A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Heal Eczema Naturally

The Truth About Eczema and the Natural Path to Healing

What if someone told you there’s a way to heal or at least very effectively manage eczema—naturally? No gimmicks. No overnight miracles. Just a real, sustainable, inside-out approach that works.

At Oleum Cottage, we believe eczema is more than just a skin condition. It’s your body’s signal that something deeper needs attention. That’s why natural eczema healing is a journey—not a quick fix—and it’s a journey worth taking.

This guide is built on over a decade of real-world experience and skin consultations so if you’re ready to stop masking symptoms and start healing from within, read on.

Step 1: Understand Eczema at Its Root

Before diving into solutions, it’s important to understand what eczema really is. Eczema (or atopic dermatitis) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. But its root cause often lies beneath the surface.

Internal imbalances that trigger eczema:

• Weakened immune system: Leads to overactive inflammation.
  

• Poor gut health: Increases systemic inflammation and weakens skin integrity.
  

• Environmental irritants: Trigger flares, but rarely cause the condition alone.
  

• Stress and hormonal changes: Raise cortisol levels, disrupting skin health.

To truly treat eczema, we need to stop viewing it like a surface issue—and start supporting the body holistically.

We’ve broken down the most common myths, root causes, and effective long-term strategies in our detailed blog on eczema myths and causes.

Step 2: Rebuild and Support Your Gut Health

One of the most crucial steps in healing eczema from within is restoring gut health. The gut and skin are intimately connected through the gut-skin axis. When your gut barrier is compromised (often referred to as “leaky gut”), it can allow toxins and undigested food particles to leak into the bloodstream, triggering immune responses and systemic inflammation that show up on your skin.

How to heal your gut:

• Eliminate inflammatory foods: Gluten, dairy, and sugar are common culprits. Removing them helps reduce gut inflammation.
  

• Prioritize omega-3s: Foods like wild-caught salmon, walnuts, and chia seeds calm inflammation and support the immune system.
  

• Introduce probiotics and prebiotics: Probiotic strains like Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium help restore gut flora. Prebiotic-rich foods like garlic, leeks, and bananas feed the good bacteria.
  

• Repair your gut lining: Supplements like L-glutamine, zinc carnosine, and bone broth can help repair and seal the gut barrier.

If you're looking for natural remedies for eczema for long-term, this is a non-negotiable step.

Step 3: Detox Your Lifestyle from Chemicals and Toxins

Your skin is a *permeable barrier*, and what you apply to it goes deeper than you realize. Many personal care and household products contain skin irritants for eczema. Toxins like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances disrupt your hormones (endocrine disruptors) while worsening the immune system’s response.

Switch to a low-tox lifestyle:

• Use natural skincare for eczema: Avoid synthetic fragrances, parabens, and corticosteroids. Look for plant-based products with ingredients like shea butter, virgin coconut oil and aloe vera.
  

• Avoid harsh cleaning agents: Some fabric softeners leave chemical residues on clothes that aggravate eczema. Wear gloves before dusting and use natural detergents to wash utensils.
  

• Wear skin-friendly fabrics: Stick to breathable, natural fibers like cotton. Avoid synthetics that trap heat and irritate the skin.

If you're not sure where to begin, we’ve covered 7 easy daily habits to prevent eczema flare-ups—from detoxifying your home to making small but impactful shifts in your skincare routine. These habits form the foundation of an eczema-safe lifestyle.

Choosing eczema-safe skincare and a non-toxic lifestyle significantly reduces flare-ups and improves skin resilience.

Step 4: Build a Skin Barrier That Defends You

Your skin barrier is your first line of defense, that's made up of proteins and lipids that hold moisture in while keeping irritants and allergens out. When it's compromised, this barrier loses its ability to retain hydration (causing dryness) and allows allergens to penetrate—creating the perfect storm for eczema flare-ups. Eczema sufferers often have a *mutation in the filaggrin gene*—a protein essential for strong skin structure—making barrier repair even more crucial.

How to support eczema barrier repair:

• Moisturize at the right time: The golden window to moisturize is right after bathing because damp skin makes it more effective. Apply an after bath eczema moisturizer with occlusives (like shea butter) and humectants (like vegetable glycerin) to lock in hydration.
  

