MY HOMEMADE COLLOIDAL OAT SKIN CREAM

My Homemade Colloidal Oatmeal Skin Cream

I know this is a food blog, but I just have to share this skin cream recipe with you– actually, though you wouldn’t really want to eat it, it wouldn’t harm you to do so!

I have an off-and-on problem with eczema on my face and chest, and it’s been “on” for the last few years. It’s better since I got rid of all detergents and palm oil from my life (there are detergents in SO many things– shampoos, conditioners, etc– and many of them derived from palm oil). I don’t use anything scented. I won’t go into everything I do or use, or have tried, but, suffice it to say that I’ve done extensive research and that I prefer not to use cortisone creams (having had a bad rash from one in the past).

Lately, I’ve been using ground oatmeal and warm water as a facial scrub and it always feels really nice after that, but I still was getting some redness and flaking– not very day, but enough to be discouraging.

So I have been reading and watching videos about the benefits of colloidal oatmeal– which is really just finely-ground oatmeal boiled with water to extract the colloidal material. Basically, it boils down to this: “The many clinical properties of colloidal oatmeal derive from its chemical polymorphism. The high concentration in starches and beta-glucan is responsible for the protective and water-holding functions of oat. The presence of different types of phenols confers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Some of the oat phenols are also strong ultraviolet absorbers. The cleansing activity of oat is mostly due to saponins. Its many functional properties make colloidal oatmeal a cleanser, moisturizer, buffer, as well as a soothing and protective anti-inflammatory agent.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17373175

There are many commercial products that contain colloidal oats (see this article), but most of them have some ingredients that I find objectionable, and they can be very expensive. So, I did some research, and looked up lots of homemade recipes. Many had expensive and even hard to find ingredients. So, I just went for it yesterday and made my own cream with what I had around the house. I ground rolled oats to a fine powder– much cheaper than buying colloidal oat powder to make colloidal oatmeal– it’s the same thing!

I’m so pleased with the results! The cream was easy and cheap to make and feels wonderful on the skin– it doesn’t feel greasy, it just makes the skin feel soft. And, best of all, my facial skin is already better one day later! But I would use this even if I wasn’t prone to eczema!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S HOMEMADE COLLOIDAL OAT SKIN CREAM

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Keep refrigerated

1/2 cup very finely-ground oatmeal (best ground in a clean dry small electric spice mill to a powder, or in a home grain mill, or a dry high-speed blender)

2 cups water

2 tablespoons shea butter

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon soy or sunflower lecithin (this is an emulsifying agent)

(NOTE: If you don’t have lecithin, or can’t use it, try using 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon or guar or xanthan gum instead.)

1000 mg vitamin C tablet, crushed to a fine powder (for preserving qualities)

Whisk the oat flour/powder and water together in a medium pot or deep microwave-safe measuring beaker or bowl. Either stir it on the stovetop until it comes to a boil, then urn down, cover and simmer for 20 minutes OR microwave at high power for 5 minutes. Either way, it should result in a thick “glop”.

Strain the “glop” through a fine mesh strainer into a deep container that you can use with a immersion blender.

Melt the shea butter over low heat in a small pot, or on half power in a small microwave-safe vessel, in one minute increments.

Pour the olive oil, melted shea butter, lecithin and crushed vitamin C into the oat “glop”. Blend with an immersion blender until it is creamy and emulsified. Place in scalded jars with tight lids and refrigerate. Keep refrigerated between uses.

Enjoy!