Childhood eczema can be very uncomfortable for your little one. We know all too well how child eczema can affect the whole family. You can read about how I healed my daughter’s eczema naturally in this post. I know first-hand how itchy and cranky a child with eczema can be. While the cause of eczema resides on the inside and requires a holistic approach to heal, a homemade eczema cream may be beneficial while you wait for the internal healing to begin. We used a homemade eczema cream made with shea butter, coconut oil and lavender and melaleuca (tea tree) essential oils for my daughter. This cream contains healing properties to soothe your child’s irritated skin and offer some relief. When we didn’t have time to make our own cream, we used this manuka honey eczema cream instead.
The ingredients:
Shea butter: High in vitamin A, shea butter is healing for an array of skin conditions including eczema, dermatitis and even wrinkles. Make sure you use 100% pure shea butter like this one
Coconut oil: Coconut oil is naturally tough on bacteria and fungi and this helps to keep the skin clean (source), while the medium chain triglycerides are wonderfully moisturizing and protective for the skin. I like this one
Lavender and Tea Tree essential oil: We use these oils in our holistic medicine kit to help soothe cuts and scrapes and they both play an important role in supporting skin wellness.
DIY Homemade Eczema Cream
1/4 cup shea butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops tea tree essential oil
Directions:
Fill a saucepan halfway full with water. Heat the water over medium high heat (but do not boil). In a mason jar add the shea butter and the coconut oil. Place mason jar in the saucepan (like a makeshift double boiler) until the oils melt. Remove the mason jar and allow it to cool slightly on the counter before you add the essential oils. It’s okay if the oil is warm when you add the essential oils, but it should not be hot. Mix the essential oil into coconut/shea mixture and put the jar in the fridge to get firm. You can use the eczema cream at this point, but if you’d like more of a “whipped” body butter lotion then put the oil in a kitchen aid stand mixer and mix on high for several minutes until the eczema cream looks like whipped butter. You may have to scrape the sides of the mixer down a few times. Apply liberally to any affected area of the skin.
This cream will liquefy if your house is warm, so you may decide to keep it in the fridge. Keeping your eczema cream cool will also feel good to your little one’s hot inflamed skin.
Eczema Home Remedies
If you are suffering from eczema, then you will love my eBook: Eczema Home Remedies. I wrote this eBook after our own family journey with eczema. I healed my daughter’s recurring eczema for GOOD using this protocol and I hope it helps you or someone you love. The only way to heal eczema is to heal the root cause, and my eBook gives you simple steps to do just that. Find out more about my holistic eczema protocol here.
Want a regular lotion for your skin everyday? Try out this homemade lotion recipe from Oh Lardy!
Hi there! Eczema is totally new to me as no one in my family has it . . .however we think our new baby has it. At her last doctors appointment the rash wasn’t prevalent at all so the doctor couldn’t really tell but from what he did see he said it looked to be Eczema. If that is what she has, how do we correct it internally (you mentioned above it was from a poor digestive tract). She is only six months old – so I’m wondering why there is a problem with her digestive tract and how do you fix such a thing in a baby who drinks breast milk and a little bit of organic baby food?
Being that your child is breast fed you would have to change your diet. Another good note to remember is only wash you babies clothes in a dye & fragrance free laundry detergent. 100% cotton for your sheets and clothes is also good. I grew up with eczema & it can be a pain hope this helps =)
Hi Rachel, my baby had the same thing–exclusively breast fed and had eczema flares on her cheeks even before she began eating food. I believe my daughter was born with a leaky-ish gut–she has always shown signs of inflammation. So we work to keep her inflammation low. You can read more about it here: https://kulamama.com/child-eczema/
Also this book could be very helpful (i’ve read it and she has some great ideas for healing)—http://holisticsquid.com/the-eczema-cure/
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I follow your step, but how come it wont become whipped with stand mixer for about half and hour.?
When you go to whip this in the kitchen aid mixer, would you do that before or after you refrigerate it, does it matter?
