What do I do about my eczema?

There are a few things that you can do to help alleviate your eczema.  This will not cure it, but may help with some of the symptoms.

This means avoid all soap, including shower gel and soap specially designed for skin conditions.  Why? Soaps and detergents are designed to wash and clean.  They do this by removing the natural oils from your skin.  Take the skin’s natural oils away and you get dry skin.  With skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, this is the last thing that you want- dryer skin.  Your skin is already too dry in those areas!  If your eczema is on your hands, try to use fragrance-free homemade soap.  Soap makers like to superfat their soap making them more moisturizing.  Depending on the oils used, they can also be much more gentle than store bought brands.  Try to avoid liquid hands soaps, as they too can be very drying.  (Clear liquid soap tends to have a high concentration of coconut oil.  Coconut oil in moderation is a great oil for making soap, but when too much is used, it leads to a very drying soap.)

Again, soap and shampoo will dry you out, even if it is the suds running over the affected area.  Try to wash your hair to the front so that the sudsy water runs right over your head and down the drain without touching your body.

So what do you use instead of soap on those irritated areas?

We wash too often in our society.  Really, the only places that need to be washed frequently are stink-prone places (pits and bits) and your hands.  Oatmeal is soothing and healing and the sock or nylon will satisfy any scrub cravings that you may have.  Be gentle on the affected areas!  This is also great for kids in a bath.  Simply put the sock in the bath and let the children wash themselves with it as if it were some kind of toy or game. 

Water itself, especially hot water, is drying.  Again, with eczema, you don’t want the area to get drier.  If you absolutely have to have a nice hot bath, add some oils to the bath water.  Most oils in your cooking cupboard will do nicely.  Sunflower oil is a good choice as it is surprisingly high in a lot of vitamins such as A, B, D and E, as well as minerals, lecithin, insulin, and unsaturated fatty acids.  But really, most any natural oil will help! 

Eczema tends to be exacerbated by stress.  Take time out for yourself and allow yourself time to relax and heal. 

Much easier said than done!

Susie

So you’ve been to the doctor about that crazy rash that you have and now have been prescribed some cream.  Most likely the cream is made with a steroid of sorts, like hydrocortisone with the directions to use it sparingly and infrequently.

 Why a steroid?

Steroids are the standard prescribed medication for weird and crazy skin rashes because a steroid takes away inflammation.  With the inflammation gone, the area is no longer red and itchy and it has a chance to heal itself.  It is important to note that a steroid cream will not likely cure the rash.  Instead what it does is:

• Relieves the itching by soothing and calming the nerves in the area of the irritation,

• Stops reaction if it is an allergy,

• Gives your body relief.

This sounds great, and it would be if steroids didn’t have side effects.

For one thing, steroids slow down the body’s healing.  This means that although the steroid cream may have soothed the itch, it will take your body longer to heal itself.  Of course without the cream you would be making a mess of the area anyway with all of your scratching.  The steroid cream is probably going to give your body the chance to better heal on its own even if it is slower.  However, remember, the cream is not curing you from the rash, but alleviating some of the symptoms.

Another side effect of using steroids is a depressed immune system.  This can lead to secondary infections.

Steroid cream use may also lead to a thinning of the skin, a condition known as atrophy,.  This in turn may lead to skin that is more prone to abrasions and infections.  This may also lead to stretch marks.

Finally, after using steroids for a length of time, your body will need a break. Your body may also need to have a higher and higher percentage of steroid in the cream to continue being effective over time.

If you do choose to use a steroid to provide relief from your skin condition, use it only as recommended by a health care professional.  Whenever possible, it is best to minimize the use of steroid creams.  There are other natural treatment options that may also help alleviate your skin conditions with fewer, if any, side effects. 

Stayed tuned for some ideas.

Susie

Deep Skin Cracks

Really deep skin cracks or cracks in places that continuously open can be very difficult to treat.  When you need more than the method previously mentioned, then maybe you could try the following.  Remember that I am not a doctor, so to follow my ideas is something that you do at your own risk.

Using your fingers, close the crack completely.  Gently, delicately and very carefully put on some Crazy Glue to keep the crack together.  This should last for a day, maybe two.

Remember that while this method keeps the crack together, once the Crazy Glue wears off, you will still have your painful crack, so continue to treat the crack with cream.  If you are using a good cream, like my Hemp Cream , the rich and wonderful oils in the cream will penetrate and help to heal the crack.

Be careful with the Crazy Glue – you don’t want your finger or anything else stuck to the crack!

Susie

The way I deal with the crack in my thumb is similar to what I suggested with cracked heels. I keep a jar of Hemp Cream near by and every time I see it or think about it, I dip my thumb in the jar. I let the cream sit on the crack for a little bit and then rub it in.

Again, like cracked heels it takes time, but they will go away.

Once you have gotten rid of the crack, use your cream as often as you need to keep them gone. If you feel like they are coming back, maybe see some skin peeling on your thumb, hit it hard with the cream. Prevention is easier to deal with than the cracks!

If you have a hard time remembering to put on the cream, put it in a place that you frequently use like the bathroom or the kitchen. Anytime you see the jar, put on some more cream.

