Itchy skin with red patches is the life of a person with eczema. Sufferers are all too familiar with what we mean, and finding natural solutions is always a plus. There are over-the-counter remedies and prescription strength medications available, but if you are a fan of aromatherapy, you know that essential oils do the job.
We put together a list of nineteen essential oils that are best for eczema.
Best Essential Oils For Eczema Comparison
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Edens Garden Angelica Root |
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doTERRA Bergamot |
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Rocky Mountain Chamomile |
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Young Living Frankincense |
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Plant Therapy Geranium |
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Lisse Essentials Lavender |
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Edens Garden Myrrh |
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doTERRA Peppermint |
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Plant Therapy Rose Absolute |
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Young Living Tea Tree |
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What Is Eczema?
Eczema refers to a group of disorders that causes your skin to become itchy, red, and inflamed. It can be painful and cause disruption in your life. The word comes from a Greek term that means “to boil over,” which is what it feels like.
Types of Eczema
While it’s important not to diagnose yourself, there are distinctions between the types of eczema out there. They are broken down for you below.
Atopic Dermatitis (AD)
No one knows what causes this form of eczema but the rash appears when the immune system starts to work harder than normal when interacting with allergens like pollen, dust mites, cats, and dogs. AD generally begins during the first six months of life and can go away or flare-ups can increase. It typically shows up with two other allergic reactions like asthma or hay fever.
Symptoms include dry skin that has the appearance of scales, redness and itching, skin cracking behind the ears, rashes on your legs, arms, or cheeks, and open sores that crust up or “weep.” The latter happens during flare-ups.
Contact Dermatitis
The second type is a reaction to allergens touching the skin. Under this category falls several types but the two that appear the most are irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. Reactions show up on the part of the body that touches the irritant which is more times than not the hands.
Typical irritants include dander, pollen, soaps, fragrances, skin care products, astringents, acidic foods, wool, bleach, paints, tobacco smoke, fumes, detergents, solvents, and industrial chemicals. As far as symptoms go, they are the same as most eczema types; a rash that is red and swelling. The sufferer might also have a burning feeling and weeping sores.
Dyshidrotic Eczema
Here we have a subcategory of this skin condition that only affects certain areas of the body, which include finger edges, toes, palms, and the soles of the person’s feet. Small blisters will appear that itch when the inflicted experience allergic reactions, stress, moist hands, and feet, or when in contact with nickel, cobalt, or chromium salts.
More women than men develop this condition and symptoms include small blisters filled with fluid on the feet, hands, and/or fingers, itching, red patches, flaky skin, the appearance of scales or cracked skin, and pain.
Nummular Eczema – Nummular Dermatitis
Also known as discoid eczema this type is common and can afflict someone no matter their age. The symptoms are a bit different though with the skin producing round spots that are shaped like coins. They itch, become dry and scaly, and can evolve into open sores like the other types we’ve read about thus far.
Usual triggers include insect bites, skin inflammations, or dryness that comes along with exposing your skin in the winter months.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Chronic in nature, this form flares up where you have a lot of sebaceous glands. Common areas are the scalp, nose, and upper back. Just as with AD, there is no known cause, but they do know that it’s possibly genetic and could be linked to specific hormones. It might also be caused by certain microorganisms that live on the skin, like yeast.
This type is not caused by an allergy, which we have seen with other categories. It can affect anyone of any age and typically more common in men than women. Symptoms can be different. Some show dry flakes while others experience greasy scales that are yellow in color. The skin is still red and inflamed.
Stasis Dermatitis
Occurring when there is an issue with blood flow, this form goes by several names including gravitational dermatitis, venous eczema, and venous stasis dermatitis. Pressure develops in the veins can result in fluid leaking out into the skin. It typically appears on the lower legs. Signs include ankle swelling, scales, redness, pain, and itching. When it gets really bad you can experience open sores that ooze and even an infection.
How Do Essential Oils Help?
Essential oils are volatile compounds from nature that hold a great deal of power when it comes to specific issues. As for eczema, there is a long list we found that can help you ease the symptoms. These oils are extracted from flowers, bark, resin, gum, herbs, and citrus rinds and botted for use to purchase.
