Eczema is hard to treat and everyone’s skin is different. How do you figure out what’s going to work for you?
Disclaimer: I don’t recommend using essential oils as medicinal remedies. Essential oils are the most potent part of any plant so if it’s not expertly-blended it’s easy to irritate your skin.
That being said, there are some safe and effective ways to use essential oils in your eczema healing journey! Here are some ideas to try:
Tea Tree Oil
- During your shower, add 1 drop of high-quality Tea Tree oil to your palm of shampoo. Gently scrub / massage your scalp with the pads of your fingers, not your nails. TIP: Ensure your shampoo is toxin-free and only scented with pure essential oils.
- Post shower, mix our Breast + Belly Massage Oil with 1 drop of tea tree oil and give yourself a head massage to keep your scalp clean (Tea Tree oil has amazing anti-fungal and microbial agents).
Bulgarian Lavender, Frankincense and Neroli
- Moisturize with our Breast + Belly Massage Oil, the use of calendula and camellia oils provide easily-absorbed protection, that means it's non-greasy! Diluted to 1% essential oils of pure Bulgarian lavender, frankincense and precious neroli, the scent is calming and it soothes the skin without irritating flare-ups.
Make your own moisturizing blend
- Choose your "carrier oil" (the fatty oil that will moisturize). I recommend organic jojoba oil, rosehip seed oil, camellia oil, or calendula oil.
- Pick an essential oil or essential oil blend. For eczema, I would avoid using citrus oils. Some great ones to experiment with are tea tree oil, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus and lemongrass (it's not a citrus).
- Mix! Add only up to 1% of your chosen essential oil to your carrier oil. EXAMPLE: for 50 ml of jojoba oil, add a maximum of 10 drops of essential oil. You can always stop at 5 drops and see if you're happy with the scent.
Sleep and relaxation!
- Our high-quality lavender oil is the most popular for bed-time rituals as it’s a great tool to train your brain to get sleepy.
- Add a few drops to your bedside pom pom diffuser, or directly to your pillow-case as you wind-down each night. Over time, your brain will associate this activity and scent with sleep = a deeper more restful sleep
Choose an oil that YOU love! Don't worry about what works for others. If you don't like a smell, it will annoy you and it will NOT be relaxing. Love citrus? Pink Grapefruit can help you unwind too if it brings back memories of wandering through the orchards of California on a vitamin-d-soaked sunny day!
In addition to using essential oils, it’s also important to figure out what's causing your eczema. Is it a food allergy? Is it weather dependent? Is it a topical allergy? Seasonal allergies? Gastrointestinal issues? Or a virus or toxin overload?
Consider seeing a Traditional Chinese Medicine or Naturopathic doctor as they tend to have a deeper understanding of the MANY causes of eczema
The Medical Medium has some interesting theories on eczema, listen here.
In our house, we started experiencing eczema when we moved from a humid climate to a very dry one. Since ours is climate-dependent we focus on keeping our air humidified and keeping eczema patches highly moisturized.
Outside of essential oils, I also highly recommend trying a detox or cleanse. You can read up on my health journey to see why.
Eczema is tough to deal with. Good luck on your journey, and remember there is always a cure, just keep trying and advocating for yourself!
If you found this helpful, be sure to pin or share it so others can find relief from eczema.
xx Micki from The Olfactory Shop