Poison ivy, oak, and sumac make miserable bedfellows for gardeners! Here is a relatively easy to make soothing oatmeal soap you can make to help get rid of the nasty rash.
If you’re not quite sure how you managed to get poison ivy (oak or sumac) to begin with, here’s a helpful page that shows how to easily identify it.
Instant Poison Ivy Relief Soap
You’ll Need:
1 bar Ivory Soap, grated
3 T. Oatmeal, lightly ground
1 T. Liquid glycerin
45 drops Camphor Essential Oil
1/2 tsp vitamin E oil or the contents of 2 vitamin E capsules (Prick with a pin & squeeze!)
Place the grated/chopped soap into a glass jar, add 1 T. water, cover with saran wrap and place in the microwave for 2 minutes- Remove and Stir EVERY 15 seconds, repeat until soap melts completely, about 2 1/2 minutes total.
Be aware, Ivory Soap EXPANDS in the microwave. Failure to follow the directions will result in a MESS.
Add in the ground oatmeal, glycerin, and menthol/camphor oil, stirring well, add vitamin E.
Spray your soap mold with non-stick spray (You can use a muffin tin, silicon cake pans, etc), pour the soap into the mold, slowly, careful to avoid splattering (which can burn you!). Let it cool completely before removing from the molds.
About my choice of ingredients:
The vitamin E acts as a natural preservative, aids healing and is soothing to the skin. Oatmeal has been proven to nourish the skin while working as a light exfoliant. Glycerin is primarily a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to your skin. Finally, the Camphor offers a cooling sensation which eases both the itch and burn of the rash.
Using Menthol Crystals
You could also use 1 tsp Menthol Crystals in place of the Camphor essential oil if you so choose, but the crystals will only dissolve in alcohol or oil.
To dissolve them, bring a small pot of water to a boil, place a small mason jar (with 2 T. Olive oil in it) in the pot of water, allow the oil to heat. Drop a single crystal into the oil, if it starts to melt, add 1 tsp of crystals. Swirling gently until fully incorporated.
Years ago I managed to find 1 lb of Menthol Crystals for $5. at a health food store that was having a closeout sale. I bought them and vacuum sealed them and have been making various body scrubs, salts and lotions for years from that lovely find!
This soap works wonderfully to help remove the harsh urushiol oil from the skin when applied within the first 20 minutes of contact or exposure. Other homemade natural remedies to get rid of poison ivy quickly include jewelweed, which works wonders and is often found right alongside the offending plant.
If you discover poison ivy, oak or sumac growing in your yard, here’s an excellent trick to kill it permanently.
would this also calm other rashes like eczema or heat rash?
Eczema I don’t know, but for heat rash you would be much better off using Baking soda or finely-ground oatmeal. Add several tablespoons of either to a lukewarm/cool bath as well as stirring well so that it liquefies completely. Then soak in the water.
i expect this would be very soothing, but i live in a hard water area, and would never knowingly use soap in anything.. i was wondering, since the main idea to get rid of the poison ivy is to get rid of the oils on the skin, wouldn’t a really mild, good detergent like dawn (they use it on the baby ducks to clean them after oil spills,) work just as well ? you could add the other ingredients if you wanted to, but the main thing is to get rid of the damaging oils from the plants.
what size bar of ivory (oz) ?