Milk Bath for Eczema: Home Treatments
Eczema is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition often characterized by flares of dry, flaking, itchy skin. That’s because people with eczema tend to have a weakened or ‘leaky’ skin barrier, which struggles to absorb and retain vital moisture.
For hundreds of years, the ritual of milk bathing has been used as an essential beauty routine, helping to soften and nourish the skin while soothing troublesome skin irritations.
Throughout this post, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about:
- The ‘soak and seal’ method for managing eczema symptoms
- How to take a milk bath to soothe dry and irritated skin
- Milk bath alternatives
If you’re struggling to handle your eczema flares, keep reading to learn how milk bathing could help you find full-body, intensive relief from itching and dryness today.
Why Is Bathing Recommended For Eczema Treatment?
Dry skin is caused when your skin struggles to absorb and retain moisture.
When it comes to living with eczema, constant rubbing and scratching also create micro-ruptures in your skin barrier, making you feel even itchier and causing inflamed skin.
You must do everything possible to hydrate your skin deeply to break the itch-scratch cycle. The ‘soak and seal’ method offers one of the most effective moisturizing treatments.
What Is The Soak and Seal Method?
To stand the best chance of soothing dry, itchy skin, we recommend you:
- Take a lukewarm bath for no more than ten minutes. While it might be tempting to use hot water, lukewarm water will save you from irritating inflamed skin.
- Gently pat your skin dry with a hypoallergenic towel
- Within the first three minutes of stepping out of your bath, generously apply a fragrance-free, gentle moisturizer all over the body. Be warned! If you wait over three minutes to complete this step, your skin will dry out even more.
- Wait until the moisturizer is fully absorbed before putting on clothes.
What Products Should I Add To My Bath?
To maximize the moisturizing benefits of your bath, you can add many different natural products into your bath water to help nourish and soothe itchy skin even more.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular recipes!
The Perfect Milk Bath
Adding cow or goat’s milk to your bath water can work wonders for your eczema-prone skin. That’s because the fatty molecules within milk help to soothe dryness, while lactic acid is a gentle exfoliator – softening dry skin.
A milk bath can also help to soothe skin irritations caused by poison ivy and sunburns.
Milk Allergies
For some people, taking a milk bath may also trigger allergic reactions, aggravating irritated skin even further. If you know that you or your loved one are allergic to milk or dairy, we recommend trying coconut milk instead, which boasts equally moisturizing benefits.
Oatmeal Baths
If bathing in cow’s milk doesn’t sound like your thing, why not try an oatmeal bath instead?
Colloidal oatmeal is comprised of oats ground into a fine powder. Oats are highly rich in beta-glucans, which can help reduce skin inflammation and even stimulate collagen production. Studies have shown that this form of oatmeal binds to the skin and helps create a protective barrier against irritants while providing additional nutrients.
In addition to colloidal oats, the Conqueror Oatmeal Bath for Eczema also contains baking soda, coconut milk powder, Dead Sea salts, and vitamin C to help fight eczema symptoms and detoxify the skin.
Baking Soda Bath
Add a quarter cup of baking soda into your tub or apply directly to your dry skin as a paste to relieve itching and promote wound healing.
Natural Oils
Add natural oils into your warm bath, such as jojoba oil, coconut oil, or olive oil, for extra hydration. These natural ingredients are deeply moisturizing, helping to leave your skin feeling even more soft.
Just be careful because adding oils to your bath can make the tub very slippery!
Essential Oils
Essential oils can be a great way to make your bathing experience even more luxurious and restful. This can be important if you’re fighting stress-induced eczema flares.
As a form of self-care, why not go the extra mile and add a few drops of lavender essential oil to your bath water to help you relax? Tea tree oil is also a great way to boost your mood and immune system.
Epsom Salts
Epsom salts long have been a popular home remedy for aching muscles and painful joints. But did you know that the magnesium sulfate in Epsom salt can also help to detoxify your skin?
What Kind of Soap Should I Use In The Bath?
While sweet-smelling bubble baths or bath bombs are fun, they often contain harsh chemicals that strip your skin of natural oils and may irritate sensitive skin even further.
To be safe, we’d recommend using a fragrance-free, alcohol-free soap that’s gentle on your skin. The Emily Skin Soother With Chinese Herbs was created by an acupuncturist for his infant daughter, so it’s gentle enough for all ages — using only natural ingredients traditionally recognized for their moisturizing properties, to treat eczema, psoriasis, sensitive skin, and more.
Soothe Inflamed Skin Today with An Eczema Bath
Follow these tips to help you handle your skin irritation today, taking the time to treat yourself to a soothing bath boosted by natural ingredients.
FROM: Eczema