Benefits Of Oatmeal For The Skin

Oatmeal Flakes

Oatmeal isn't just a breakfast food to help start your day, it's so much more than that. Did you know that the grainy little flakes perform deliciously mini miracles when applied to your skin? Oatmeal removes away dead cells, irritation, dryness and redness, leaving a soft, smooth, silky glow behind.
Oatmeal has long been a staple among the beauty & skin pros -- even the ancient ones. It's skin-soothing powers were known as early as 2000 BC, and to this day, the FDA cites it as effective for eczema and inflammation, including insect stings, rashes, and eczema. My family will be happy to hear and know this. That's why finely powdered ("colloidal") oatmeal is sifted into soothing body soaks, scrubs, bath bombs, moisturizers, and soaps. (Pulverizing the oats into powder makes it easier to disperse their healing goodness -- and in soaks and bombs it keeps them from collecting in the bottom of the tub. AWESOME!

Oatmeal Milk & Honey Bath Bomb

Four Reasons Why Your Skin Worships Oatmeal.

1. Fight Dryness: Oats contain polysaccharides, which become gelatinous in water and leave a fine protective film on the skin, preventing dull and dryness.
2. Moisturizing: Oats are full of healthy, lubricating fats.
3. Defense Building: The proteins in oatmeal help maintain the skin's natural barrier function, which ensures that the world outside the skin stays out, and what's inside the skin stays in.
4. Pore Cleansing: Oats are filled with natural cleansers (called saponins) that gently remove dirt and oil from the pores.


To reap all of these AMAZINGLY great benefits, start treating your skin to a colloidal oatmeal mask every week or two. (Heck, why not spoil yourself rotten) Here's a super simple recipe -- bet you already have these ingredients in your kitchen.

Deliciously Soothing Oatmeal Mask

2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 tablespoon honey

1. Put the oats into a clean herb or coffee grinder on the finest setting, and process into powder.

2. Pour into a small bowl and stir in hot water and honey. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Wash face with warm water. While skin is still damp, massage paste onto face, circling around eyes and mouth. Leave on for 10 minutes.

4. Remove with water and a washcloth. Apply your favorite moisturizer to seal in the moisture.

Sugar Scrub Recipe

What I love most about this is that it's all ingredients you have in your kitchen, so it's not expensive at all to make. It's very easy to make and within minutes you'll have yourself a great new scrub that makes your skin feel smooth. This is also great to give out as gifts. By sprucing up your jar with ribbon or even labels  this could be a wonderful frugal gift to give. I made these for my kiddos teachers and for a couple of family members over the years. They loved them. I hope you do too!

Warm Vanilla Sugar Scrub

 Vanilla Sugar Scrub
Source Adapted from: Petit Elefant
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:
First step is to make sure that you have equal amounts of sugar. The amount varies depending on what size jar you are going to use for this scrub or how much scrub you want to make. All of these ingredients are completely up to you and so are the amounts. This is just what I've been using. For the vanilla it depends as well, depending on how much you like the smell because too much can over power your scrub.

1. Mix in both your sugars. You can mix it with a mixer, but to me that just seemed like too much. So I whisked it until both sugars were completely blended together.

2. Pour sugars in the jar that you will be using. Pat it down and then add in your olive oil. Now for me, the first time I made this I waited to let the oil seep through the sugar. Now that I make it every couple of months for the last couple of years I just pour the oil over the sugar and mix it together with a fork. But do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

3. Once oil is mixed then add in the vanilla and mix it as well with a fork. Now if you don't like vanilla you can use any other flavored extract or essential oil. But for the essential oils make sure you only add a couple of drops.

4. Cover with top and store away or add a bow of some sort and give as a gift. This would be a perfect gift to give to your kiddos teachers for Valentines since that's right around the corner. And best of all this is kid friendly, have your kids help with this, they'll have a ball!