My Eczema soap is still too harsh...

[Dahila]

Again, no shame in doing what you need to do for your comfort. I can only imagine what eczema feels like.

feels terrible Animara, the skin is extremely itchy, you can not control scratching. I scratch myself when I sleep so the only option is to moisturize before night, Not using hot showers , just warm, not baths , it is better when I quit eating bread or any grain products. Sugar, to is a no. eh eczema the horror

 

[Arimara]

feels terrible Animara, the skin is extremely itchy, you can not control scratching. I scratch myself when I sleep so the only option is to moisturize before night, Not using hot showers , just warm, not baths , it is better when I quit eating bread or any grain products. Sugar, to is a no. eh eczema the horror

That's pretty much how I imagined. With my daughter, we abandoned today's notion of homeopathy and went old school. After she showers, she pats dry, puts lotion on and when she flares up, Vaseline goes on those areas after lotion. People can cringe all they want but at the end of the day, it works.

Thanks for sharing how it feels for you. the closest I come is when I go out in cold weather or after using a bad detergent and I can't stop scratching.

 

[Dahila]

My grandchild has awful eczema, but the same lotion as I use (with Calendula and camomile) helps her but she needs to put it on as soon as she done showering. We also use my plantain salve which is combine of many herbs, plantain the highest percentage, She prefers it , her medicated cream helps but she says it burns for a long time. Animara whatever helps, I use some strange things to bath in, when I get hives, I think the last time I got it for a few weeks it was after I was working under the juniper and I think it must be spider bite what caused it .

 

[kasandrashy]

@kasandrashy My daughter uses Cetaphil bar soaps for her skin. That has done her skin more good than harm, unlike Dove (that was unscented). I agree and encourage OP to consider at if necessary. Natural does not mean better, as how social trends try to make it and Many of those cleansing bars are actually a good deal more gentle than handmade soaps.

my best combination which my youngest uses regularly (she has much worse eczema than I do) is mild baby soap with coconut oil and cerave moisturizing cream morning and night!

 

[Arimara]

@Dahila Calendula is incredibly soothing. I might have to ask my sister to get me some so I can use it in infused oil

@kasandrashy I know coconut oil is great for a lot of people but I don't use it because of my daughter's allergies. The coconut oil would have to have next to no chance for cross contamination with tree nuts.

 

[Dawni]

@Frenchy-C it could also be that your daughter's skin is like mine - does not like olive oil when the soap is new. I noticed that even around 4-5 months cure, if my soap has more than 15-25% olive oil, it's drying for me.

I've taken it out from almost all my recipes and replaced with RBO. My son uses a 70% RBO soap and while it does need more cure time than normal as well, it's still better than olive oil for us. Check it out if you're interested.

I will agree though, that handmade soap isn't for everyone. Sometimes, you'll really have to use a syndet of some sort, liquid or solid.

 

[Dahila]

Arimara I grow my own Calendula, have tons of that

 

[Frenchy-C]

@Frenchy-C it could also be that your daughter's skin is like mine - does not like olive oil when the soap is new. I noticed that even around 4-5 months cure, if my soap has more than 15-25% olive oil, it's drying for me.

I've taken it out from almost all my recipes and replaced with RBO. My son uses a 70% RBO soap and while it does need more cure time than normal as well, it's still better than olive oil for us. Check it out if you're interested.

I will agree though, that handmade soap isn't for everyone. Sometimes, you'll really have to use a syndet of some sort, liquid or solid.

Thanks, i will pay attention.
My guys are too little to care... ;=)

 

[rainlily]

Hi there...just putting my two cents in here...
This past year I joined the American Eczema Foundation. They stated in an email to me (and others) they had done testing and determined that Olive oil is not good for persons with Eczema. It can cause additional problems and cause the eczema to worsen. Coconut oil was a neutral oil. Didn't cause worsening or any irritation. The oil they said was the best, was Sunflower seed oil. It was said to stop irritation and in some cases to even cause the eczema to improve.
Hope this info is helpful.

 

[earlene]

Hi there...just putting my two cents in here...
This past year I joined the American Eczema Foundation. They stated in an email to me (and others) they had done testing and determined that Olive oil is not good for persons with Eczema. It can cause additional problems and cause the eczema to worsen. Coconut oil was a neutral oil. Didn't cause worsening or any irritation. The oil they said was the best, was Sunflower seed oil. It was said to stop irritation and in some cases to even cause the eczema to improve.
Hope this info is helpful.

I am assuming that is with straight oil applied on the skin? Or was it when consumed? I wonder if they were referring to oils that had been saponified or not, as for example, plain coconut oil applied to the skin is far different than a 100% Coconut oil soap used on the the skin - entirely different results.

 

[rainlily]

I am assuming that is with straight oil applied on the skin? Or was it when consumed? I wonder if they were referring to oils that had been saponified or not, as for example, plain coconut oil applied to the skin is far different than a 100% Coconut oil soap used on the the skin - entirely different results.

