Natural Remedies for Eczema

I have gone through a long, long list of odd and downright wacky natural remedies for eczema.

I’ve explored both ingested and topical natural remedies for eczema on my quest to cure it.

Let’s start with the topical natural remedies for eczema:

Kefir scrub

This essentially involves mixing kefir (whole milk, unsweetened) with olive oil. You apply it (ideally in the shower as it’s messy), let it sit on your skin for a couple of minutes, then rinse it off. This stuff definitely exfoliates! It’s cooling given the Kefir is refrigerated, which can be nice. I found it a bit itchy, but I’m glad I tried it.

Noni fruit lotion

This stuff smells nice. It’s a staple for Hawaiian locals for skincare. I found it highly exfoliating, so I would put it on right before the shower, rub it in, exfoliate my skin off, then shower. Some people swear by this stuff – give it a shot if you can find it. I bought mine at a grocery store in Hawaii, where I was lucky to find myself one January.

Brewer’s yeast

This one seems a bit odd on the list of natural remedies for eczema, yea? My path to it was kind of strange. Shortly after my Grandma passed, I was sitting at her house with my Grandpa, who had been going through all of her old books. One of them was a book on “natural remedies.” They lived on a farm so lots of the stuff in the book was super accessible and practical. One of the remedies suggested using brewer’s yeast with milk for irritated skin.

I figured “what the heck, why not” and also “maybe this is a sign from my Grandma” – it all just seemed so fateful. And it also kind of made sense – brewer’s yeast is a live microorganism, and much research suggests eczema is caused or at least exacerbated by a poor skin microbiome. So, I figured perhaps this yeast would help balance out my microbiome. I ordered the Brewer’s Yeast on Amazon and gave it a shot….Unfortunately, it made me itch like crazy. Luckily, brewer’s yeast can help with lactation, so I gave it to my sister in law who was lactating at the time and considered it a not totally wasted purchase.

Emu Oil

Not sure where I heard about this among all of the natural remedies for eczema. I think some deep, deep subreddit post on r/eczema, most likely. Emu oil is literally the fat of an emu bird – so definitely skip for animal rights purposes if you’re not as desperate as I was/am. It’s been used by indigenous Australian cultures for a long time for skin moisture, anti-inflammation, and wound healing (the usual suspects for ingredients that should help eczema). It didn’t smell strange, but it did have an ever-so-slightly grainy texture which I didn’t love. It was moisturizing though, and I flew through the vial really quickly. I didn’t re-order though, as it didn’t seem much different from castor oil or other heavy oils that don’t have animal welfare concerns attached to them.

Propolis

Propolis is a natural substance collected by bees from tree sap, tree buds, and similar sources. They use it to reinforce their hives (which is so cool, by the way). Its chemical makeup varies depending on which sources the bees used to make their propolis. Propolis is used in folk medicine/natural remedies for the usual stuff: anti-viral/fungal/bacterial properties, and wound healing. I found a “bee guy” in my town (not kidding, this was basically the name of his business). This was a man who kept bees in his backyard and sold some of their natural products.

I’d read a bit about propolis after I had some success with bee venom. I figured it was worth a shot. So, I called him up and $90 (!!) later, I had two small vials of propolis in my hands. I tried it immediately. It didn’t have a weird smell; it was pleasantly honey-like more than “botanical.” I rubbed it on my arm eczema and … it itched a ton and I had to immediately take a shower. I called “the bee guy” after, frankly to try to get my money back.

He said he’d seen it work on people before, to just put it in the fridge so it’s a bit cooler, and try it again. I haven’t tried it again yet, but I do think it’s worth a shot on some of my less aggravated patches. I have some patches on my stomach that look angry. They don’t actually itch very much or bother me though. I should try it on those!

Beef Tallow

This is supposed to be super moisturizing. I have it in my freezer from a friend but haven’t tried it yet. Will report back when/if I’m brave enough (and desperate enough) to rub beef fat on me. I suppose it can’t be that different from emu oil…

And the ingested natural remedies for eczema:

Beef liver

Speaking of beef, one thing I have tried is beef liver pills. I tried these because my brother’s girlfriend said they worked wonders for her brother’s eczema. I figured if I could find a good brand, they were worth a shot since I know organ meats are super healthy in moderation and I’m certainly not going to be ingesting beef liver in non-pill form.

But, if you like pâté or liver and onions, more power to you! I tried one full 30-day supply of these from this brand (which is ridiculously well-reviewed….at the time of this writing I’m seeing 4.6 stars on 16,690 reviews. Maybe I should try this out again!). I liked that these were well-reviewed, obviously, but also that they were from grass-fed cows. They were the brand my brother’s girlfriend’s brother (quite a mouthful!) used, so that was an endorsement, too. No dice for me, but perhaps worth a shot for you, even if just for a general health boost.

Fermented cod liver oil

The Eczema Cure E-book, a great resource to start with for anyone with eczema, recommended fermented cod liver oil. I knew fish oil can help with dry skin and dry eyes before reading this E-book, but didn’t realize just how many different types of fish oil there are. In the book, the author argues that fermented cod liver oil (also super well reviewed on Amazon) is the way to go. It’s definitely more expensive than standard fish oil supplements, so I’ve switched back to regular old fish oil. I took the fermented kind for about a year though. I didn’t see an effect on my eczema, and who knows how it affected my broader health compared to “regular” fish oil.

Irish Sea Moss

I’m currently trying this, so I’ll have to report back on the effects later. I got this idea because Irish Sea Moss is one of the key ingredients in one of my favorite lotions for eczema, which is called The Ocean Healed my Eczema. It’s also a key ingredient in Hailey Bieber’s skin smoothie.

Athletic Greens

I’ve long suspected I have some weird mineral or nutrient deficiency. I figured Athletic Greens was one of the most trusted brands for getting a ton of nutrients at once in a relatively financially-friendly package (certainly more than buying a ton of supplements). This is still a working experiment, but I’ve been taking it for about a month and a half and have been really impressed.

I don’t sleep well as I’ve mentioned (due to eczema of course), but since taking this I generally don’t feel tired. I’ve also been able to work out a few times since taking it and I should have been really, really sore from the workouts I did given how little I’m able to workout, but I seemed to recover quickly. I can’t think of any other reason why this might be aside from the Athletic Greens given my lack of sleep. I did notice minor improvements in my skin from AG1. I’m now working with a naturopath who suggested I stop Athletic Greens to see if her protocol works, and my skin has gotten a bit worse so far.

Other things to try

We’ve also gotten rid of all of our non-stick coated cookware and opted for stainless steel pots. We generally try to live as chemical-free as possible, from safer candles (this is a good brand) to safer (and more environmentally friendly) cleaning products. Unfortunately I find it hard to avoid chemicals in lotions for reasons described here.

Hope something on this list clicks for you!

Again – I’m not a medical professional. Please consult a licensed medical professional before proceeding with any recommendation on this blog.