Things You Didn't Know...

Using oatmeal can be a natural and effective way to treat many skin conditions, such as oily or dry skin, razor burns, skin irritations, acne, sunburn and even chicken pox. While merely plastering cooked oatmeal on your face will certainly work, the addition of many other ingredients may make your oatmeal mask even more effective.

OATMEAL FACIAL MASK
Cook some oatmeal or organic rolled oats according to the directions on the package. While there is some disagreement over the use of instant oatmeal to create an oatmeal mask, you should certainly avoid any oatmeal varieties that have been sweetened or flavored.

Allow the oatmeal to cool slightly after cooking when you create a mask. Excessively hot or even warm oatmeal can be a bit uncomfortable, and the heat may also dry out your skin.

Fluff up one egg white with a fork in a small bowl. Add the egg white to the oatmeal mask for consistency, folding it into the mixture until it is smooth and easy to spread on your face.

Add a few drops of lemon juice when you create your oatmeal mask. Lemon juice is an astringent that can help remove excess oil from your skin, which will be helpful if you have blackheads or blemishes. Lemon juice may also help even skin tone throughout your face by helping eliminate dark patches and discolorations.

Experiment with other types of ingredients when you create an oatmeal mask. Baking soda, for instance, can soothe itchy skin, and olive oil can help reduce the wrinkles caused by dry skin.

Smooth the oatmeal mask onto your face. Add more layers of oatmeal to problem areas of your skin, such as your nose and forehead. Be careful around your eyes, since oatmeal will definitely cause irritation.

Allow the oatmeal mask to dry completely before you remove it. The skin on your face may become slightly itchy as the oatmeal dries completely, which will be your signal to wash up.Rinse the mask off completely with cool to lukewarm water. Hot water can irritate your pores. Dab dry with a soft washcloth.

POISON OAK
Find out if you have been in contact with poison oak by knowing how to properly identify the plant. Poison oak is a vine that often grows near oak trees, and has similar-looking leaves. These leaves grow in clusters of three throughout the vine.

Rinse the exposed areas of your skin as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of urushiol--the oil on poison oak leaves that causes the irritation--that will penetrate your skin. If you are able to wash your skin with cool water and soap within 15 to 20 minutes of exposure, your rash will be significantly reduced, if not eliminated.

Prepare a lukewarm bath using collodial oatmeal, which are rolled oats that have been ground into a fine powder that will easily dissolve in water. Use several cups of oatmeal in the bath for the best results. Take care when climbing in to the tub, since the moisturizing agents in the oatmeal can make bathroom surfaces slippery.

Add a few handfuls of Epsom salts or baking soda to the bath in order to treat your poison oak rash with oatmeal. This will increase the effectiveness of the oatmeal bath by providing a longer period of relief from itching.

Soak in the tub for 15 to 30 minutes to treat your poison oak with oatmeal. Ensure that all exposed areas of your skin are completely submerged in the bath water the entire duration of the bath.

Pat your skin dry with a soft, clean towel after you exit the bath. Avoid rubbing your skin with the towel, which may cause further skin irritation.

Repeat the procedure three times a day to treat your poison oak rash. You may want to alternate your oatmeal baths with applications of calamine lotion to reduce the itch caused by the rash throughout the day.

SUNBURN

Fill an old sock full of oatmeal. Uncolored tube socks will work the best. You can use any type of organic rolled oats or even colloidal oatmeal, which are oats that have been ground into a fine powder to aid dissolution in water.

Fill your bathtub full, using cool to lukewarm water. Avoid using hot water in the bath, since the heat can remove the natural oils from your body, and dry out your skin even further. Remember that dry skin is itchy, peeling skin, especially after sunburn.

Drop the sock filled with the oatmeal into the bath and let it soak for a few minutes. You may want to drag the sock around the perimeter of the bathtub a few times to speed up the dissolving process. If you're using colloidal oatmeal, you can skip this step since it will dissolve much more quickly than rolled oats.

Get into the bathtub and soak for at least 30 minutes. Use caution in getting in and out of the tub, since the oatmeal can make the sides and bottom of the tub quite slippery.

Stand up in the tub and carefully rinse the residue of the oatmeal from your skin with cool, clear water.

Dry yourself with a thick, soft towel, taking care not to aggravate the sunburn further by rubbing back and forth. Dab gently until you are completely dry.

Use an additional oatmeal mask to treat a sunburn on your face. Mix one egg white and a few drops of olive oil into some cooked oatmeal, and mix until the consistency is smooth. Once the oatmeal has cooled off to the point where it will be soothing rather than alarming, apply it to your face in an even coat. Wait until it has dried completely, and then rinse the mask off with cool water.

SCRUB (a gently exfoliate while moisturizing and making your skin feel great all day)

Measure out 2 cups of oats. Add 2 to 3 tbsp. sea salt to the oats and sift the two ingredients together with your hands. The sea salt acts as a natural cleanser for the skin and exfoliates your hands while you scrub. If you are unsure how much of an exfoliant you want, begin with a small amount and adjust to your preference.

Stir in the milk a small amount at a time until the oat mixture is moistened, and the oats are sticking together. Adding all the milk at once could leave you with a soupy mixture that will not work well as a scrub.

Mix in 1 tbsp. honey and stir well until incorporated into the mixture. Honey works as a natural astringent for your skin and helps hold the mixture together.

Accent your scrub by adding a few drops of essential oil to scent your oatmeal hand scrub.

SOAP (make your face soft and glowing with good health)

Shred a 4 ounce bar of Castile Soap with a food grater or cut up with a sharp knife.

Grind 1/4 cup of dried oats in a food processor until they are like a fine powder.
In a saucepan, bring 1/4 cup of Distilled Water (must be distilled!) to a boil. Remove the saucepan from heat and add 1 tablespoon of dried chamomile and 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary. Let the herbs steep for thirty minutes to create a strong herbal infusion.

Strain the herbs out of the water and return the herbal infusion back to boil. Turn the heat down to low after it reaches a boil and while stirring add the shredded Castile soap a little at a time. Continue stirring until the mixture forms a sticky mass. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the oat powder and 1 tablespoon of jojoba oil. Keep stirring until the powder and oil are mixed thoroughly.

Pack the soap into molds and let it set for four hours or until hardened. You may pour it into a pan and cut the soap into bars when hardened, but they are a little rough in appearance with this method.