Eczema Free Forever™ Eczema Free Forever™

Tag Archives: Soap

What Is The Best Eczema Soap?

Posted on by

Another great post from itchylittleworld.com – Natural remedies for eczema to soothe your itchy little world..

By Laura Dolgy (bio below)

It’s no secret that finding the best eczema soap or really sensitive skin is a nightmare. Most soaps end up leaving skin feeling dry and even more irritated. Not to mention that harsh and hot water can only exacerbate eczema symptoms. It’s enough to make us want to eliminate washing and bathing of any kind.

If you’re having trouble finding an alternative to harsh soaps, then this post is for you. This week, we’re sharing the worst and best eczema soaps.

Please keep in mind that although these treatments can relieve eczema, we are in no way medical professionals. If you’re experiencing severe eczema symptoms like fever or an infection, it is best to seek medical advice immediately.

The Truth about Soap and Eczema

As you probably already know, soap is known to dry skin out. This is mostly due to harsh chemicals that remove moisture from the skin. These chemicals can also cause severe reactions and irritation, specifically for those suffering from eczema or extremely sensitive skin.

So why is it so hard finding a soap that works with your eczema? Well to be quite honest – most (if not almost all) skincare products that exist today are loaded with nasty ingredients such as parabens, plastics or one of the worst culprit – fragrances.

To keep your skin well protected and safe from infection, opting for natural, chemical-free soaps are the best decision. They tend to be gentler and won’t dry out the skin like others will.

What is the Worst Soap for Eczema?

Aside from soap with nasty ingredients such as parabens, plastics or fragrances, there are many other types of soap that can exacerbate eczema. Here is a list of the top soaps to avoid:

Bubble baths

What kid doesn’t love a bubble bath? Or adult for that matter?! Unfortunately most bubble baths can really cause your eczema to flare up. But why are bubble baths so terrible for dry skin? Well for one, foaming agents use many chemicals that easily irritate skin. Another reason is that all soap will dry out the skin and the longer the skin is exposed to soap, as in soaking in a bubble bath, the more the skin will dry out. In fact, for baths, we suggest never using any soap until the very end and then quickly rinsing it off the skin. Never sit in soapy water for an extended period of time.

Although there are some very rare “eczema-safe” bubble baths out there, it’s best to err on the side of caution. So, we do NOT recommend bubble baths for children or adults with eczema.

Sanitizers & Foaming Soaps

Although we’ve been discussing soaps primarily for bath use, there are also many soaps that can exacerbate hand eczema. Hand sanitizers are probably one of the worst things you can use! Why? Because there is nothing else as drying as alcohol and that is the primary ingredient in most sanitizers.

Another one is foaming soap, which is extremely harsh for sensitive skin. It usually includes unsafe chemicals and ingredients made to create an overabundance of foam, but these things really irritate the skin. Hand eczema is actually very common due to chemical agents included in products such as hand cleansers and dish soap.

If you have trouble with hand eczema, make sure to read 5 Handy Ways to Keep Hand Eczema Under Control.

Scented Oils

Although this is technically not a soap, many people enjoy adding scented oils to their bath to help them unwind and relax. However, like we mentioned earlier, most fragrant type products can exacerbate eczema.

In general we suggest avoiding scented oils with added “fragrance” or “perfume.” Instead we recommend just adding drops of pure essential oils to your bath. For tips, check out The Best Essential Oils for Eczema.

What is the Best Eczema Soap?

We already mentioned there are many soaps that must be avoided for eczema, but fortunately there are many great, natural alternatives available.

If you’re suffering from dry, itchy or irritated eczema, it’s always best to opt for a product that contains either olive oil or a fatty base like shea to nurture your skin and not strip it of moisture like commercial brands will. We don’t find coconut oil only bases to be rich and moisturizing enough, so in general we don’t recommend those, although they are natural.

This Emily Skin Soothers Soap for Eczema contains natural Chinese herbs, as well as olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and many more natural and eczema safe ingredients. Not only is it perfect as a bathing soap for eczema, but it can also be doubled up for showering. It is both nourishing and extremely moisturizing for the driest skin. We’ve heard it works great for shampoo too if you have shorter hair.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a bottled soap, the above product is also available in liquid form, arguably even better as a shampoo. Check out this natural body wash for eczema.

