When Your Skin Is Irritated, These 8 DIY Oatmeal Masks Will Turn Things Around

Anyone who’s ever had a case of itchy or dry skin knows that dermatologists and even conventional knowledge recommend incorporating colloidal oatmeal into your skincare routine. Colloidal oatmeal is slightly different from that container of regular rolled oats sitting in your kitchen cabinets. This version has a higher lipid content which means that they also contain significantly more antioxidants that help to protect your skin’s barrier, soothe sun damage and irritation, ease discomfort associated with eczema and psoriasis, and control dryness. 

See, when you finely grind and boil oats, you can extract colloidal material; this gel-like substance has a rather high lipid content (30%, to be exact). “These are the same moisture-trapping molecules that are plentiful in prepubescent skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo M.D., FAAD. Read: It feeds your skin nutrients that your skin naturally has when it’s young and supple.

While you can buy colloidal oatmeal in the stores, you can also use regular oatmeal and still get the benefits listed above. Assuming you don’t have an oat allergy, there’s virtually no risk to adding oatmeal into your health and beauty routines.

According to Elina Fedotova, a celebrity esthetician and owner of Elina Organics Spas located across the Midwest, “oatmeal is an organic source of skin restoring minerals like zinc, manganese, phosphorus, and iron.” She notes that oatmeal also contains selenium and copper which help to protect your skin from UV damage and offer antimicrobial defense for irritated complexions. 

You can certainly use oatmeal by itself to get sweet skin relief, but depending on your skin type and any issues you’re experiencing, you can also consider tossing in additional ingredients to target specific concerns. Oatmeal combines well with a wide range of foods, essential oils, and botanical waters. However, always perform a patch test if you’re unsure of whether you might be allergic to a specific ingredient.