Tips To Use Oats as a Natural Skincare Ingredient

There is more to oats than just a bowlful of it for a hearty and wholesome breakfast.

You can give your body the best of nutrients in bowl of oats topped with delicious fruits and seeds. But what if you could use the goodness of oats for your skin too?

If you are a skin care enthusiast, you will know that oats are fast becoming an ingredient to use in a variety of products and DIY recipes because of the versatile benefits it has.

Right from soaking in excess oils from your skin when used as a face pack or becoming a gentle skin exfoliator to even treating acne; this one superfood is packed with multiple benefits.

Packed with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties oats can soothe troubled and inflamed skin too.

Benefits of Using Oats on Skin

Let’s look at a host of skin and beauty needs the humble oatmeal meets and two recipes that your skin will love.

• An excellent skin moisturizer

A skin-healthy ingredient, oats contain Vitamin E and proteins that makes it a great superfood for your skin.

Vitamin E helps to reduce inflammation and adds a natural glow to the skin. Since Vitamin E is also a powerful anti-oxidant, it also protects your skin.

• Exfoliates the skin gently

Smooth ground oats mixed with rose water and a drizzle of honey makes the gentlest of exfoliators. Add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to make the scrub you want.

Scrubbing your skin with oats at least once a fortnight is an excellent way of getting rid of dead skin cells to reveal new and smooth skin underneath.

• Protects the skin

Organic creams that are packed with the goodness of oats work brilliantly to protect your skin from the environmental stressors that can cause skin damage.

Oats contain flavonoids; a type of a compound that has an ability to protect your skin from toxins and chemicals.

• Cleanses skin naturally

Oats is a natural cleanser because of the presence of saponins; essentially a group of carbohydrates that are naturally found in plants.

Saponins have anti-oxidant properties that can soothe troubled and sensitive skin types.

The good thing about saponins is that while cleansing your skin they will not strip the skin of the natural oils.

It removes built-up dirt and grime without clogging the pores or drying the skin.

• Suitable for all skin types

While this is one ingredient that works for all skin types, you may still want to do a patch test before using products that contain oats to rule out any allergies.

Whether you have dry skin to sensitive skin, inflamed skin, oily skin, combination skin, irritated skin, and just about everything in-between skin type; oatmeal is your best bet for all skin types.

DIY Oatmeal Face Mask Recipes

Now that you are aware of some of the benefits of oatmeal for your skin, let’s look at two DIY recipes that you can make using the ingredients in the kitchen for your skin.

For most recipes you will need a fine powder of oats. To do this, you can either pick up organic oat flour from the store or lightly roast two cups of oats in a low flame till it is aromatic.

Let it cool and grind this in a blender to make a smooth powder. Store this in an airtight jar.

A healing oatmeal mask

Make a quick skin loving oatmeal mask to heal your skin. To make the mask you will need:

· 3 teaspoons of oatmeal powder

· 3 teaspoons of milk

· A drizzle of honey

· For a vegan option, use plain water instead of milk and honey

· 2 drops of any of these essential oils according to your skin type

• Tea tree for oily skin

• Coconut oil for dry skin

• Lavender for normal skin

• Chamomile for inflamed skin

• Sandalwood for sensitive skin

• Rosemary for acne-prone skin

Mix all the ingredients together to form a lightly runny paste. Apply on face and neck and leave it for 15 minutes.

Keep spritzing floral water or wetting the pack so that it doesn’t get dry and stretch the skin. After 15 minutes wet the face mask and rub it on the face and neck for a few seconds to boost blood circulation and exfoliate dead skin.

Wash off with cool water. Pat the skin dry and follow up with a face oil or a moisturizer.

A gentle oatmeal scrub

Exfoliation is a part of your skin care regime. For squeaky clean skin that is not just cleansed but also nourished and hydrated try this gentle oatmeal exfoliating powder.

To make the scrub, you’ll need:

· A cup of oatmeal powder

· One teaspoon of honey*

· A teaspoon of almond oil

· Milk to form a runny paste*

· Essential oils of your choice

· A pinch of cinnamon powder

· One teaspoon of pure aloevera gel

· One teaspoon of orange peels powder

· *Rose water if you want a vegan option

Apply this scrub on the body and let it stay for a minute or two. Using a gentle bath mitt, start from the toes and move the mitt in a circular motion to slough away the dead skin.

Rinse off with warm water and apply some body butter while the skin is still damp to lock in the hydration.

When you are using any ingredient for your skin, ensure that is free of chemicals and toxins and organic so that your skin gets the best experience it needs.

Get ready to welcome skin that looks radiant and glowing when you include this superfood in your skin care regime.

(Pratibha Pal spent her childhood in idyllic places only fauji kids would have heard of. She grew up reading a variety of books that let her imagination wander and still hopes to come across the Magic Faraway Tree.You can view her blog at www.pratsmusings.com or reach to her on Twitter at @myepica.)

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