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Recently my skin has become very sensitive, and reacts to certain products. So I decided to try using natural products as an alternative, as my skin is less likely to react to it (and if it does, I know to just avoid that one product).
One thing thats recommended for sensitive skin, that can also be found in products by Lush and Aveeno etc, is Oats. You can pick up a bag of oats very cheaply from the supermarket, and it lasts absolutely ages!
So you're saving money, and at the same time saving your skin from chemicals.
(-Though obviously if you are intolerant to eating oats, I'd steer clear of using this on your skin too!)
There are all sorts of ways you can use oats in your skincare regime, but this is the quick and simple way I use it in mine:
The Process
Firstly, I store my oats in this cute biscuit jar by my barthroom sink. I can't find the lid to it though - hence the tin foil! (I'd recommend keeping it covered so it stays fresh, and doesn't get damp from steam).
All you do is pick up a handfull of the oats, and then loosely clench your hand into a fist.
Whilst in a fist, you want to hold your hand under warm water. The idea is to get enough water through your fingers to create a paste with the oats.
You can see below the water becomes milky from the oats - you want to try not to let this drain away as this is good for your skin too.
-If you do accidentally let it drain away, it's not the end of the world!
Below is what the paste should look like:
Then you want to massage it onto damp skin.
I mostly use this on my face, but you can even use this on your body when you take a shower if you wanted to.
Once you're done, you just rinse it off in warm water, or with a wash cloth (whichever you prefer), and then carry on with the rest of your regime.
Its really quick and easy, and oats make a great gentle exfoliator.
You can feel straight away how it moisturises the skin, and makes it lovely and soft.
As well as sensitive skin, oats are also recommended for the treatment of dry/eczema skin, and offer great relief to many sufferers. I've recently found I have it on my legs, and most products I've tried cause me no end of grief. Using oats in this way on my legs defintely helps to calm my skin down.
Alternative Uses
In The Bath: You can also put handfulls of oats in an old (clean!) pair of tights, and hang it around the tap when you run a bath and it will make the bath all milky. Or even just put the tights in the bath, and you can even use the oat-filled tights as an exfoliator too. - Either way you'll end up with beautifully soft skin!
DIY Oat Cleansing Milk & Oat Moisturising Cream: Do check out this great post by Voe on her blog here, where she shows you how to make these two products for beautifully soft and soothed skin.
More Recipes: You can also find more great DIY recipes using oats just through searching google/youtube.
I hope you found this post helpful.
I'd love to hear if you have any alternative DIY recipes for oats, or any other DIY recommendations for dry/sensitive skin!
