in their tracks. For assistance, talk to a general dermatologist.