Posts from June 2014.

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Fighting eczema

June 8th  •  Posted in Beauty

I, as plenty of other women (and maybe men) out there, am suffering of eczema since two or three years now and am everyday looking for some new eczema treatments, tips or suggestions on how to fight it and get rid of it completely. I can’t say I won this fight yet but I do have learned something about eczema, my skin and what can bring me some relief in these past years, and since this is a topic I really feel passionate about and always love to read about how others fight their eczema, I thought to share some of the methods I tried and what I’ve learned during these years. Just remember I’m no expert at all, I asked the doctor a lot of times about this issue of mine but nothing could help me in getting rid of it completely yet, and I’m only a girl who is trying to share her experience and what has learned about her skin, so I’m not saying this methods will work for you, but just that they may are worth trying…

First thing I’ve learned about eczema is that it’s not only something related to your skin itself and nothing more most of the times, and that skincare isn’t enough to fight it completely. The best way to fight eczema is really try to deeply understand your body and what it needs, try to realize what it’s really happening with it and what it’s wrong in what we’re doing. Eczema can be caused by stress as well as from lack of something in your organism and sometimes your doctor could help, others it just needs to go away on its own next to what it brought it on your skin. However I spoke to a lot of people who can’t get rid of it and have tried everything really but nothing worked, or people who like me live together with eczema since a few years. Skincare may won’t be able to heal your eczema completely by its own, but can be a valid ally to bring your skin some relief. There’s no need to mention I tried a lot of products, lotions, balms, creams to treat my eczema and hoped they could help me in avoid all that dryness and itchiness, and here are a few of my favourites.

The A-Derma Exomega Emollient Cream with Oat Milk & Omega (£18) was my dermatologist’s suggestion and the first product I ever tried to fight my eczema – two years later now I still love it and find it a great product. Featuring oat extract it’s really the best thing to soothe your skin and fight irritation, it’s also very hydrating and a lot thick which is so nice and brings a lot of relief to super dry and atopic skins. It contains omega 6 fatty acids which help in repairing the skin and it also is super gentle, fragrance free and paraben free, which make it perfect for any super sensitive skin type like mine. In terms of what it practically does, it really brings a lot of relief to my dry patches and hydrate them a lot, but, as with every other skincare product, it’s just a temporary thing – I seriously apply this a lot of times a day whenever I feel like my skin is suffering way too much, and this is great for that.

Two options to the A-Derma offering come from two other french pharmacy brands and are the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 (£9) and the Avene Trixera Selectiose Emollient Cream (£8.62). Both of them are a lot cheaper than the A-Derma offering and should actually work the same as the latter, but even though I’m a huge huge La Roche-Posay’s fan, I must say I’m not super impressed with their Cicaplast Baume, which is actually a nice product and which really works in soothing and hydrating but it just has a weird consistency I don’t really want to apply on my face. I still use it on my body though, and it’s great for that, containing copper, zinc and manganese which together help in stimulating the skin recovery, plus it also contains anti-bacterical bacterial properties to protect the skin. The Avene offering is one I just discovered recently but I’m already sold, formulated to soothe irritation and itchiness, it’s really the best thing you want to apply on your eczema whether it’s on your face or your body; it has a nice consistency which sinks in nor super quickly nor too slowly and creates a barrier against bacteria or external aggressions.

Something I do love from La Roche-Posay is their Lipikar Baume AP – Lipid Replenishing Body Balm* (£13) which will be my next full size purchase being that inexpensive but so so good! It’s the best thing I discovered to treat my hand eczema which is driving me crazy lately being so itchy and dry that it sometimes wakes me up during the night and I just can’t get back to sleep due to how itchy it is. This La Roche-Posay balm is just the best thing to avoid itchiness and have an instant relief (not joking here). It has a oilier consistency due to the shea butter and canola oil it contains which makes me love it even more as it feels a lot more hydrating and soothing. It is greasy though, even if they claim it has a non-greasy formula, but it’s ok with me, and it also features omega 3 and 6 which are good allies to help your skin renewal.

In wintertime (mainly) I suffer of eczema all around my eyes and my under eye areas are the driest and most sensitive zone of my body, so that I really struggled in finding something that could work. Even if I said skincare can’t always work alone, this time two amazing products healed my under eye eczema completely and these are the Botanics Organic Hydrating Eye Cream (£6.99) and the Caudalie Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye and Lip Cream* (£26) which used together one in the morning and one in the evening, really hydrated and calmed down every irritation until there was no trace left of dryness and redness. I still use them every morning and night to keep the under eye area super hydrated and avoid the eczema to come back.