When used with the right carrier oils several of these scents can be used to make amazing eczema fighting recipes all your own.
How Do I Use Them for Eczema?
While there are three ways aromatherapy fans utilize their essential oils, when it comes to this type of problem, our first suggestion would be topical treatment. You can do this by taking a carrier we talk about below and adding a few drops of your favorite scents. Inhaling scents is another way to treat eczema, specifically the type ignited by stress.
The most important part is that you can create blends, sprays, and compresses for quick relief and application.
How Do I Choose The Right One?
The best way to make the right selection for you is to know the exact type of eczema you are suffering from, what you want to accomplish with your home treatment, and what scents appeal to you the most. What is nice about blends is you can take a flowery aroma and pair it with an earthy fragrance to make a nice scent.
If you ask me, there is no way to choose the wrong oil, unless you ignore the warnings. They have so many additional benefits you’ll find a use for it.
What You Need to Know
We always suggest knowing how to blend correctly, use proper dilution techniques, and to spot test first. We list the specific cautions for each oil but in general, it is always good to consult a physician or healthcare professional before jumping right in.
10 Best Essential Oils For Eczema
Now that we’ve gone over the basics, here is our list of oils we found that are beneficial to people suffering from the types of eczema listed above. Remember, some of them are carrier oils but they are the essential oil of that natural host, so they work well within the confines of this catalog.
Angelica
- Peppery, woody scent
- Works as an anti-inflammatory
- Eases stress, which can trigger eczema
- Blends well with geranium, lavender, and chamomile
We have an oil that is extracted from a good portion of the herb Angelica root that started out in Africa but made its way to Europe during colonization. They found that it has anti-inflammatory properties, which is advantageous for those suffering from eczema of any kind.
A study in 2004 showed that Angelica is also effective when it comes to treating anxiety. As we have seen in the earlier section, stress can trigger some eczema, so this is an added benefit. While relaxing the nerves it can stimulate the blood flow.
With a peppery, woody scent, this could mix well with the carrier oil we already covered. You could also add a few drops to some hot water and soak it up with a rag. Place it on the area for instant relief. Inhalation via your favorite diffuser is another option if you are looking to relieve eczema caused by stress.
Who Should Purchase This?
This scent is a good choice for anyone looking to fight the stress that triggers their eczema. It’s also a great choice for people who enjoy earthy scents.
Cautions
This oil should not be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers, or people suffering from diabetes. If you don’t dilute it well enough it can actually irritate the skin, which is the opposite of what you need when dealing with a flare-up. You should also avoid the sun right after application. Make sure you know how to blend well before applying this oil and do a spot check.
Bergamot
- Citrus, spicy, floral scent
- Relieves pain
- Eases anxiety
- Blends well with jasmine, rosemary, and frankincense
Here we have an oil that makes it on a lot of our lists. This is because it is strong and has a scent that many users find pleasing. When it comes to eczema, this oils works hard to relieve stress, which was proven in a study conducted on women in Japan in 2015. When they breathed in the scent their anxiety was greatly reduced.
Bergamot also does wonders with pain. As it turns out it has antinociceptive properties, which means it blocks the reception of pain by sensory neurons. A few drops in a warm bath could help bring an end to the agony associated with your eczema.
Who Should Purchase This?
Fans of citrus scent should give this oil a try. It comes from the same family as other citrus fruits and it even has a hint of spice and floral.
Cautions
This scent can be dangerous if exposed to sunlight so it is important to keep it in a cold, dark storage area at all times. You should also avoid the sunlight after applying it topically, which makes it a better option for nighttime relief.
Chamomile
- Fresh, apple-like scent
- Has been proven as effective against atopic eczema
- Reduces inflammation
- Blends well with lavender, frankincense, and patchouli
Here we have an oil that is synonymous with tea. The kind that leaves me feeling happy and relaxed. So, it shouldn’t be any surprise that one of the main advantages chamomile essential oil brings to the table is its sedative qualities. In fact, it has been proven to be an effective tool against atopic eczema and found to work nearly as well as hydrocortisone cream.
