Poison ivy…ouch! If you know, you know.
The rash we get from coming into contact with three-leaf plants like poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, is caused by urushiol oil. If you walk through a patch, the first thing you’ll want to do is change your clothes and wash yourself to remove urushiol oil from the skin. Make sure to wash the clothes that were exposed to it too, to prevent further contamination.
At SallyeAnder, we’ve formulated the perfect soap for poison ivy. Our poison ivy soap goes beyond just removing urushiol oil from the dermal layers, it immediately acts on the skin to relieve inflammation, reduce itching, and promote fast healing. The key botanicals that make this formula so effective include: pink clay, oats, and balsam. Let’s take a look at each one…
Pink clay: The use of clay for skin health is an ancient practice. Clay is highly therapeutic to the skin! With its high mineral content, it helps to absorb impurities and to draw out micro-particles from each pore. There are many different types of clay that come in different colors, depending on the region of origin. The mineral composition varies from clay to clay, but they all act as skin purifiers. Pink clay is especially rich in silica, a mineral known to improve skin elasticity by restoring and replenishing the skin with moisture, and promoting cell renewal.
Oats: We love oats for their versatility. Internally, they are a nourishing food and a great source of soluble fiber, which is important for gut and liver health. Their culinary use is also wide, extending from breakfast grain and milk alternative, to baking ingredient, gluten-free flour, thickening agent for soups and stews, and even savory dishes like Savory Oatmeal Croquettes (recipe here). As medicine, the green seeds are used in tea or tincture form as a tonic for nervous conditions–they help relieve exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety, and stress.
The topical use of oats is a traditional home remedy for irritated skin. Oats are incredibly soothing and emollient to the skin. They are anti-inflammatory and cooling, and they help to relieve the itching and burning that come with poison ivy rash. The oats in our soaps also act as a gentle exfoliating agent helping to remove dirt, oil, and dead skin cells while simultaneously promoting collagen production. Oats work wonders, and we add them to several of our soaps–you can actually visibly spot them in our bars! They are included in SallyeAnder’s:
Tip: See oats working their magic right before your eyes by treating yourself to an oatmeal bath! (Scroll to bottom for a How To!)
Balsam: You know balsam fir probably as a Christmas tree, but did you know this beautiful fragrant tree also has medicinal properties? The leaves and twigs are used to make medicinal teas, tinctures, extracts, and distilled essential oil. It's been traditionally used for wound healing, preventing infections, treating coughs and sore throats, and for muscle and body aches.
Balsam essential oil is an excellent topical pain killer. It speeds up skin healing, and has antiseptic properties. We add it to our poison ivy soap for its properties and for its fresh and uplifting scent.
We always keep a bar of Poison Ivy Soap in our home medicine cabinet, especially in the summer. It comes with us (along with No-Bite-Me cream) on camping trips and long hikes, but honestly, it’s a beautiful, and beautifully scented gentle body bar that’s great for daily use too. In fact, if you have sensitive skin that tends to get itchy and inflamed easily, give SallyeAnder’s Poison Ivy Soap a try!
OATMEAL BATH
You’ll need:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 large clean sock, clean piece of cloth, or nut milk bag
Put the oats in your sac of choice–the sock, cloth or nut milk bag and seal tightly by tying it or using a rubber band. Place it in the bath, and as the oats soak up the water, squeeze the sac firmly in the palm of your hand. A milky liquid will begin to exude, it’s exactly what you’ll want to soak in for at least 10 minutes. Relax and enjoy!
Optional additions for an enhanced experience: add dried chamomile, rose, mint or lemon balm flowers in the sac together with the oats, and/or a few drops of your favorite essential oils directly in the bath.