Here are my Holistic Eczema Remedies that I used on my son who suffered throughout his first year of life. 

If your little one is suffering from eczema it’s important to work with your healthcare provider to get to the root cause of the matter. Skin issues are generally a sign that something is wrong within. The skin is an organ of elimination and as such will often tell us when something’s not right inside. 

While you’re working on that, here are a couple remedies you can do at home to help ease that inflammation. For more advice, please see my blog on breastfeeding which goes into more detail about foods and supplements that may help ease inflammation and eczema.

Eczema skin remedies

Oatmeal: Oats are very soothing to the digestive tract and contain B vitamins and fiber. They are also very soothing to the skin.

Calendula: helps skin heal by reducing inflammation by increasing blood flow to the area. It’s safe to use on infants and children.

Coconut Oil: Nature’s perfect remedy. This oil can do no wrong. It has a similar consistency to our own sebum and absorbs well. It’s also anti-microbial which is why it helps with eczema.

No soap: Bath soaps and laundry soaps can irritate skin. Some laundry soap has GMO corn in it! I wash all of my baby’s clothes in hot water with no soap, and don’t use soap in the bath (he’s 9 months old…how dirty can he be???).

Castor Oil rubs: (advice from my ND) to rub castor oil on his tummy, in particular his liver (under the right rib), to help cool and soothe inflammation. 

Aloe vera: very cooling and soothing on the skin. I use the same stuff I give him orally.

Emu Oil: recommended and used by many who suffer from eczema, it’s molecular structure is very similar to human sebum (oil), and it is high in Omega’s 3, 6, and 9 – fatty acids essential to our bodies. It’s been used as a treatment for many ailments in Aboriginal Australia for years. This would not be a vegan product.

Beef Tallow: get some from your local butcher, grass fed beef tallow would be the preferred type.  Tallow (not lard) is full of saturated fat that our skin cells love, and it has the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K which our skin loves. This is a highly nourishing natural product to use. Mix it with some olive oil or avocado oil and your preferred essential oil (or omit for baby). This would not be a vegan product.

Note: I’ve been using beef tallow for about a month and notice a significant difference in my baby’s skin. I’ve also recently switched him from formula to goat’s milk and his skin is improving very nicely. If you’re wondering why this holistic mama used formula, check out my story, here.

Oatmeal Calendula Bath 

1/4 c steel cut oats
1 tbsp dried calendula flowers (most herbal stores will have this)

Place the oats and calendula flowers in cheesecloth or a pair of clean nylons (I like to use the hold-up ones). Secure the top and place in a cup and cover with boiled water – as if you were making a tea. Let it steep for around 10 mins. Throw the “tea” into the bath (make sure it’s mixed well with the bath water and is no longer steaming hot) and squeeze out the oat “juice” from the nylons onto baby’s skin (test it first on yourself to make sure it’s no longer boiling hot).

Calendula Infused Olive Oil (this recipe is from my ND)

Pack a mason jar with calendula flowers, top up with olive oil. Bake at 200F for 4 hours then squeeze the oil out of the herb via cheesecloth. 

You could likely do the same with coconut oil. 

Tea tree and lavender are also known for their microbial and skin healing properties, although I personally haven’t tried it, experimenting with these may help.