Can Coconut Oil Help Treat Eczema?
Coconut oil may not just be for eating anymore! Research has been done on this beloved natural oil, and turns out coconut oil is a great natural treatment option for eczema! Coconut oil can help treat eczema! Now you can walk the aisles of Trader Joe’s to pick up your natural eczema treatment!
Let’s break down the science of how and why coconut oil can help treat eczema, naturally! Spoiler alert, it has everything to do with our skin’s microbiome! Keep reading to dive in!
Eczema Flares when Our Skin’s Microbiome Becomes Less Diverse and Staph Dominates
I know we talk (and hear) a lot about the gut microbiome, but what about our skin’s microbiome? Yep, we have a skin microbiome too! The “microbiome” is just a fancy way of saying all the bacteria, yeast, fungi, etc that live in an ecosystem in and on us! Our gut microbiome is different than our skin microbiome in the types and amounts of microbes that naturally inhabit the area, but it is still an important part of our overall skin health.
When our skin microbiome is out of balance, it leads to inflammation and skin issues like eczema. Ideally, we want a balanced microbiome with lots of healthy microbes on our skin at around the same amount. We refer to that as a high diversity of microbes, which is good! When our skin microbiome is out of balance, the number of good microbes decreases, and the number of bad microbes increases, leading to less diversity overall, which is bad.
Still with me? Okay, let’s talk about eczema more specifically. Studies have shown that right before someone’s eczema flares, (aka worsens) there is a shift in the skin microbiome that reflects a large increase in a bacteria called staphylococcus aureus (aka staph.) When staph becomes a dominant bacteria on the skin, it leads to less diversity overall, which is bad, and causes someone’s eczema to flare.
Staph also can create biofilms around themselves on the skin of eczema patients which are like little protective bubbles around the staph that makes treating eczema with things like topical steroids less effective and more difficult. Antibiotic creams along with the topical steroid creams can be helpful to break through the biofilms and target both the staph bacteria and inflammation of the skin. That is often a conventional approach, but what if I told you there was a natural option that did just that? I know- so exciting!
Okay, so now that we know one part about how what causes eczema to flare on the microbial level, (I know, so cool, right?!?!) let’s talk about how our beloved coconut oil plays into all of this!
Coconut Oil can Reduce Staph on the Skin and Decrease Frequency of Eczema Flares
You heard that right, coconut oil, can naturally help treat eczema and reduce frequency of flares! Coconut oil is a wonderful natural oil for eczema because it has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects on the skin. Essentially, it can break down biofilms created by staph, target the staph, and reduce the inflammation associated with eczema.
Not only is it antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory, but it acts as a soothing emollient on the dry, irritated skin of eczema, which makes it a great replacement for thick, sticky ointments like Vaseline. Because coconut oil has the added antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, it works better than Vaseline, too! How incredible is that?!
Studies have shown that virgin coconut oil applied to the skin morning and night for 4 weeks significantly reduced staph aureus numbers by 95%, which also improves the diversity of the skin microbiome, and reduces frequency of eczema flares! Since eczema is a chronic condition, consistent use of the coconut oil is the key to help reduce flares of eczema, naturally.
Coconut oil is safe to use and did not cause any side effects unlike topical steroid withdrawal often seen with eczema patients. The only people who should not use coconut oil are those with a frank allergy to it, otherwise it doesn’t hurt to try out this natural oil for eczema treatment!
Okay, so who’s running to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to stock up on coconut oil this winter? If you know someone suffering with eczema, make sure to send this article their way along with our 7 Lifestyle Tips to Reduce Eczema Flares and Foods to Eat and Avoid for Eczema.
If you need more personalized support to help heal your eczema, we can help! Let’s connect! Click here to book your complimentary Discovery Call to see how we can help you heal your eczema naturally from the inside-out. Ready to heal your skin for good? Click here to book your New Patient Visit today and heal with us!
Dr. Ashley Dumont, ND is a Licensed Naturopathic Doctor in Portsmouth, NH at Coastal Thyme Holistic Skin + Wellness and specializes in holistic skin health and wellness from the inside-out. She is accepting new patient visits, and can’t wait to help you heal!