We mentioned that we love olive oil based soaps, but we find tallow pretty great as well. This Grass Fed Tallow Soap is made with the purest form of grass fed tallow and is extremely nourishing and moisturizing. Not only is it excellent for eczema, but it’s simple ingredients are gentle enough for sensitive and allergy-prone skin.

Lastly, the 20% Pine Tar Soap is both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, which makes it perfect for eczema, psoriasis and rosacea. Pine tar is actually known to speed up the growth of new skin cells and helps restore the appearance of skin. This eczema soap can also double up as a shampoo for scalp eczema, psoriasis and dandruff.

Although soap for eczema might be difficult to find, it’s not impossible. As discussed, there are a variety of different natural, eczema-safe alternatives that can be provide soothing and nourishing relief.

Have you found the best eczema soap?

Share it with us in the comments below!

Bio: Laura is a contributor and content developer for It’s An Itchy Little World. She is in no way a medical professional. Her comments, suggestions, and reflections are not intended to replace any medical advice. Always seek the help of a medical professional before undertaking any diet or lifestyle changes. Please see It’s An Itchy Little World’s disclaimer for information about affiliate links and more.

 

 

What Is The Best Eczema Soap? appeared first on itchylittleworld.com. Come read more about natural remedies for eczema!

itchylittleworld.com

Don’t Forget the Soap: A SolveEczema.org Perspective on “The Farm Effect” and Eczema

Posted on by
Photo of a Cow in Switzerland

Swiss Cows

Until I can finish a book or publish papers, I really can’t do this topic justice. And I’m not really sure users of my site (SolveEczema.org) really need much explanation. Once people really read and understand the site, and put the strategies into practice, what I’m about to say is pretty obvious.

A lot has been written in recent years about the “Farm Effect” — an astute observation made by pioneering eczema/hygiene hypothesis researchers that people who live on farms tend to have less eczema than people who don’t. This led to speculation about whether the reason had to do with dirt or microorganism exposure.

While I am not discounting microbial involvement — please see SolveEczema.org discussions for a different take on probiotics and eczema, and the last part of this very short paper that I wrote https://thewinnower.com/papers/3412-abnormal-ampli-cation-observations-from-applying-the-engineering-method-to-solving-eczema-and-atopic-disease — I also think people are making this far too complicated (with far too much contradictory evidence that isn’t explained).

Take for example the popular interpretations of this well-done study from 2012:
http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(12)00519-2/fulltext

Researchers found a far higher rate of allergy, asthma, and eczema among children aged 6-12 who were from families of Swiss non-farmers than Swiss farmers. They also found the Swiss farmers had a higher rate than Amish in the US (who tend to be farmers, though not all). Researchers may have chosen the comparison with Amish in the US because they originally came from Switzerland, and may be genetically similar, although the comparison would have been even more useful if they had also surveyed the Amish-like communities still in Switzerland.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kidsallergies-idUSBRE8431J920120504
“As for why the Amish kids have even lower allergy and asthma rates than the other farming kids, “that piece of the puzzle we really haven’t explained,” [Indiana allergist who treats Amish patients] Holbreich told Reuters Health.”

So, to summarize: The Amish had the lowest rates of allergy, asthma, and eczema. The Swiss farmers had less allergic diseases than non-farmer general population, but higher than the Amish. This relative difference was true also for allergic sensitization to various allergens on testing.

The significant difference between the Amish and the farm families suggests the need to consider other influences.

Swiss cows everywhere and up close in Switzerland

Swiss cows everywhere and up close in Switzerland

Additionally, Switzerland is such a small country where farming and the farming community is simply not that isolated from the rest of the nation. It’s nothing like the US where you might have to drive a hundred miles to see a cow (or a farmer).

Swiss horses in the path

Swiss horses in the path

While Switzerland is an extremely clean country, let’s face it, the dairy industry is pretty important — it’s hard not to notice that there are a great many animals and a great many flies because dairy is so well integrated into the landscape. I just can’t see making a strong case that any population is that well isolated from any other there microbially.

swiss goat

Swiss goats are everywhere, too.

But in terms of lifestyle, the general Swiss population of non-farmers is using the same kinds of new surfactants that everyone else in the industrialized world is using where eczema and asthma are so high. They spend more time in homes breathing the detergent “dust” from this use than do farmers, who spend more time outdoors.