I think food can do a lot to your skin and eczema, like acne, can be also caused by something you eat, but this is such a subjective topic and even I am not conscious yet if it’s up to the food I eat or not. However lots of times I found drinking a lot of water – which everyone should do anyone, but which I rarely remember to – can be a huge help. If you find you suffer of eczema in wintertime whereas in summertime your skin looks a lot better, it could be up to a lack of vitamin D and you can reintegrate it in your body simply taking some vitamin supplements. Something else that may could work for you are omega 3, which you can purchase as pills or oil and can be easly integrated in your diet as well – I really find my skin looks better when I take them on a regular basis.

This is such a subjective topic but I wanted to share what I learned to maybe help someone who can’t find out what is causing a bad eczema but wants to try something to stop it or to bring some relief to a way too stressed skin. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know as I’m always looking for new remedies to try!

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  • I have people in my family living abroad who suffer from Eczema and have to depend on medication. When you live in a tropical country like me.. Eczema and in general Skin issues are fewer.. but in COlder months, it gets pretty bad for us too.. This will be a useful post for a lot of people!

    TheConscienceFund

    • I know, my eczema usually gets a lot better when summertime comes around and the weather is warmer, but it’s so bad in wintertime! Thank you! x

  • I dont have eczema but this is a really helpful post! x

    BerrieBlogs| {beauty blog}

  • I struggle with eczema myself and it can be such a pain. Perhaps the most annoying part, though, is that I had it really badly when I was little, and, once it cleared, my doctor said I’d never have it again; well, he was wrong. Using Cotizone 10 Cream has really helped mine, and I’l tempted to try some of these La Roche-Posay offerings, as it can be so annoying to throw on yet another cream after my body lotion (the Cortizone is a treatment). x

    • I had it when I was little too and I’m having it again as well! Should try the Cortizone, I’m just so desperate sometimes that I would throw on everything I can. x

  • My hubby suffers quite bad on his skull, so I may have to get him to try some of these!

    Two Hearts One Roof

    • Hope these products can help! x

  • Mel

    I’ve been fighting an eczema flare up for around 3 months now and nothing is making it go away or even die down a little. I usually use moisturisers from Lush and avoid dairy (my lovely trigger) but even they aren’t helping anymore. I’ll need to give the A-Derma Exomega Emollient Cream a try although for some strange reason, products that contain oats tend to make my skin itchier. I’m rather backwards.

    http://www.raisethewaves.blogspot.com

    • Then try the Avene offering instead, they’re pretty similar and work wonders on me. I’m trying to cut down on dairy as well, we’ll see. x

  • I love Botanics products. Their face foam is really gentle on skin too, I’m not sure if you’ve tried it! I have some skin condition at the moment, had it for over a year now, where my skin is really blotchy but my doctor shrugged it off and said it was nothing. Your post has made me think though about giving my body what it needs, so I might actually go and get a second opinion so thank you! This post is especially fantastic for those with Eczema! x

    • Thank you for your kind words and I’m so glad you find this helpful! I should definitely give some other Botanics products a whirl soon so I’ll keep in mind your suggestion! x

  • You have such a lovely, informative blog 🙂 now following you and really like the products mentioned xx

    http://www.krystelcouture.com | Giveaway

  • I’ve suffered from eczema all my life and in the past few months have really started to get a handle on it. I find that since I started adding hemp seeds to my daily salads that my skin has noticeably improved. I also stay away from anything with Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or any of it’s friends. This is a massive irritant to my skin and since I switched all the shampoos and hand soaps the change has been massive.

    • I should start adding hemp seeds as well then, thanks for the suggestion! It’s so true, understanding what is going on with our body and what doesn’t work for us is the best method to get rid of any skin issue! x

  • I’m so glad I found this post today! My eczema has been driving me nuts this week and I’ve been eyeing up the LRP Lipikar Baume – definitely going to give it a go now I think. I like the Cicaplast too, but find its only good for instant relief (like you, my hands have been waking me up at night – it gives enough relief to get me back to sleep at least!), rather than any long term effect. Another thing I’ve found really helpful for my face at least is coconut oil – initially I was moisturising with it but now I just use it to remove make up. Since I started doing that I’ve (touch wood) not had any flare ups on my face, so about 6 months without now! I also take high strength fish oil supplements and try and get 1.5-2L water in a day (and I definitely notice a difference if I don’t!)

    Anyway, great post – and some really helpful suggestions x

    http://thevelvetitch.blogspot.co.uk