Chamomile has also been shown to reduce inflammation after topical application. It has a scent that resembles apples. It is light in aroma, which makes it a wonderful accent fragrance for blends designed to soothe your skin.
Who Should Purchase This?
Anyone interested in a powerhouse oil should consider purchasing this scent. It may not have the strongest scent but it has a proven direct effect on this skin disorder, which makes it number one in my book.
Cautions
If you have an allergy to ragweed family this isn’t the scent for you. Otherwise, it is relatively safe to use.
Frankincense
- Sweet, musky, Earthy scent
- Works as an anti-inflammatory
- Works against pathogenic infection
- Blends well with myrrh, lavender, and ylang-ylang
Our next powerful scent is one of my favorites. I use it practically every day to help me focus when I’m writing. That said, how does it help when it comes to eczema? It is a powerful anti-inflammatory and can be used in a powerful blend to apply on your red patches.
Frankincense is also antimicrobial, which is important because sometimes a pathogenic infection can develop. It has been used to treat a number of other skin issues like acne. As a user I find it to be centering and relaxing as well, which helps with stress.
Who Should Purchase This?
I think everyone should own a bottle of this oil because it blends well with so many others and has a lot to offer. Frankincense is for the aromatherapy user that wants to get a lot of benefits for their money.
Cautions
There isn’t enough research to say that this oil is safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women to use. It needs to be diluted well before applying topically because alone it can cause further irritation.
Geranium
- Rose like scent
- Works as an anti-inflammatory
- Eases stress, which can trigger eczema
- Blends well with neroli, jasmine, and lavender
These flowers are synonymous with summer in some regions of the world but the oil that is distilled from the other parts of the plant is quite powerful and has been used medicinally for centuries, which isn’t surprising when you consider how strong it is. Geranium oil has been proven to ease inflammation.
It had properties that treat a lot of skin disorders besides eczema including acne. Geranium is also known to alleviate stress, which makes it a triple threat.
Who Should Purchase This?
People who enjoy the smell of roses should try this oil since the scent is strikingly similar. It’s also a perfect choice for frequent sufferers since it could add a lot of advantages to your homemade blends.
Cautions
It seems that geranium oil is “likely safe” for topical use when diluted well and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Of course, we are not doctors so when in doubt, ask a medical professional.
Lavender
- Pleasing, floral scent
- Effective against eczema
- Relieves stress
- Blends well with frankincense, ylang-ylang, and rose
Some people have called lavender a “gateway oil” because it is typically the first scent a person tries when putting their first toe into the vast pool of aromatherapy. This was definitely the case with me. As it turns out, one of the most popular oils in the discipline has shown to be effective as a treatment against eczema.
I am not surprised by this because I have used it for many things involving inflammation and it has worked. The compounds in lavender oil are powerful and the scent is pleasing to most, which is why it is a common ingredient in blends. Not to mention its ability to help the inhaler to relax and detangle from a stressful day.
Who Should Purchase This?
You probably already have a bottle of this in your collection I would bet it’s because you ran out. If you are new to aromatherapy and haven’t tried lavender oil then you need a bottle of this. You’ll be amazed at all the uses you’ll find for it.
Cautions
Women who are pregnant or nursing should avoid this oil due to its effect on hormones. This is the reason why prepubescent boys should also avoid coming near this oil. Whether it’s safe for young girls is unknown so, to be safe, keep it out of the reach of children. Also, it should be avoided for two weeks before surgery due to its effect on the central nervous system.
Myrrh
- Sweet, woody, sometimes piney scent
- Heals wounds
- Soothes inflammation
- Blends well with frankincense, lavender, and rose
This is another oil that goes back centuries and is synonymous with the story of Christmas, like frankincense. Another way it is like frankincense is its ability to heal wounds. which is sometimes the result of a severe flare-up. It also carries compounds that fight microbes that can further infect those wounds.