Swiss farmers may or may not be using less of such products.  While I doubt they are making their own soap anymore — though I do not know — they do spend more time outdoors, away from breathing such dusts. Recall that these substances increase antigen penetration of membranes, including lung, i.e., to the immune system, it’s as if there is more allergen in the environment.

In the US, farming communities gave up making their own soap later than everyone else. In some farming communities, soapmaking remains a strong tradition. The Amish are one of those communities, probably the most significantly so. Although acceptance of the modern can vary among Amish communities, there is a strong tradition of soapmaking among the Amish. This essay about Amish life in the 19th century (search on the word “soap”)  describes the process.  While it can be truly difficult to get specific data, it’s very unlikely that this tradition has changed much, if at all.

This relatively new environmental factor — the use of these highly hydrophilic modern surfactants that I believe are amplifying “normal” allergic processes — has a much more consistent and close ecological link to allergy, asthma, and eczema increases than any of the other explanations, across time and geography. This factor should be included in these types of studies, because of the potential to reconcile so much seemingly contradictory evidence, not just when it comes to the “Farm Effect”, but also when it comes to the research on allergy and exposure to pets like dogs and cats (especially the contradictory evidence when it comes to cats), or studies of allergy in households that handwash versus dishwasher wash the dishes. Getting into details is a long discussion for another day. However, because these surfactants can so powerfully influence human membranes in a way that is known and directly speaks to allergy, I think it’s too bad the studies don’t include anything at all about this factor. Especially since, as in the study above, there is likely to be a big difference in usage between the populations.

The SolveEczema.org perspective reconciles the major inconsistencies in the research of most of these different factors, such as the Farm Effect. And the SolveEczema.org strategies, from experience, happen to lead to dramatic reduction of asthma and allergies in concert with eczema amelioration, not just for the child with eczema, but everyone in the household. And it doesn’t require getting dirty or rolling around in cow or horse … um … microbes.

 

This room was one part of a structure also housing a mountain café, where day hikers frequently stop for tea or hot cocoa. Note the nearly brand new calf.

This room was one part of a structure also housing a mountain café, where day hikers frequently stop for tea or hot cocoa. Note the nearly brand new calf.  OK – this isn’t a common sight in Switzerland – but cows (and their microbes) are.

(0)
Solve Eczema’s Blog

Eczema soap for babies ? 4 Secrets to keeping Eczema at bay.

Posted on by

If you have a new angel baby in your life skin care is one of your top concerns. Just about every mother can tell a story of diaper rash, cradle cap or eczema that just wouldn’t go away. Like any Mom you will try just about any idea or advice that someone gives you. You look for that magic soap that will make it all go away. Some items you try work, but for a short time. So you end up frustrated and at a doctor’s office asking for help. Usually, you walk away with an expensive prescription for a cream that works, but that rash or eczema comes back once the presecription is used up and you don’t know why. Here are the secrets we find work best for dealing with eczema for your angel baby.

Understand the remedy is not in the soap you’re using but in the products you’re avoiding. This is the golden rule when it comes to finding soap for eczema or any skin care product for your baby’s eczema. Your angel baby’s eczema and rashs are often triggered by exposure to something, not by a lack of using soap or lotions.

Eliminate the exposure to sulfates. If you could only do one thing to help out your little one’s sensitive skin this would be it. Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate are just a few of the common forms. Sulfates are in laundry detergent, liquid soap, dish soap, hand soap, shampoo and just about any cleaning product. It’s even in toothpaste and some hand lotions and body lotions. While sulfates do a good job at cleaning away dirt and oil they also do a great job at irritating skin and especially baby skin. They are a very small molecule and can penetrate the pores of your skin causing irritation. So when shopping for soap or lotions for your infant or toddler look for products that are sulfate free.

Look for all natural body products. Caution: Just because something says “natural” on the label doesn’t make it so, but it’s a good start when shopping. TRUE natural products will not contain sulfates, parabens, siloxanes, methicones or dimethicones.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The best defense is often a good offense. Keep your loved one’s skin hydrated even when their eczema isn’t bad. Once you get control of their eczema and all is well remember it can come back at any time. Use that all natural lotion you found and keep your angel baby skin supple and soft.

Keith McDonnell is the author of this article. To know more about Oil For Face, Face Oil and Soap Handmade, please visit this link Salt Scrubs

More Eczema Treatment For Babies Articles