I suffer from terrible allergies & my DIY salve is the only remedy that stops me from itching – it feels like Icy Hot
WHETHER you suffer from allergies or get bad bug bites, this hack may be for you.
One woman shared the DIY hack she swears by to stop her skin from itching.
Commenting on a Reddit post, user Cowprint43 shared her trick for tackling hives.
“I am not a doctor, but I am a person who suffers from terrible food allergies that present on the skin,” she explained.
“It’s terribly itchy and I scratch so hard that I tear my skin open, even in my sleep.”
The poster suggested that her hack may be useful for anyone prone to bug bites during the summer months.
She described her homemade recipe as the “only remedy” that has worked to soothe her skin.
For her first step, she recommended mixing equal parts peppermint oil and lavender oil.
She then added a pinch of sea salt and mixed it in until it was well blended.
The Reddit user revealed that she applies the homemade solution to her wet skin after showering.
“The salt makes a gentle scrub that I put on my skin and I just rinse my skin and pat dry out of the shower,” she explained.
She credited the DIY mixture with instantly relieving her itchy skin.
“The salt will dry with a white-ish color on my skin but it feels like Icy Hot and gives me hours of non-itchy skin,” she said.
Medical experts at the Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery Institute discussed the benefits of salt in soothing the skin.
They described the ingredient as having a “plethora of benefits for your epidermis.”
These include gentle exfoliation, acne treatment, improving circulation, rejuvenation, and anti-inflammatory properties.
The National Library of Medicine reported on the role of peppermint oil in skincare.
Dermatologist-approved anti-aging tips
Dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp shared his dermatologist-approved tips with The U.S. Sun.
- Stop using tanning beds.
- Don’t use sunscreen to contour your face.
- Wear driving gloves to protect your hands from the sun. He likes Coolibar Gannett UV Gloves UPF 50+, $15.99 to $39.
- Exercise, stick to a healthy diet, and get enough sleep.
- Don’t drink excessively or smoke.
“Peppermint is from the mint family [and] contains an essential oil that its major component is menthol,” they explained.
“By cooling the skin, menthol decreases itching that is caused by histamine.”
According to Healthline, lavender oil contains antifungal properties which make it ideal for soothing irritated skin.
The outlet also credited the ingredient with helping relieve discomfort caused by bug bites.
They recommended applying the ingredient onto damp or wet skin for quick results.