Colloidal oatmeal and eczema

What is colloidal oatmeal?

Whenever we’re asked about our products and our journey to creating Itchy Baby Co, there’s one ingredient we just can’t praise highly enough – colloidal oatmeal. Colloidal oatmeal works magic in hydrating and protecting itchy, dry and irritated skin. This is why it’s our hero ingredient in our oatmeal bath soaks, eczema moisturiser and face mask. 

Colloidal oatmeal may sound fancy, but it’s just good old-fashioned oats, finely ground down to create a soft powder, which can be easily suspended in water or creams. Being absorbed easily allows eczema skin to benefit from the protective, moisturising, anti-inflammatory properties of oats more easily and effectively than if they had not been finely milled. It’s super-soothing, non-irritating and is packed with antioxidants – so it’s no wonder that it’s the number one ingredient in all of our products.

How does colloidal oatmeal work such magic?

• Oatmeal holds a large amount of water because it’s packed full of starches and beta-glucans, this helps protect and hydrate the skin
• It has a high number of saponins, so it’s perfect for cleansing sensitive skin
• Oatmeal is full of cellulose and fibre, so it leaves your baby’s skin super-soft and nourished
• Oatmeal has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity through its many types of phenols
• Studies have shown that colloidal oatmeal binds to the skin and provides a protective barrier against irritants.
• It also contains water-binding polysaccharides and hydrocolloids that hold moisture against the skin allowing it to act as an emollient

Why don’t I need to use soap and other cleansing products with colloidal oatmeal?

Colloidal oatmeal has natural cleansing properties which come about because of a feature in its chemical structure called saponins. This means the skin is being cleansed while it is also soaking up all of the other properties which can help to manage eczema and reduce eczema flare ups. There’s no need to use another cleansing product such as a body wash, and definitely stay away from soaps and bubble bath which can dry out and irritate the skin triggering an eczema flare up. Our bath soaks will be more than enough to cleanse and hydrate your little one’s skin! 

How often should I bathe in colloidal oatmeal for eczema?

We recommend bathing in a colloidal oatmeal bath once a day as part of your skin care routine in managing eczema. Bathing in colloidal oatmeal will not only allow the skin to benefit from its moisturising, anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, but also wash triggers away from the skin which can cause irritation and sometimes lead to infection. Bath time should be kept to a maximum of ten minutes in lukewarm water and there’s more tips on the best way to bath a child with eczema here.

Soak it up

Our natural oatmeal bath soaks are a great example of colloidal oatmeal at its best.

We started our range with our oatmeal bath soak, which is 100% oatmeal and nothing else! This is still one of our most popular products, however if you like to mix-up your ingredients a bit, we do also now offer a range of combination soaks which combine a number of gorgeous, skin-loving ingredients with the good old colloidal oatmeal.

• Natural oatmeal with goat’s milk and organic coconut

This soak combines our star ingredient, oatmeal, along with highly moisturising ‘goat’s’ milk and moisturising coconut oil. This soak is highly moisturising and adds a tropical lushness to bath time!

• Natural oatmeal with marshmallow root

Marshmallow root is so great for soothing the skin, so we’ve combined it with our favourite oatmeal to offer a super hydrating, easily absorbed bath soak.

This blog post was brought to you and your child with love and care by Julia and the Itchy Baby Co. team x

Disclaimer: Information provided is of a general nature only, and you should always consult your medical professional.