Again, if you have a cream that you like and is working well, great, keep using it. If not and you are on the market for a new cream to try, I suggest using my Hemp Cream. It works really well for skin cracks and the winter dry knuckles.

Susie

What to do about those cracks?

 Cracked, dry skin is not fun and not always easy to take care of.

So what can be done?

If you already have dry cracked heels, I suggest that at nighttime shwack on a good bit of cream and let it soak for a minute or so.  Then rub it in.  After a few minutes, put on some more cream and don’t rub it in too much.  Put on a sock and off you go to bed. (If you don’t like wearing a sock try using an ankle sock with the toe cut out.)  The extra cream will soak in through the night and add that extra moisture and softness that you would not get by applying the cream just once.

In the morning, put on more cream and rub it in. 

When you are trying to get rid of a crack, don’t skimp on the cream.

Once the crack has gone away, use the cream as prevention.  As soon as you think that you have another one coming – lay on the cream nice and thick.

If you already have a cream that you like, great, but if you are looking to try a new cream I recommend using my Hemp Cream.  I designed it to with rich healing oils like hempseed, sea buckthorn, sesame and rosehip, which are full of vitamins and nutrients that penetrate the skin to help to heal the crack.  It also has lanolin and beeswax which create a non-greasy barrier.  This helps to lock in your natural moisture and from the cream. 

Getting rid of cracks, especially deep ones, takes time.  With this method you should feel, if not see, results in a couple of days.

Susie

I love baths. 

Yup, I love them and I love them HOT!

I think that there is little better than to light a candle, get a glass of something nice and cold and grab my book for a soak in the tub.

I know that I should have warm baths and not stay in too long, but then what is the point?

So, theoretically, I would need a LOT of lotion to replenish all of the oils that are no longer on my skin and I could, but I prefer a different way to oil up.  I use a salt scrub.  If I don’t feel like scrubbing, then I just scoop out some great smelling oily salt and plop it in the bath. 

If you don’t have any Bodimage Salt Scrub handy, you can add some of your own oils to the bath.  You may be surprised to learn about the wonderful oils that you probably have in your cupboards.

For example:

Canola oil is very high in minerals, vitamins and in Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA).

Olive oil is a bit heavy for me, but others love it.

Sunflower oil has high amounts of vitamins A, B, D and E, and minerals. 

Add a bit of one of these oils to your bath, maybe some essential oils, sit back and relax.  After the bath, simply pat yourself dry.  Keep the oils right where they are.  Your skin will love you for it!

 Susie

Our dry winter air really sucks the moisture out of us.  Using a good quality lotion is great for your outside, but what about your inside?

To make your skin as healthy as it can be, you need lotion on the outside as well as on the inside. 

Let me explain.  Basically, lotions are made from water and oils.  The main ingredient of all lotions should be water, this is what you want.  The next ingredients will hopefully be some wonderful penetrating oils full of minerals, fatty acids and vitamins.  (More on this later)

Those are the exact same things that everyone keeps saying are so important for your body – water and Omega 3’s & 6’s (essential fatty acids)! 

There are much nicer ways to go about getting them then drinking lotion.  Even my lotion doesn’t taste all that great, although it is edible. 

Omega 3’s are found in fish, flaxseeds and Hemp Hearts to mention a few.  If you are not fond of fish I highly recommend Hemp Hearts.  We can get them at our local Health Food Store (Ventin’s Vitamins).  You can add them to cookie dough, pancakes, bread, cereal, yogurt, or even eat them straight.  My kids even like them!

Omega 6’s are found in nuts, whole grains, Hemp Hearts, and eggs, to mention just a few. 

The more good oils you consume and apply, the healthier your skin will be.

Susie

What to do about dry skin during the winter months? 

My recommendation is to use as little soap as possible.  Yes, I am a soap maker and love to make good quality soap.  I would to sell you a bar or three of my wonderful, soft, beautifully scented, artistically designed Olive Oil too, but  I would rather you have healthy skin than use too much soap.  (A little plug, maybe )  

Soap is great for cleaning, but while it does that, it strips your body of all of your natural oils.  You then have to replenish these oils with lotions and creams.  

When I say use less soap, I mean that you really only need to soap those parts of you that get stinky (pits and bits) during your shower.  Wash the rest of your body with water.  It works really well!  

If you have extremely dry skin, try not to let the soapy shampoo water  run down you body.  Again, you want to keep as much of you natural oils on your skin.

After your shower, apply lotion while you are still moist.  This allows the oils in the lotion to lock in the extra moisture on your skin and makes your lotion go a lot further.  You end up using less lotion, so do your body a favour and try using some quality lotion. No need for expensive lotion.  It’s a good idea to check the ingredients.  Make sure that the lotion has some good oils in it.  (I will talk about good oils for your skin in a future blog.)

Some other tips

• Try not to shower too often
• Use warm water, not hot water (hot water will dry you out!)
• Soaps, scrubs and shower gels in general will dry your skin.
• Use a good quality lotion (remember that it does not have to be an expensive lotion)

Here’s to healthy skin!

Susie