Oatmeal and black skin care challenges. Did you ever think the two would unite and provide you with beautiful black skin?
Some of my old crones might remember your grand mothers rubbing you down with an oatmeal paste to relieve eczema. To the younger ones of you, before you could pick up a jar of anything from a shelf, your grandmothers were the first beauty specialist.
Hair challenges? Grandma had a solution. Skin challenges? She had a solution for that also. Grandma even knew how to clean you out from within, and that too, was a beauty solution.
Most of you have a container of oatmeal on your shelves, whether it’s instant or old fashioned.
Skin irritations such as an itchy red rash, that has patches of roughness and scaling, with small blisters that can develop into cracks, have been known to benefit from the use of oatmeal.
The doctors might tell you that you have a condition known as atopic dermatitis. You more commonly know it as eczema. Did you know that soaps, food sensitivities, cosmetics, even the fabric in your clothes, can cause an eczema flare up?
What’s the big deal with oatmeal when it comes to black skin care? More often than not, it works.
Did you know that when added to other ingredients, oatmeal can help keep your skin moisturized and nourished?
In any product the ingredients rare key. Colloidal oatmeal is one of them. It’s simply made from grinding oat grain into a fine powder. It’s considered an emollient. Emollients soften or smooth your skin .
Other key ingredients in skin care products are Shea butter, coconut oil and honey. Shea butter and coconut oil are used when making butters and salves. These ingredients are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, strengthening and protective to dry, inflamed and damaged skin. When combined with oats they enhance the properties of the oats.
Honey is a humectant. Therefore, when combined with oats, it can be used as a powerful mask to soften, refine and clarify your skin. In this case, the oats act as an exfoliation ingredient, that also adds moisture.
You might also see an improvement in fine lines from using honey and oats together. Although oats are great for itchy, dry skin, when combined with honey, their use together, has helped oily and combination skin.
A honey and oats combination might be a bit much for sensitive skin, so do a patch test before using them on a larger portion of your skin.
Oats are traditionally known as a great breakfast food. However, for centuries, they have been used to help with black skin care challenges. You can even add them to a tea bag and toss them into your bath tub to soothe cracked, itchy skin.
Open up your pantry and see your container of oatmeal in a whole new light. That’s it for this week. As always…
Dedicated to Your Beauty,
Juliette Samuel,
Esthetician/Author/Publisher