Epsom Salt is often used as a natural treatment for eczema skin. That’s why I ordered a 5 kg bag of Westlab Epsom salt from lookfantastic.dk to see if there was anything on the matter.
I have tested the product for some time and here you can read about my experiences.
Epsom salt is actually not salt, which after all consists of sodium chloride, but magnesium sulfate in crystal form. It is used as a natural relief of skin problems and falls into the same category as e.g. Dead Sea salt. Usually it is added to the bath water in a tub, but since I take showers and not tubs, I had to find another way to do the salt bath.
The answer was to dissolve the salt in water and use this the solution as a kind of “bath soap”. By filling a plastic bottle with the Epsom-Salt solution, I can take it into the shower.
When applying the solution, after a while you can see the Epsom salt as a fine white powder on the skin. Now scrub yourself with your hands and get the cleansing effect you normally use soap for. A handful of fine kitchen salt gives an additional scrubbing effect and is very good for e.g. washing the armspits.
Finally, I shower as usual and the “best” part of the bath now comes when the temperature is turned to cold. It is beneficial for your health if you can stay in the cold shower for at least a few minutes, in order to get the maximum positive effect of the cold bath :-).
The result after a few weeks of showering with Epsom salt is really good. My skin is soft and eczema-free, and I no longer use shampoo and soap. The moisturizing creams are now only used sparsely, as the skin is no longer dry.
Using Epsom salt instead of soaps has not had any odor drawbacks and it seems that the body likes this kind of shower better as it feels more natural.
Epsom salt and washing with common table salt do not remove the skin’s natural oils. Therefore, the water beads off and you don’t need so much lotion to re-moisturize the skin after bathing.
When there is an eczema flare-up
It has for me been effective to use Epsom salt followed by regular salt for thorough but gentle scrubbing of the skin during eczema flare-ups.
The method is to cover your body in Epsom salt solution in the bath and while it dries, massage the skin until it is dry and the salt can be seen. The skin is then moistened under the shower and gently scrubbed with common salt.
The skin becomes clean and the eczema areas are often pink, but non-itchy. Prescription creams such as e.g. Locoid is applied to the eczema-spot and after five to ten minutes, the Cerave cream is applied. It seals, moisturizes and protects the skin during the treatment.
Epsom salt and water, shake-shake and after a while all the salt is dissolved and you have a bottle ready to take with you in the bath..
