People with eczema don't have time to waste messing around with products that irritate our skin, while looking for relief.
We have an innate tendency for our skin not to function as the durable barrier it should, then we heap on washing of hands or showering, the environment, clothing and hats.
If you're dealing with eczema - I hope one or more of these will help you - or inspire other solutions. Obviously - follow your doctor or dermatologists' recommendations, first and foremost.
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We have nerves in our skin that may become hypersensitive to pressure or friction and that alone can trigger more inflammation in our skin as the nerves shout, "something's wrong!" and our immune system shows up to investigate the complaints.
Because of that inherent vulnerability and reactivity - the microbial community on our skin has access to things it wouldn't on less-vulnerable skin. And that can cause some more-inflammatory microbes to move in and be bad neighbors. Your skin microbes ideally make your skin stronger. But not so much when you have eczema.
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| The top layer of your skin (left). The uppermost layers (right) with sebum/oils, bacteria, yeasts, viruses, water, "natural moisturizing factor." |
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| If eczema-skin is irritated or exposed to allergens, it can cause a change in the microbial community on skin. Irritation and allergies activate the immune system too. Both of those actions can cause problems - which cause more problems. |
I think most people with eczema are aware of oatmeal-containing products like Aveeno lotion.
> Oats are not just a "natural additive" marketing gimmick, they're the real deal, delivering anti-inflammatory effects for your skin via skin's microbial communities - by discouraging Staph bacteria. 1% oatmeal creams can improve skin's barrier function too, which tends to get a little dysfunctional with eczema. That results in a less-inflammatory microbe community and better lactic acid production to maintain your skin's natural, slightly acidic pH. Aveeno makes richer and less-rich lotions. If you shop sales - keep an eye out for "BOGO" sales at drugstores like Walgreens or CVS (in the US) and stock up on Aveeno - or the generic store-brands.
This is one of my favorite Aveeno products for eczema maintenance where you need it most. It's more expensive than their "daily moisturizer," but it's loaded with humectants (moisturizers) and oat kernel oil that give it an extra anti-inflammatory and hydrating boost.
> Gladskin is another amazing product I've found in the last few years. It contains compounds produced by bacteriophages - microbes that eat / destroy bacteria. This is absolutely not weird. 😉 Bacteriophages or "phage therapy" is one potential means of treating antibiotic-resistant infections: "If you can't beat them, eat them."
Bacteriophages are important parts of many ecosystems, including our bodies. Gladskin's active ingredient can reduce inflammation, redness and itching by reducing inflammation-promoting Staph bacteria. Staph are a normal bacteria to have on our skin, but eczema-skin may have too many - and Staph is not the best neighbor. It can cause irritation and inflammation in vulnerable skin - and in wounds.
Gladskin makes a treatment cream (thick and rich) and a flare-gel (light, cooling), along with non-medicated body wash, face wash and moisturizer. This has been a game-changer in my family for some itchy or flaky spots that don't respond to steroids or anything else. By addressing the more-inflammatory microbes that may overpopulate vulnerable eczema skin, the skin gets a chance to heal and a less-inflammatory skin microbial community might have a chance to get established.
Gladskin may help with facial redness, seborrheic dermatitis, acne and rosacea.
Use the code, SHB10 to get 10% off Gladskin products.
> Dove - "Ultra Sensitive Skin" cleanser is really nice. I've been using it as a shampoo, too. No fragrance or masking fragrance and while concentrated, it's pretty gentle. Unless your skin is very oily or you're washing off sunscreen, you can dilute this a little with water without losing the nice foam and cleansing.
Besides the gentler surfactants (detergents) - this product is designed to perform well in hard water. Hard water can be tough on eczema. The minerals can be drying on our skin - but where it really gets us is the way that minerals bind to anionic detergents. That complex is difficult to rinse off. So we're left with a little detergent residue on the skin - causing more water-loss from the skin after washing in people with eczema.
That's irritating! When our cleansers don't have that reaction, it may be less irritating to the skin.
Let's cruise the ingredient list, there are some notable mentions:
Water (Eau), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Lauroyl Taurate, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Hydroxystearic Acid, Cocamide MEA, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid.
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine - Amphoteric, low-irritation. A gentle cleanser. Cleaning and foaming is not affected by hard water.
- Sodium Methyl Lauroyl Taurate - Anionic. Foams and cleans well in hard water. Makes other detergents behave in a more-gentle way. Non-irritating.
- Glycerin - humectant for hydration
- Hydroxystearic Acid: Emollients to restore some lipid to skin surface.
