The Benefits of Oat Ingredients in your Skincare Routine

As a skincare ingredient, oats and oatmeal can have a significant impact on the health and appearance of your skin, as well as helping to treat conditions that cause dry, flaky skin and irritation.​
The active ingredients used in oatmeal products not only bring moisture to the surface layers of your skin, they also use their natural properties to soothe and cool itchiness and aid the protective performance of your skin’s outer layer. As such, they are the perfect solution for many skin conditions and ensuring a perfect balance of your skin’s microbiome – the ecosystem of bacteria that keeps your skin healthy and glowing.​

Oatmeal-based products work with your skin to do a number of things, including:​

• Restoring moisture to dry skin to improve its appearance and reduce irritation​

• Creating a protective barrier, known as the skin microbiome, on the surface of the skin that guards against bad bacteria and UV rays​

• Helping your skin achieve optimal pH levels, particularly if this has increased​

• Soothing sensitive skin and reducing the effects of itchiness and other forms of irritation​

• Cleaning the skin by sticking to dirt and dead skin cells to allow them to be washed away more easily

As well as using colloidal oatmeal to moisturize, Aveeno^® Dermexa skin care range, targeted at eczema-prone skin, uses two other oatmeal products, oat extract and oat oil. All three combine to create Aveeno’s unique prebiotic Triple Oat Complex, which helps restore microbial balance to dry, itchy and compromised skin.

These beneficial ingredients are extracted from the raw oats through a careful process. Oat oil can also be removed from oats in a similar way. This helps to concentrate the effects of the chemical compounds found within and promotes prebiotic function to help relieve very dry, itchy and sensitive skin.

The compounds found in all forms of oatmeal4 include:​

Saponins - designed to absorb dirt on the skin, ideal for cleansing

Polysaccharides - which bind to skin fluids to create a protective barrier

Carbohydrates - which have hydrophilic qualities, making them perfect for moisturizing​

Proteins - which moisturize and emulsify, helping to create a protective barrier for your skin​

Lipids and flavonoids - which have anti-oxidant qualities that help make your skin healthier.

References:
[1]https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-18449/colloidal-oatmeal-topical/details
[2]https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/
[3]https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psoriasis/
[4]https://www.aveenomd.com/our-ingredients/oat
[5]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235995930_oatmeal_in_dermatology
[6]https://www.aveenomd.com/our-ingredients/oat
[7]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3508548/
[8]https://www.aveenomd.com/our-ingredients/oat
[9]https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-18449/colloidal-oatmeal-topical/details
[10]https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/treatment/bathing/
[11]https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psoriasis/
[12]https://www.livestrong.com/article/104269-oatmeal-face-masks-acne/
[13]https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/nappy-rash/
[14]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3508548/