Spring is in the air and after a long Canadian winter season, our skin often suffers from the dry, harsh weather, for people who suffer from eczema, this is a hard time of year. There are harsh steroid creams, oils and countless other options under the sun that we lather on ourselves in hopes that something provides relief to our skin.
Eczema for many people is hot, inflamed, itchy and very, very painful especially when cracking occurs. We’ve combined some of the most moisturizing and gentle ingredients we could think of with always faithful CBD to create this nourishing and gentle eczema cream.
Before we get started we want to clear something up. You can use a CBD oil that you have purchased from a licensed producer to make this recipe, or you can infuse an oil of your own with cannabis.
If you use oil from a licensed producer, you know exactly what your ratio is, which is very helpful when deciding how much you put in your cream. The downside? It’s not “whole plant medicine”, this simply means that the licensed producer more often than not extract just the cannabinoid of choice, in this case, CBD. Without the other supporting chemicals found naturally in cannabis, you may be missing out on some helpful healing properties that terpenes or THC can provide.
There are a few perks of making your own oil as well, the first being that you have more control over the carrying oil, you can use coconut oil (which we suggest for this recipe) or olive oil, or one of many others. Another benefit to putting in the extra effort of making your own oil would be whole plant extraction, which means you get all of the beneficial cannabinoids inside of cannabis working together for the best healing potential. The downside is that you have to make it, which involves a few steps and some time, as well as guessing your ratio of cannabinoids in your finished product. When you’re making oil to consume, like in cooking then this matters more than if you’re intending to put it on your skin, for this recipe, it’s not as important.
Now that we covered a few of your options, let’s get started!
Besides their functional addition to this cream, they also smell incredible.
A very popular choice for its floral smell, lavender is a great option of eczema cream because it has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and hydrating properties.
Tea tree is a powerful disinfectant, making it a great addition for eczema that has cracked, or split, gently cleaning and eliminating germs in the cuts or open wounds.
Increases the power of other essential oils it is combined with, so not only do you get the anti-inflammatory properties that help with itchiness and redness, but you’ll also be increasing the potency of the other oils you choose.
Finely grind the oats to a flour consistency and set aside. You want to grind the oats as fine as you can, this way there are no chunks in your final product, any blender works, or if you have a food processor better yet!
On very low heat, gently melt the coconut oil in a pan until its liquid. Keep your temperatures on low, this is not a race to the finish line, and we do not want to burn the oil, or the cannabinoids in the oil!
Add in the drops of essential oils and the shea butter. You’re going to want to take the time to mix the ingredients thoroughly. To have a cream that works well all of the ingredients need to be mixed in completely and evenly.
Add ground oats in the pan and mix until well blended. Again, make sure that the oat flour is well mixed in
Now, pour vitamin E oil into the mixture and blend one last time, while the mixture is still on low heat.
Once all ingredients are mixed, remove from heat and pour into a small storage container like a mason jar. Place the jar into the freeze, speeding up the cooling process will stop the oats from sinking to the bottom of the jar. If your oats settle to the bottom of the jar, you can SLOWLY reheat and stir to try again.
It’s best to use this cream after a lukewarm shower (warm water irritates eczema) this ensures that the skin is clean, and dry so the cream can be the most effective. Feel free to use as much or as little as needed, with all natural ingredients your skin will be well on its way to hydration, and comfort.