- Sodium gluconate - chelating agent to prevent hard water interacting with the product
>Triderma
Triderma brand has an oatmeal Fast-healing cream. It is very thick and rich. It has not only oatmeal, but skin-soothing aloe, urea (part of skin's natural moisturizing factor), a few other powerhouse humectants (Zinc and Sodium PCA, Panthenol, Sodium hyaluronate), and shea butter.
If your skin isn't bothered by herbal ingredients and you need a nice, occlusive cream - it's a good choice. Fair warning - it's sort of tan-colored and not 100% smooth. For that seriously natural oatmeal-y feeling. Very good stuff.
Hey, I know your posts are mainly about hair/scalp care, but my face is on the edge, and I don't know what to do anymore, as many good cleansers you or anyone else recommend are either unavailable here in EU at all, or they're discontinued, or they contain fragrances.
ReplyDeleteFor example Dove Sensitive Bar is no longer available, reached to Unilever, and they said they have nothing for sensitive/allergic skin on the Polish market. Never seen Hyper-Reactive cleanser you mentioned here :( it doesn't even link to the international Dove website anymore.
No Aveeno here either.
I used Dove Sensitive Bar while it was still available here.
Out of desperation, I used a baby shampoo by a Polish company Ziaja:
Aqua (Water), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Maltooligosyl Glucoside, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, C12-13 Alkyl Lactate, Inulin, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid.
And my face after a few days feel more dry. I used like half a pump maybe. How come? Is it because of Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate? Or just active matter of surfactants is higher as it's mainly for the scalp, not face?
My dump me ordered a similar product from the same company without looking into the ingredient list first - a gel for face and body:
Aqua (Water), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerin, Coco-Glucoside, Panthenol, Propylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Glycol Distearate, Laureth-4, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sodium Benzoate, Lactic Acid.
It looks... almost the same? I really hope it'll be less stripping. Can Glycol Distearate in it make it less harsh, leave some of it on the skin? I still use moisturizer afterwards of course, but I found if a cleanser is too stripping, then my skin slowly getting worse and worse.
What can I do? Can I dilute it in a container, generate foam, and use it to cleanse my face? I still have some hope that the second product will be less stripping.
I also tried some cleansing emulsions, and I'm almost certain that PEGs like PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate or PEG-8 make my skin angry after a few days of using them :(
aqua (water), cetearyl alcohol, sodium cocoyl isethionate, peg-8, panthenol, tocopherol, ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbic acid, citric acid, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin
This was meant to be a HG for me, felt good at first, but after a few days, I get redness just after cleansing. Maybe Ascorbic Acid is the culprit.
Can PEGs be irritating or too stripping?
Hello Phoenix, It sounds like you have very sensitive, reactive skin. Glycol distearate can make a product less irritating. But you can also be reacting to detergents (as allergens or irritants), preservatives, or active ingredients like Lactic acid. Ascorbic acid can be very irritating to sensitive skin. When your skin is flaring up and very irritated, almost everything can make it worse! When my skin does that - I'll often only rinse it, or "wash" it with colloidal oats mixed with water. I would expect the second product you listed to be less irritating. Unless you're allergic to "Glucoside" detergents, or Sodium Benzoate or Lactic acid irritates your already-irritated skin. I look at products that have irritated my skin and compare ingredient lists to see if I can find ingredients that are similar in all products that caused problems. In the ones you mentioned - of "common irritants/allergens" they have Sodium benzoate, Glucoside detergents, and ascorbic or lactic acids in common. --- Of "less-common irritants" in the products you mentioned - you have Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate and Sodium cocoyl isethionate. Check with other product ingredient-lists you have used to see if any that your skin did well with, contained any of these. Dove Sensitive Skin bar contains Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid
DeleteSodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium, Etidronate, Maltol, Titanium Dioxide. ---
If your skin tolerated Dove Bar, then you may be fine with Sodium cocoyl isethionate (3rd product you mentioned), but not the Ascorbic acid in that product. I also don't see Sodium benzoate in the Dove bar ingredients (not lactic or ascorbic acid!). That gives you a lot of guidance for what to avoid! At least for now. If this were my skin, I would look for a product without Sodium benzoate, lactic and ascorbic acid, and maybe no Glucoside detergents.
Ducray makes good products for European markets for eczema and seborrheic dermatitis on the face, so do Cetaphil, LaRoche Posay, Uriage. I hope that helps! I'll include some of those products on this page for easy reference.
Thank you for the feedback, and good luck. -WS