Oatmeal is not only a staple of the breakfast world, but it is a powerhouse ingredient in the skincare world as well. From calming the skin, to balancing its pH, to locking in much needed moisture, oatmeal is an ingredient that can do it all.
Many of us may be familiar with the oatmeal baths of childhood, meant to soothe inflamed or irritated skin from rashes or infections, however oatmeal soap is also an ideal product to add into your routine if you are looking for skin that is soft and supple.
Oatmeal is a unique ingredient that, when added to skincare products, has a host of benefits that can comfort and suit any skin type or concern.
Aside from working to hydrate and lock in moisture on the skin, it also works for many skin conditions as soothing and anti-inflammatory remedy. With its natural exfoliating properties, skin’s radiance and clarity is improved while also looking brightened.
Especially if you are looking to incorporate more natural ingredients into your routine, oatmeal soap is a great way to do so.
There are methods and recipes available for at-home, DIY oatmeal soap creations if you are interested in developing your own soap, but oatmeal soap is also available on the market. The natural cleansing properties remain intact due to the lack of added detergents or additives.
What are the benefits of incorporating oatmeal soap into your routine? Oatmeal soap is a natural cleansing ingredient that can calm and soothe the skin while also nourishing and hydrating it. There are many skincare benefits to gain from incorporating an oatmeal soap into your routine, and many ways to do sos.
Below, we’ll discuss the best ways to include oatmeal soap into your routine, how it will benefit you, and the idea skin types this treatment is for!
What Is Oatmeal Soap?
Oatmeal soap is created with the natural ingredients already present. Oatmeal is a super ingredient that can provide nourishment and hydration to the skin, while also serving to calm irritation.
Oatmeal soap is a product that can be used for many different skin conditions, as well as on any skin type including those who are sensitive.
Along with all the beneficial nourishing and soothing benefits of oatmeal, the ingredient has natural cleansing properties and can be used to thoroughly clean the skin on the face or body without stripping any natural oil production away.
In its many forms, oatmeal can be used as a cleanser, a bath treatment, or an exfoliator, among others. Most often the oatmeal soap that is seen on the market is referred to colloid oatmeal, as it is finely milled and has a powdery, even texture.
This texture ensures the oatmeal is evenly dispersed through the soap for the skin to receive the full amounts of benefits with every wash.
Benefits Of Oatmeal Soap
There are countless benefits to using oatmeal soap, and incorporating oatmeal as a skincare ingredient into your routine in general.
Unlike other cleanser ingredients, oatmeal is an ideal substance to use for all skin types as it has benefits that can suit a range of skin issues without causing irritation or any potential negative side effects.
Most commonly, Oatmeal is known to calm the skin and ease any skin itchiness. It has soothing properties that work to reduce any irritation, including relief for skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, or instances of poison ivy contact or chicken pox.
Using oatmeal soap or taking an oatmeal bath will have immediate effects on calming the skin, especially from excess itchiness.
Along with having natural cleansing properties, oatmeal also has natural exfoliating benefits for the skin. It helps to gently exfoliate away and dry or dead skin cells to leave you with smooth and even skin.
Through gently exfoliating the skin, layers of dead skin cells are removed that can cause areas of texture to arise on the skin, as well as providing a brightened and even skin tone overall.
Oatmeal is rich in anti-oxidants, which protect the skin against potential harmful aggressors. There are also anti-inflammatory benefits to the ingredient as well, which further helps soothing the skin while reducing the appearance of redness or other signs of inflammation.
For oily skin types or those who are prone to breakouts, oatmeal soap is an ideal product that will help your skin’s appearance.
It works to reduce and control excess oil production on the skin, which is usually necessary for those with oily skin. The reduction in excess sebum also reduces and prevents potential breakouts from appearing.
However, for those with normal to dry skin types, oatmeal soap also works as an emollient to hydrate the skin and protect the skin’s moisture. Oatmeal works well to balance the skin’s pH level as well, while providing the proper hydration that skin needs.
It is also an ideal remedy for other skin irritation, such as sunburn, for its soothing, nourishing, and hydrating properties. It helps to prevent skin from looking dry or cracked, while also helping the skin to restore itself.
Differences Between Regular Soap And Oatmeal Soap
Depending on how you are incorporating oatmeal into your cleansing and skincare routine, a bar of oatmeal soap alongside another, regular bar of soap can look as though they provide similar relief and benefits for the skin.
Along with all of the above benefits of oatmeal, it is also an ingredient that is rich in vitamin E, which helps to provide and protect the needed moisture for the skin.
As oatmeal soap has natural cleansing properties, it does not require the add-ins of harsh detergents or fillers, like regular soap is formulated with. The detergents used in regular bar soap can be too drying on the skin, or can irritate sensitive skin conditions.
Although oatmeal is also a gentle exfoliator, it is also gentle enough to be used on the face or the body without stripping the skin of moisture or being too drying.
Often times, regular bar soap can be too harsh to use on the face, and can cause the skin to become dry or dehydrated with the lack of proper moisture, resulting in itchiness, texture, or dullness.
How To Use Oatmeal Soap Or Oatmeal In Skincare
There are several common ways to incorporate oatmeal soap, or the ingredient in general, into your typical cleansing or skin care routine.
The easiest way to begin using an oatmeal soap is as a facial cleanser (we love this one from Aveeno). Whether it is a DIY creation, or a natural oatmeal soap that can be purchased, using the product as a facial cleanser will help to thoroughly clean the skin, while still being gentle enough for daily use.
