2-Ingredient Eczema Relief salve

Growing up, I used to have one of the best skins I have ever known. I am not bragging. But it becomes a history since my motherhood begins. If you have been following my blogs, you already knew that every change I am going through now is postpartum. So I never had eczema, I didn’t know how irritating it can be to have one until now. When it comes to making eczema salve, balms, and creams, I am my own guinea pig. Throughout my trials, there were a few recipes that really worked very well. I am here to share with you one of my favorite recipes. This salve soothes the irritation and eliminates the dryness patch from my hands!

Ingredients for eczema relief salve

This little beauty botanical cream is called eczema relief salve as it helps to relieve your eczema symptoms. But whether the inflammation is due to eating habits, genetic, allergic, hormonal, or external factors, you will still need to find out why do you have it and have a thorough check with your dermatologist. So I have made some researches and tested a few recipes. I came out with a conclusion, which is when it comes to treating skin inflammation, generally, if you use any botanical ingredient that is high in linoleic acid will help to relieve your symptom.

Plant oils have been utilized for a variety of purposes throughout history, with their integration into foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. They are now being increasingly recognized for their effects on both skin diseases and the restoration of cutaneous homeostasis. Today my recipe involves only 2 ingredients, I made it simple and formulate this salve without essential oil. Doing so will help you to avoid involving more potential allergens in your skin.

Shea butter

Shea butter works like an emollient (Learn what is emollient here!). It is a botanical hard oil composed of triglycerides with oleic, stearic, linoleic, and palmitic fatty acids, as well as unsaponifiable compounds [source]. Shea butter is frequently used in the cosmetic industry due to its high percentage of the unsaponifiable fraction (e.g., triterpenes, tocopherol, phenols, and sterols), which possesses potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties [source].

In a 2009 study by the University of Kansas, shea butter displayed results as an option for treating eczema. A patient with a moderate case of eczema applied Vaseline to one arm and shea butter to the other, twice daily.

At the beginning of the study, the severity of the patient’s eczema was rated as a 3, with 5 being a very severe case and 0 being totally clear. In the end, the arm using Vaseline had its rating downgraded to a 2, while the arm using shea butter was downgraded to a 1. The arm using shea butter was also notably smoother.

Rosehip Seed oil

Rosehip oil contains a wealth of essential fatty acids, including linoleic and linolenic acid. Fatty acids help to keep cell walls strong so that they don’t lose water. The many fatty acids in rosehip oil make it an excellent option for hydrating dry, itchy skin.

Does rosehip seed oil help to soothe eczema symptoms? Yes! And that’s because of the nature of its fatty acid composition, which looks like this.

• Linoleic acid = 47-50%
• alpha-Linolenic acid = 33-40%
• Palmitic acid = 3-5%
• Stearic acid = 2-3%
• Oleic acid and other = 4-20%

Because research has shown that the skin surface lipids of eczema individuals are deficient in linoleic acid [source]. If you’re suffering from eczema, chances are you probably have less linoleic acid content in your skin oil (sebum). This is not the case for those without eczema. Luckily for us, applying linoleic acid topically exerts the same benefits as having more of it naturally.

 Rosehip oil also contains a high level of phenolic acids, especially p-coumaric acid methyl ester, vanillin, and vanillic acid. Due to its high composition of UFAs and antioxidants, this oil has relatively high protection against inflammation and oxidative stress [source]

There are currently 37 classes of roses according to the American Rose Society. When looking for a rosehip oil make sure it comes from the seeds of Rosa aff. rubiginosa (Rosa eglanteri), Rosa moschata Herm, Rosa Mosqueta, or Rosa canina. All the other stuff won’t have the same benefits.

DIY Tools

• Mini Electronic Whisk [ US / Europe ]
• Precision Balance 0.01g [ US / Europe ]
• Pipette [ US / Europe ]
• double boiler [ US / Europe ] or any wide-opening glass bowl will do

I used a double boiler for the preparation as the long handle allowed me to hold it better and the wide opening makes whisking the butter easily from every single position possible.

Related Post: Essential DIY Equipment and Tools for DIY Beauty Crafters

Packaging

For this salve, we will need a 30ml frosted glass jar.

Homemade Eczema Relief Salve

Recipe by CalleighCourse: Beauty RecipesDifficulty: Easy

Yield

22

g

Prep time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 15g Unrefined Shea Butter

• 7g Rosehip Seed Oil

Directions

• Weigh 15g of unrefined shea butter into a double boiler or any wide opening container you have. Start to whisk it with your electronic whisk. Whisk it until the butter becomes smooth and has no more grainy texture. You can stop when it becomes creamy and has a firm peak.
• Weigh 7g of rosehip seed oil on the side. Slowly drips into the finely whisked shea butter with the help of a pipette. Whisk each time when you drips in the oil. Repeat this process until all the rosehip seed oil is totally incorporated with the butter.
• Decant your cream into your packaging. Done!
  (Head over to my Instagram account to have a look at the texture of the cream! www.instagram.com/dripsndrops.co )

Notes

• This preparation method only works for the kind of shea butter that is spreadable already when you buy it. It saves you time from heating and cooling it. And doing so, you will not have a grainy and gritty butter problem. Learn more about the science behind it here!
• You can of course include essential oil in your formulation, however, please be aware of the dermal limit of the chosen oil and be sure that you are not allergic to it.
• To use, apply just a small tip of the cream to the infection area. You will not need a lot as this salve is rich and slow in absorption. A little goes a long way.
• I also use this as my hand cream too during the winter. It hydrates well on the surface of my hands, keeping them away from dry and crack.
• Usually, with eczema disease, your infected area will also need a gentle moisturizer with a high water content that could help to moisturize and absorbs easily by the skin for hydration purposes. Anhydrous product (meaning no water content product) is an emollient which means it helps to seal moisture content into the skin. But I know how tacky it is to have eczema, you probably already tried tons of lotions that don’t work and are probably also allergic to them. What I do is after a shower when my skin is still slightly damp, I applied this salve directly on the infected area to help to seal the moisture into the skin.

This eczema relief salve features all the skin-loving goodness that will help you to soothe and tame your skin dryness, irritation, and inflammation. The yellowish finishing was beautifully tainted by the golden in color rosehip seed oil. I found that the scent of unrefined shea butter incorporates very well with rosehip seed oil. One more reason to let it stay unscented!

I hope this little bottle of magic cream will help you to relieve your eczema symptom as I do. Do you have any experience in making your own salve to relieve your eczema? Do let me know what does work for you!

If you like my tutorial, please consider donating me a coffee! Cheers

Calleigh

Hi, I am Calleigh, MEng Chemical Engineering and a process engineer, and I'm here to show you how to DIY your skincare and household products with the correct formulation and using only natural ingredients. I believe that eating good food (Yes I have cooking recipes too!) and living in a chemical-free environment are the keys to having a healthy lifestyle. And that doesn't need to be expensive.