Are you on the hunt for an awesome gentle cleanser that won't irritate your sensitive skin? Look no further my friend, oatmeal is your answer. Yes, I said oatmeal. And yes, I mean that stuff you eat for breakfast (or at least make your kids eat!)
Apparently, oatmeal isn't just good for your body but good for you skin as well! It absorbs oils and removes impurities while gently exfoliating your skin without being too harsh. It relieves irritated, red and dry skin and is also overflowing with anti-oxidants so it helps fight free-radicals which helps promote a healthier, glowing complexion. And who doesn't want more of that? I do!!!
I started to incorporate oatmeal into my skin regimen when I read this post about 6-8 months ago and saw amazing results: glowing skin and less breakouts! For some reason I stopped using it in the last couple months and my skin went back to breaking out! So I started it back up last week (not sure why I ever stopped? Maybe I ran out of oatmeal?) and I'm already seeing my skin go back to its best. Finally!
Oatmeal Benefits on Skin
Oatmeal has long been used to treat skin, with researches documenting its usage as far back as 2000 BC, proven and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) & Dermatologist Joseph F. Fowler Jr.
It is proven to benefit the skin, especially if you have dry skin or other conditions such as eczema and rashes.
It contains avenathramide class of antioxidants, which are very effective in protecting your skin from the UV sun damage and reducing overall the redness color.
Colloidal Oatmeal, which is a natural product produced from ground oat grains, is full of vitamins, and minerals, which add moisture to benefit the condition of your skin.
Using Oatmeal for skin is recommended and proven to be effective by the Johnson & Johnson Active Naturals Institute.
Adding Oatmeal to your daily facial regimen is really useful and you will see results even if you use it only to naturally exfoliate your face.
Oatmeal for Skin Uses
As I mentioned below, oatmeal can be used for several purposes, including as face wash, itchy skin remedy, bath soak, dry shampoo and as exfoliator treatment.
Using Oatmeal as Face Wash
Since oatmeal contains chemicals known as saponins that are known for their intense cleansing properties.
These chemicals are widely used in shampoos and detergents for their foaming abilities. This is one of the reasons why oatmeal is good to be used as a face mask, cleanser or soap for every skin type.
One simple homemade recipe is to mix oatmeal with warm water, and add a teaspoon of honey to create an all-natural face cleanser. Rub the mixture to your skin in circular motions. The antibacterial action of honey will also help to relieve inflamed skin and alleviate dryness.
Using Oatmeal as Dry Shampoo
Another usage of oatmeal is as dry shampoo. Oatmeal is useful to removing excess dirt from the body, helping you reduce the appearance of the dirty hair. This homemade oatmeal dry shampoo will also help to relive an itchy scalp.
Using Oatmeal as Bath Soak
You can pour a cup of plain oatmeal into your tub filled with warm water for a truly relaxing bath. Add an additional few drops of lavender oil and get in this aromatherapy solution for 15-25 Minutes. The oatmeal will cleanse your skin and moisture it while the lavender will produce a calming and soothing scent.
Using Oatmeal as Exfoliator Treatment
If you don’t like your scrub, you can try and use oatmeal as face exfoliator.
Blend in colloidal oatmeal, coconut oil, brown sugar and lukewarm water and use it to rub your skin.
You will get the cleansing and buffering properties without all the red harshness from the oatmeal and a skin-glow from the coconut oil.
Using Oatmeal as Itchy Skin Remedy
Based on the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) researches, Oatmeal can help lower and normalize your skin’s pH level, since itchy and dry skin is known to have a high pH level.
Oatmeal baths soften and moisturize the skin, by helping the moisture lock in and protect the skin from exterior irritants.
How to Use Oatmeal as Facewash, Scrub & Exfoliator?
You can use oatmeal cleanser, as a mask, face wash and exfoliator. There are many of recipes online that you could try but here I will show you my simple way of using it:
All you need are your oats; It doesn't matter if they are quick 1-minute oats or the old fashioned ones like I have here. The coffee grinder is optional. You can use the oats straight out of the container, but let me warn you...it's messy and not very good for your drains. It's so much easier to grind them (I put it on the finest setting) and then store for use.
Oat for Face
Here is how they look all ground up:
Preparing Oatmeal Face Scrub
And a closer look:
Oatmeal Exfoliator
I put mine in a Ziploc baggy but plan on buying an air tight container to store it in soon.
Look at that yummyness ready to be used up!
Here is how to wash your face with it:
1. Use enough to cover about 1/2 of the palm of your hand (I just reach in with my clean hand and grab some)
2. With a semi-tight fist allow warm water to run through the gaps of your fingers to soak in the oats- do this for around 10 seconds.
Funny how you can see me taking this picture on my just cleaned sparkly faucet!
I forgot to take a picture of what the oatmeal looks all soaked up with water, but I'm sure you can get a picture of that in your imagination.
3. Next, squeeze out excess water into the palm of your other hand (my hubby helped me for this picture! Thanks honey!) You see that milkiness? Distribute it evenly on your face; this contains all the good stuff we talked about earlier so don't let it go to waste!
4. Then apply your oatmeal mixture evenly to your pretty little face and watch yourself look not so pretty at this stage:
Go ahead, have some fun! Go startle all your family members! (Like I just startled you!)
Oatmeal Face Scrubs
5. Once the oatmeal sits happily on your face you can either a.) use it as a face wash/gentle exfoliator and begin to rub it in with gentle circular motions and then rinse, just like you would a normal face wash, or b.) use it as a mask and let it sit on your face for 10 minutes or until it dries and begins to itch, then do the above.
*Tip: always pat your face dry. Avoid rubbing it with your towel; this aggravates and causes trauma to the skin. Your facial skin is very delicate!
Either way, you will end up with soft silky skin you can't help but touch! And your face won't feel tight and dry like it does after washing it with regular cleansers.
All those blemishes are already healing!
Oatmeal as a Face Scrub
If you want to use it simply as a face scrub, then you can either try the upper mentioned recipe or just go for a mixture of 2 tablespoons of ground oatmeal and 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
Mix them well with some water, enough to form a soft paste.
Then, dampen your face with warm water and start applying the mixture using your fingerprints and gently rub it to exfoliate the skin.
To finish it off, rinse your face with water and discard the used oatmeal.
Note: The same mixture you can prepare by combining 2 tablespoons of oatmeal with yogurt until they form the desired consistency. Apply the mixture to your face and wait for 5 minutes and then rinse.
Final Thoughts
If you use this regularly and stick to it (talking to myself, too!) you will see your skin relax, breathe and begin to glow! Sometimes we can overwhelm our skin with all those chemicals found in face washes or by having a too complicated skin regimen! Simpler is definitely better! I will still use my regular face wash on the nights that I need to remove makeup, but other than that, I'm sticking to my oatmeal!
Now I need your help! Can you recommend any moisturizers and night creams that would be work for my type of skin (sensitive, acne prone, combination)? Any recommendations would be deeply appreciated! Thank you!
Happy oatmeal slathering!
For face wash how much and oatmeal
How much water and oatmeal for the face wash
Great article! I never knew that oatmeal had so many benefits for the skin. It’s amazing how it can absorb oils and remove impurities without being harsh. Have you tried using oatmeal as a face wash? If so, how did it work for you?