After, but you can also skip the whipping step and it will still work just great. I don’t always pull out my mixer and instead use it as is.
Hi, Can this cream be used on the face? I am thinking to use it on myself.
I found a similar recipe but the lady who made it said that tea tree oil could be not very good for the face. I was wondering that I could change tea tree oil and replace it with frankincense oil? What about adding honey too?Thanks
Claudine
It really depends on why you are using it on your face. If just using for moisturizing then frankincense would be a good choice. If using for eczema you may want to leave in a little tea tree oil.
Would this work for rosacia? If not, do you have something for that?
I have suffered from Eczema my whole life (I’m 35). I’ve Tried everything under the sun to find relief. I admit, this concoction was very soothing and temporarily made my eczema better. But like with everything, it comes back. I’ve been taking a special (inexpensive) probiotic with an antifungal in it and for the first time in my life I can happily say I’ve been eczema free for over a year! I got it here: http://plexuscontrol.com/plexus-tri-plex-combo/ – Who knew that an unhealthy amount of yeast in our bodies could cause our skin to erupt and a whole bunch of other mystery diagnosis. Hopefully this helps! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi, I’d like to make this for my mom.
I’m wondering if adding some beeswax and vitamin E oil would help it not melt at room temperature as well perhaps have a longer shelf life? I know if my mom has to keep it i the fridge.. she will forget most the time.
My daughter flared up with eczema for the first time about 2 weeks after I gave birth to our second child, when she was nineteen months old. She’s now 22 months old and I’ve yet to find any solution- it’s so bad now that she has to be wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts 24/7 so she won’t scratch and bleed. 🙁 I’m at a loss for what to do to solve the problem. We did an elimination diet for all major allergens, we haven’t introduced her to any gluten yet, she doesn’t have any refined sugar (some raw honey or coconut sugar sometimes), and the eczema was unaffected by all diet changes we tried. I’ve tried coconut oil, aloe vera, avocado oil, special all-natural eczema cream with essential oils, and steroid cream (it was a last ditch effort)- and nothing has gotten rid of it. I’m inclined to think it’s allergies, but I don’t understand why she wouldn’t have had the flare ups before, and I can’t figure out what has changed in our lives since the baby was born that she could be allergic to. I don’t want to just start drugging her up with allergy medication, but so far, an air purifier, excessive cleaning, changing all detergents/soaps/body products, and KickIt Allergy Kids drops have only made the flareups less severe, not gotten rid of them completely.
I’m getting so discouraged and I hate having to keep her dressed like this all of the time! Any suggestions or ideas of who to take her to? An allergist?
Hi Jessica, I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter. Stress of a newborn baby could have been one of her triggers—stress is one of those things that has a huge impact on our health and we don’t think about it much. As far as testing I always think it’s a good idea to have testing done when there is a gray area and you have done the elimination diet and not seen results. If this is the case there is likely a leaky gut issue going on and a gut healing protocol is probably a good idea. An allergist can help you rule out allergy triggers but won’t likely be able to offer you a solution outside of medication for symptoms. But knowing if she has allergies is helpful so it’s always useful information. I would find a functional doctor as a starting point. You can do a search here: https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117
Hope this helps.
Try homemade bone broth or a commercial brand from grass fed, pastured animals raised without pesticides, gmo’s, hormones etc. It is very effective to healing the digestive track and immunity.
Is this safe for infants?
Depends on how old. I would only use a small amount of Lavender on a baby over 6 months. Otherwise you can use herbs (like the real lavender and simmer it in the oil for several hours to infuse the oil). Herbs are best used on kids under 2 years old. But if one of my kids had eczema and was over 6 months old I would likely use 1 drop of lavender or infuse oil with the lavender herb.
My two-year-old and I both suffer from eczema. How would I go about properly diluting this for her? One drop seems very minimal conpared to the 15 in the recipe so I just wanted to clarify. Thank you!
For kids the measurement is usually 1 drop of essential oil per 3 teaspoons of carrier oil!