If you want to incorporate oatmeal to rid your skin of texture or dullness, it can be added to your routine as a face or body exfoliator (we suggest trying this one from St. Ives). As it gently sloughs away the dead skin cells, it is a perfect exfoliator for those who find other manual exfoliators to be too harsh or stripping.
It is gentle enough as a skin exfoliator that it can be used several times throughout the week as part of your routine.
Oatmeal does not just stop as being a cleanser or scrub for the skin; it can also work wonders as a weekly face mask too (check out this one from Aveeno). As it has so many properties that target skin concerns, using an oatmeal face mask can work for any skin type or concern.
It is great to use as a face mask for oily skin, because it helps to control the excess oil production while maintaining and preventing any breakouts from occurring.
Along with a facial cleanser, another easy way to incorporate oatmeal soap is as an all-over body cleanser. Most often oatmeal soap is found in soap bar form, which makes it ideal to add into your shower routine.
Especially if you are having areas of sensitivity on your skin that are resulting in itchiness, redness, or irritation, using an oatmeal soap as body cleanser can help to calm the skin.
However, if you are wanting to deeply nourish the skin from any irritation, an oatmeal bath (we love using this soothing bath treatment from Aveeno) is a soothing, relaxing, and calming way to ease the skin into a sense of comfort.
Oatmeal baths are a particularly soothing remedy for the itchiness that comes along with chicken pox infections or poison ivy rashes.
Although they are ideal solutions for those instances, oatmeal baths can also be used for normal skin pampering, if you want your skin to feel especially nourished, soft, and smooth.
Types Of Oatmeal Soap
When used in soap, the oatmeal is a finely milled substance referred to as colloid oatmeal, in order to be evenly dispersed throughout a product, as well as not to be damaging or harsh for the skin.
Oatmeal soap can most commonly be found as a bar soap, although there are different types of those bars available on the market.
You can find oatmeal soap as a smooth, even bar soap that looks similar to your regular store brand, or you could find those that use larger chunks of oatmeal placed on the top and throughout the bar to give the product more texture.
Oatmeal soap can also be an at-home, DIY product that is easily made to your specific skin needs. If you are making oatmeal body care products at home, you can make oatmeal into a face mask, soap, or exfoliator. At-home oatmeal body care products are also an easy way to incorporate more oatmeal baths into your routine.
If you are interested in making oatmeal soap at home, or even if you are looking to purchase oatmeal soap from a specific brand, there are various methods and combinations it can be created with.
It can be made as a cold-pressed soap, meaning it is combined with lye and uses no external heat to create the soap, or it can be made in the hot-pressed method, meaning it uses external heat and some additional substances to create the soap.
It can also be combined with other natural skin care ingredients to target multiple skin concerns in an effective way.
A popular ingredient to combine oatmeal soap with is honey, due to many of the similar concerns both ingredients target. Honey is great for nourishing the skin, but also to brighten and even out the skin tone in areas of discoloration.
As oatmeal is a natural exfoliant on its own, it also helps to even out the skin tone by sloughing away dead skin cells that can clog pores or cause the skin to look dull.
Honey is also hydrating for the skin, and an anti-inflammatory. Along with oatmeal, the two ingredients together can calm and soothe the skin from any irritation and reduce any redness.
Honey is another superstar ingredient in the skincare world for its many healing properties, and when combined with oatmeal to create a soap, they can target a host of different skincare needs and work for almost any skin type.
If creating an oatmeal, or oatmeal and honey, soap at home, it is important to remember to use whole and natural oats, colloid oats that are finely milled, so they can withstand the soap-making process, while also being evenly distributed throughout the product as well as being gentle enough for the skin.
If you want to include honey into your recipe, it is also best to use raw, natural honey to ensure the potent healing benefits have not been compromised or altered with any additives.
While oatmeal soap can work for any skin type, if you have any type of allergy, it is best to stay away from adding the ingredient into your routine to avoid any irritation or negative reaction.
Conclusion
Overall, no matter your skin type, oatmeal soap may be the skin-soothing remedy you have been looking for. With all the benefits the ingredient contains, adding it into your routine is an easy adjustment that your skin will appreciate.
Whether you want to make a customized version yourself at home, or want to find a natural pre-made version, oatmeal soap will be a treat for your skin and leave it feeling its best yet.
Oatmeal soap can be used in many versions, to suit your skin care needs the best depending on your preference.
If you are looking to calm irritated skin all over the body in a relaxing way, using it in the bath will create a calming atmosphere that will soothe the skin. It can be used regularly in the shower as a soap that also gently exfoliates the skin to rid it of dead skin cells, while also adding moisture.
It can also be used as a daily facial cleanser, especially for those with oily or acne-prone skin, as it is ideal for controlling oil and reducing the appearance of breakouts.
For a more in-depth treatment, it can also be used as a face mask to further that will work to calm the skin, while also balancing the skin’s natural oil production. Unlike most regular soap, oatmeal soap works to balance the pH levels of the skin, so it is left feel nourished and well-hydrated.
As a unique ingredient that targets multiple skin concerns, oatmeal can work for any skin type, texture, and tone to provide the best results.
Oatmeal is a powerful ingredient when it comes to skin care for all of the benefits it possesses, and incorporating an oatmeal soap into your routine is the best way to ensure your skin will reap the rewards.
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