I don't remember, but you're most likely correct. I found it interesting and informative. It came in helpful a few months later, as I had a bad allergic reaction to some medication that made my eczema flare up like never before. I used Sunflower oil, in its natural form, to help. I have since decided, because our skin is the largest organ, to formulate all my soaps, on this premise.

 

[penelopejane]

I don't remember, but you're most likely correct. I found it interesting and informative. It came in helpful a few months later, as I had a bad allergic reaction to some medication that made my eczema flare up like never before. I used Sunflower oil, in its natural form, to help. I have since decided, because our skin is the largest organ, to formulate all my soaps, on this premise.

I am alergic to coconut oil and all forms of coconut on my skin and in food and in soap coconut oil dries my skin as it does for my DH who has eczema.
I suggest you try soap with different ingredients but understand that oil in it's raw form put on skin is totally different to the same oil saponified into a soap and used to clean your skin.

There are quite a few "american eczema foundations" but this one says the same as you about the oils used directly on the skin (it is not referring to saponified oils):
https://nationaleczema.org/alternative-treatments-dr-shi/
On the same site someone recommends 100% olive oil soap:
https://nationaleczema.org/bathing-moisturizing/
Everyone's skin is different and everyone's eczema is different. There is no one sure fix for eczema.
Discovering the cause of your eczema will do a long way to helping you treat your eczema.

 

[sabnazzy]

Has anyone heard of Aromahead Institute in the States. They are amazing for all sorts of info on herbs,essential oils etc,i asked for a recipe to make something up for my grandaughter and here it is. 1oz or 28 grms of Beeswax Yellow (Cera Alba)-----2oz or 56 grms of Coconut Oil------2 oz or 56 grms of Cocao Butter and add this to the first 2 ingredients and let melt------1oz or 28 grms of Shea Butter.
Use a double boiler and put on low simmer,when all of the ingrediants except Shea Butter are melted take off the oven top and add Shea Butter last because if you melt it when it's too hot it will crystalize and go grainy and this goes for putting shea butter in your soap recipe too,i didnt know that and now know why my moisturizers have a grainy feel even though i have mixed so well. I also have from them also a face wash for teenagers going through the hormone stage and breaking out. It is 3 1/4 oz or 23 ml of Aragan Oil---1/4 oz or 7 grms of Aloe Vera gel---1 drop of lavender----1 drop of frankensense or anything of your choice and put in a glass bottle and give a good shake. I am waiting for my daughters boyfriend to come over and trial it for me because i noticed the last time i saw him he had a bad breakout,but what i would do is use the face wash first and then use the above recipe with beeswax which i have made up and dont forget that beeswax is anti bacterial and anti inflamatory and has so many wonderful uses. Here in New Zealand we have a coldish climate and this goes really hard so i just take some out of the glass jar and warm it up in my hands,bit time consuming but so worth it. So good luck everybody and do get the Aromahead Institute Newsletters i cant tell you how much i have learnt from them,Andrea also does recipes on ytube. Oh i fogot to mention that when you make the recipe for the Excema have your jars all ready and spray Alcohol Rub into the bottles and bottle lid because when everything is melted and warm it needs to go in the jars straight away with the lids on because the beeswax and the other butters get hard again quite quickly. With the recipe i supplied you all i got approx 4 to 5 6 oz jars but if thats too much you could halve the recipe. Now someone said they cant use cocnut oil,no worries just google Alternative to coconut oil and this would go for anything you either dont have on hand or cant use.

 

[Rsapienza]

This may be helpful to you. Good luck
https://www.nationaljewish.org/cond...yle-management/soak-and-seal-eczema-treatment

 

[AliOop]

@sabnazzy Thanks for sharing all that info. Some time ago, I took Aromahead's free EO course and appreciated the very clear instructions for the recipes she provided.

Regarding shea butter, for me, the more important thing to prevent graininess is to cool the product quickly by putting it in the fridge or freezer. I don't cover my jars until the product has completely cooled. Otherwise, condensation builds up on the lid and drips into the product. That moisture creates an environment for mold and bacteria to grow, especially in a product with no preservatives.

 

[sabnazzy]

@sabnazzy Thanks for sharing all that info. Some time ago, I took Aromahead's free EO course and appreciated the very clear instructions for the recipes she provided.

Regarding shea butter, for me, the more important thing to prevent graininess is to cool the product quickly by putting it in the fridge or freezer. I don't cover my jars until the product has completely cooled. Otherwise, condensation builds up on the lid and drips into the product. That moisture creates an environment for mold and bacteria to grow, especially in a product with no preservatives.

Thanks for your support to all my info,and regarding Andrea who would have given the course info-dont you just love her happiness and calming voice that shines through? it's like she's on a high of happiness,actually i love that saying.