• Try eczema-friendly baths: Ground oatmeal works because it forms a protective layer over the skin, slows water loss, and contains anti-inflammatory compounds like avenanthramides. Oatmeal baths for eczema are clinically proven to reduce itchiness and redness.
  

• Stay hydrated: As simple as it sounds, drinking water supports skin health and detoxification from the inside out.

If your skin feels dry, inflamed, and flaky, it likely means your barrier is calling for support. Strengthening it is key to long-term eczema relief.

Step 5: Calm Your Stress—Because It Matters More Than You Think

Stress triggers eczema—often in ways you can’t see immediately. It directly triggers the nervous system into a “fight-or-flight” mode, causing the release of cortisol. Elevated cortisol levels suppress the skin's production of ceramides (lipids critical for a healthy barrier) while also increasing inflammation. Chronic stress also delays wound healing and compromises your immune system—making eczema harder to manage.

Ways to reduce eczema stress triggers:

• Practice deep breathing and mindfulness: Techniques like deep belly breathing and meditation actively lower your cortisol levels, shifting the body into a parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state. The science is clear: lower cortisol equals less inflammation throughout the body, including your skin. ECG-measured studies of people practicing mindfulness show immune-regulation improvements directly tied to reduced eczema symptoms.

• Prioritize stress-reducing activities: Hardcore gym workouts may get uncomfortable due to itching and sweating. However, one of the most effective ways to reduce cortisol is to sweat it out. So focus on slow but effective yoga movements, go for long 1 hour walks. Make movement a part of your everyday life.

• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule: Sleep is nature’s ultimate repair tool. Eczema gets worse when your body doesn’t have enough time to recover overnight. Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep every night.

• Add herbal teas for eczema support: Natural adaptogens like ashwagandha or holy basil can help regulate your stress response. Drinking herbal teas is the best way to add these adaptogens into your body.

Whether you’re dealing with stress-induced eczema or hormonal eczema, managing your emotional health is a powerful step in natural healing.

Step 6: Know Your Triggers (And Avoid Them Without Anxiety)

Identifying eczema triggers is essential—but don’t let it lead to fear or hypervigilance. Frequent exposure to one specific allergen—like dust mites, pet dander, or food sensitivities—can keep your skin in a constant state of inflammation. However, avoiding these triggers isn’t just about eliminating every potential trigger—it’s about lowering your body’s total inflammatory load so it doesn’t overreact.

How to manage eczema triggers:

• Minimize environmental allergens: Use HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. Wash sheets weekly at high temperatures, and keep your living spaces dust-free.
  

• Eat anti-inflammatory foods: Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir build a healthier gut microbiome and reduce hypersensitivity.
  

• Track your eczema flares: Use a journal to monitor reactions to weather, food, products, and stress. Patterns reveal powerful insights.

Step 7: Be Patient and Consistent

Whether you’re managing chronic eczema or a child’s baby eczema, healing takes time. Most people want instant results—but natural eczema healing works from the inside out. It takes time to restore gut balance, reduce inflammation, and rebuild your skin barrier. For instance, your gut lining can take 3–6 months (or longer) to regenerate, and your skin’s natural renewal cycle is about 28 days. This means real healing requires commitment, not quick fixes.

What consistency looks like:

• Track progress beyond just skin appearance: Even before you see clear skin, you might notice reduced itching, better digestion, more energy, or deeper sleep. These are powerful signs that your body is rebalancing.
  

• Stick to the basics, even on “good skin” days: Don’t stop when symptoms fade. Healing is not linear—flare-ups might still happen occasionally, especially under stress or seasonal changes. But if you stay consistent, they become less frequent, less intense, and easier to manage.
  

• Celebrate the small wins: Less itching? Fewer flare-ups? Those moments matter. Healing happens gradually—then all at once.

Why Is This Eczema Journey Worth Taking?

Eczema healing isn’t just about soothing the skin—it’s about rebuilding your body’s foundation so it can thrive. By addressing the root causes, supporting your skin and gut, managing stress, and minimizing irritants, you can move toward true relief—naturally.

You don’t have to do it all at once. Start where you are. Pick one small thing to shift this week. Your body is always working to heal—and with the right support, your skin can too.

Looking for therapeutic skincare to support your eczema journey?
Explore Oleum Cottage’s plant-powered eczema solutions designed to calm eczema flares, repair damaged skin, and protect sensitive skin—without steroids or synthetic additives.