Whether it’s in adults or kids – on your hands, neck, or face – combatting mild skin flare ups of eczema can be quite the challenge. Not only is it difficult to get rid of, keeping it from spreading can be a daunting obstacle. Unfortunately, there is no cure or “healing potion” for eczema. But in most cases it certainly is manageable.
While we can’t claim that they’re either a treatment or cure, we’ve found profound results from using homeopathic essential oils for eczema.
First, our obligatory disclaimer: Essential oils are not intended to treat any serious illnesses. We’re not dermatologists. These are simply natural remedies that we have found impactful when dealing with minor skin problems in our family.
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What is eczema – and how homeopathy can help
Before diving into how to promote healthier skin through natural remedies, it wouldn’t hurt to understand how eczema works. If you suffer from such skin issues, you’re certainly not alone – as more than 30 million Americans currently have some form of it. And it can creep up nearly anywhere on your body, everywhere from your back, face, cheeks, chin, chest, elbows, and the list goes on.
Eczema symptoms often develop in children, and then become less and less severe as they grow into adults. Not quite as common, some adults will develop eczema later on in life. The rash may look different from person to person and will impact different parts of the body from time to time.
The truth is, everyone’s skin is different, and many people have to try out a few different options before they find a solution that best fits them. For instance, here are a few typical products or methods that people use to either mask or mitigate their symptoms:
- Prescription ointments or oral pills
- Various creams, lotions, and makeup
- Organic foods
- Homeopathic remedies like herbs and essential oils
To maximize your results, in addition to embracing these options, you should also consider these 5 daily tips:
- Understand your triggers: Dust mites, certain soaps and shampoos, and other products could be triggers that may cause skin flare ups.
- Keep dry skin moisturized: Applying moisturizer often is one of the best ways to control your eczema symptoms. This is especially important after taking a bath or shower.
- Minimize high temperature fluctuations: Rapid changes in humidity or temperatures can cause your eczema to flare up. Of course you can’t control the weather, but keep your thermostat at a reasonable temperature level.
- Don’t scratch! Sure, it can be quite itchy. But scratching only makes it itch even more, in addition to damaging the skin and inducing an infection.
- Manage your stress level: Anxiety and depression can all contribute to worsening flare ups. Try various stress management techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing.
Homeopathic essentials oils for mild eczema symptoms
Now that we’ve outlined the basics, we’ll describe natural alternative for eczema that we’ve found effective in our home. Both my wife and I suffer from eczema. We’ve tried a number of things that have worked and a number of things that have not worked. A couple years ago we decided we wanted to find a natural herbal remedy that didn’t contain any potentially harmful chemicals. After all, when you apply certain products to your skin it can enter straight into your bloodstream within a matter of seconds.
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And that, of course, is when we decided to give essential oils a try. As natural compounds of plants, essential oils have many homeopathic benefits that have been known to help with a range of skin issues. Again, everyone’s skin is different. But these are the oils that worked best for us:
- Lavender
- Melaleuca
- Oregano
We found some success with lavender on its own, but it wasn’t until we combined all three of them together (forming our own blend) when we started seeing more powerful results. Because eczema symptoms vary from person to person, it can be good to mix and match different oils. For instance, some people have found more success with thyme and frankincense added to the mix.
How to apply essential oils for eczema
Please note that the results you may (or may not) experience depends largely on the quality of the brand you use. And not only does the quality of the brand determine the overall efficacy of the oil, but also the safety of it (in terms of skin irritation, etc.).
- When applying to the skin, we always dilute with a carrier oil to prevent any irritation of the skin.
- We’ll then combine all of the oils into a rollerball for easy application.
- All you have to do is roll the oil blend on the affected area.
Unfortunately, you can’t apply the oils and wash them off just a few minutes later. They’ll need to soak into your skin for several hours. And slathering oregano all over your body doesn’t emit the most pleasant scent. So we always apply the concoction right before bed (that way only your bedmate, and not your friends and colleagues, have to bear through the stench).
While we can’t guarantee anything, in our experience it takes generally 3 to 5 days of application for the eczema to clear up. You just have be diligent about applying it while giving it adequate time.
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As we previously indicated, in order to get the best benefits it’s good to couple these oils with a change in your daily habits – everything from moisturizing to scratching to temperature changes and stress management.