On top of all that, this oil is a wonderful agent against inflammation and has shown to reduce swelling. Myrrh is an ample compliment to any blend. It adds a sweet, woody scent that can sometimes be a bit piney.
Who Should Purchase This?
People who experience vicious episodes of this disorder should consider purchasing this oil. It is powerful and blends well with other oils on this list.
Cautions
When applying this to your skin it should be diluted well otherwise it may have the opposite reaction and cause further irritation. It is actually not safe to use myrrh in large doses so a drop or two in a 10 ml bottle with a good carrier like jojoba should suffice.
Peppermint
- Bright, minty scent
- Cools inflammation and redness
- Accelerates the healing process of chronic wounds
- Blends well with lemon, tea tree, and lavender
When I hear this word I think of candy covered in chocolate and a little cartoon girl who has the second name Patty and wore earth shoes before they were a thing. Who knew she shared the name with one of the most powerful essential oils on the market. This is another staple in my collection and I find new uses for it all the time.
Eczema is no match for a blend with some peppermint oil in it because this scent has been used to calm all types of skin irritations, redness, and itching. A study in 2015 showed that peppermint oil could also be effective in accelerating the healing process of chronic wounds.
Who Should Purchase This?
Anyone who loves the smell of mint should get a bottle of this. Also, it’s a great additive for a blend because this oil will leave behind that cooling feeling when your skin starts to burn.
Cautions
Peppermint oil is very strong and I have personally had my own mishaps with it. Make sure to dilute it well in your homemade blends and be sure to do a spot check first. When you deal with a powerful oil like this one you should be aware it comes with risks.
Rose
- Strong rose smell
- Fights inflammation
- Leaves skin refreshed
- Blends well with germanium jasmine, and palma rosa
I own a little bottle of this scent and to be honest, I can’t get enough. I guess I’m just a fan of florals, or maybe just aromatherapy in general. When it comes to eczema, rose oil’s power isn’t only the aroma. This scent is also loaded with anti-inflammatory compounds. It also works as an antioxidant, which helps with healing.
Rose oil has also been known to tone the nerves, which helps when you are feeling stressed. I have to say when I apply my blend to my skin it leaves it feeling refreshed.
Who Should Purchase This?
Floral fans should own this oil. Not only does it do wonders for the skin, but the smell adds something lovely to any blend.
Cautions
If you use too much you may get a headache, so dilute it well with your coconut oil or other carriers. It also has strong effects on hormones so pregnant and nursing women should avoid using this oil.
Tea Tree
- Medicinal, tea tree scent
- Reduces inflammation
- Speeds up wound healing
- Blends well with bergamot, cypress and eucalyptus
Our last oil goes by the scientific name of Melaleuca alternifolia and it is found in Australia, like other powerful oils like eucalyptus. Tea tree has a ton of powerful agents to help in your battle against eczema. It reduces inflammation, speeds up wound healing, and can reduce skin reactions to nickel, which ignites dyshidrotic eczema.
All in all, this is a tough aroma that has nothing but our health and well-being in mind.
Who Should Purchase This?
People suffering from dyshidrotic eczema should try this oil since it has that specific power. Honestly, everyone should have this oil because of its numerous advantages outside of treating eczema.
Cautions
With great power comes great responsibility and tea tree oil is no different. It is not safe to ingest and needs to be diluted. One drop per blend will add the power you need. Do a spot check and go up from there. Remember though, if you use too much it could cause the opposite effect and hurt your skin. Be cautious while using.
Also, young boys should not be exposed to this oil for the same hormone reasons we listed with lavender oil.
Conclusion
All of these oils brings a unique aroma and roster of powers to a blend. We didn’t cover carriers but the best ones for eczema are coconut, jojoba, apricot kernel, and rosehip. These should make up the bulk of your blend and you can mix them as well.
Remember to write down your recipes when you make them so they are easily duplicated or altered to find your ideal mixture.
Leave us a comment below if you found this article helpful. Your feedback enables us to improve this site to make it the best reference for your questions about the body, mind, and soul.
The post 10 Best Essential Oils For Eczema: Natural Relief For Your Skin appeared first on Better Mind Body Soul.
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