I was just wondering if you would know if this cream would be effective in treating skin irritations on horses. My horse suffers from Sweet Itch which is a reaction to the bites of bugs called midges so she scratches herself silly to the point where it’s all she can do! I currently use a product which is essential oil based but it costs a fortune (over $50 a bottle) and I am not convinced about how natural it is. I am needing to break the itch/scratch cycle so this would be one in a number of methods I would be using. Just looking at the ingredients and I think they would do the trick.
Amy, I am not sure about using the eczema cream on a horse, but young living does do essential oils specifically for animals so you can check out the large animal package here: http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/collections/animal-scents-care-kit-large-animal
And learn more about ordering them here: https://kulamama.com/essential-oils/
Very informative and easy to make. Need recipe for a cream or lotion for wrinkles and strecht marks . Thanks
My sister swears by this product and says it’s helped a lot. Can this cream not only be used for those who have Eczema, but dry skin as well?
This recipe is good stuff I’ve made this for my boyfriend and he loves it
I read in another comment about tea tree oil not being used on the face.. if my baby (under 6 months) has eczema on the face, what essential oil would you recommend instead (or still tea tree)? And would i dilute the same way (1:3)?
Hi Valerie,
Depends on where the eczema is on her face. If it were my baby I might mix a little bit of olive oil and raw manuka honey together (1:1 ratio) and let that set on her skin a little (skipping the essential oils entirely). You don’t want her rubbing her face and getting essential oils in her eyes.
Thank you kulamama for sharing this wonderful article with us. Although keeping a control on your diet can help to cure eczema and even control it to some extent. But, we can develop it at some point in our lives. I will try the remedy that you posted and I hope it works out as you have said !
Param
Dentist Brampton
Hello, I am wondering if there is a good substitution for the shea butter? My daughter is allergic to tree nuts so we can’t use shea and it seems like every home remedy I come across has it. Thanks!
Hi Denise, Here’s a list of substitutions I found. Hope one of them works for you! http://beautifullynappy.com/2014/06/18/alternatives-to-shea-butter/
I have a slight tendency to eczema, and rubbing the Made From Earth Lavender Lotion on the affected areas calms the inflammation within minutes. The Lavender does work ! Wonderful scent and the lotion itself, although extremely light and non-sticky, is very nourishing.
I had eczema as a child. At one point I was not allowed to attend school because of the blisters on my hands, along with dry cracked skin. When I could return to school I had to wear white cotton gloves. Not until I was middle aged did I learn some of my triggers are dairy, and acidic foods like strawberries, citrus, and tomatoes. An elimination diet and food log might be helpful. Back in the 70’s, my doctors did not associate my condition with food. I was always sucking on lemons, eating oranges, and tomatoes. No one put it together it was related to my food intake. Even today I sometimes eat my trigger foods, and I will get breakouts between my fingers.
I cannot tolerate the smell of lavender so I will not add it to this recipe, and Tea Tree Oil causes me to break out. I wanted to share my triggers with parents when they are looking for triggers in their children.
How much cream does this recipe make?
Wow. My daughter 2yro teacher just told me about this concoction today! She said she would make me a bottle of it. Meaning get recipe is lavender, tea tree oil and coconut oil and spray on body, rub down and cover with clothes. In the 2 years my daughter has been here I’ve tried everything on her body except from the inside out. I believe that it is now time to switch her from dairy to possible soy and definitely gluten free foods to help her. Now she only scratches when she’s angry, upset, crying, sleepy and sometimes excited. She’s smart enough to know something is going on with her skin but I really want her dark patches to go away. During the winter her skin patches change to dark and in the spring/summer her patches are invisible besides rosy. I’m hoping charging her diet helps and this cream as well. Thanks for sharing. I’m grateful! #JourneyThroughEczema
I suffer from bad eczema that can spread to my face and is unbearably itchy and sore. I noticed an improvement after just one application of Made from Earth Pure Aloe Vera cream – and I have also use this as an overnight moisturiser for my face which worked wonderfully for the eczema. So if you suffer from dry skin like I do, I wholeheartedly recommend it.