Soaps!

Lets talk soaps!!

I am finally ready to review the soaps that I have been using for basically the last six months. There are positives and negatives for each but I have found my holly grail soap and just ordered a bunch. I am being mysterious because while I will not list the soaps in any particular order, I do want to end with my favorite one :)

The things I look for in a soap or shower gel are:
1. It had to be moisturizing like VERY moisturizing
2. It has to leave me feeling clean
3. It absolutely can not be irritating

Soaps:

L'Occitane en Provence Extra-Gentle Soap in Lavender From L'Occitane

L'Occitane lured me with their promise of France and even though I do try to avoid fragrances in my soaps, I had to give this guys try.
Pros: At 250g (net wt 8.8 oz) this soap lasted a long time! I liked this soap a lot, it was moisturizing, felt clean, and surprisingly the fragrance was not irritating at all. Cons: It's $10, so a bit pricy. They do have a smaller one for $7 but the large one last so long that it makes sense to get the larger one.

Basis sensitive skin bar From amazon

 

I found this while looking for all natural soaps and decided to give it a try. I paid  something like $4 for it, although you can get it for a couple of dollars cheaper if you order a pack of 6 from amazon. I liked this soap overall because it did have that clean feeling and it was not irritating at all; however I was looking for something a bit more moisturizing. I am really looking for something that has an intense moisturizing effect which I though this one lacked.

The next set of soaps I do not have link to or much details on because I forgot to take pictures of them but it is the Sprouts brand soaps. Here is a link to their website Sprouts. As far as I can tell they are mainly located in the south-west. All of the health and beauty products that Sprouts carries are cruelty-free and paraben free which is why I decided to try their soaps. I chose two fragrance-free ones and liked them. They were both fairly moisturizing and clean feeling but most importantly not irritating. I would prefer soemthing more moisturizing but at something like $2 these will be my back-up in case I ever run out of my holly grail.

*I will take pictures next time I am in a Sprouts

The Body Shop shower gel for earth lovers in Cucumber and Mint

This might have been discontinues since I can not find it on the website but I will double check when I'm in the store because this gel is wonderful. It smelled great but did not irritate my skin! It was super moisturizing and clean feeling. It would be my holly grail, except I am not a big fan of shower gels. I know a lot of people love them but I just prefer soaps and cleansing bars. Part of the problem with gels is that I have to add gel to my sponge several times. I do have long legs and arms so maybe there is just more of me to cover but I get annoyed when the gel disappears and I am not done cleaning. It's just one of those weird things about me.

Finally my the soap I liked was: The Body Shop soap in mango From the Body Shop

I found this soap to be super moisturizing and rich. It was not irritating and clean feeling but I just cannot get over how rich it felt. It was just a wonderful feeling and the worst part was that I only bought one and I made myself wait to use up other soaps before I could but more of these beauties. I did place a new order today and I am going to try a few of the other scents. I used to be so afraid of scents in my soaps but I've found that there are other ingredients that are more important. The key might be how irritating the fragrance is and how it fits in with the rest of the formula. I'll have to see what other scents work for me, I am excited to get my order in!

Stress and Eczema

After an online discussion with another individual with eczema, it hit me that my eczema is probably triggered by stress. In the past year I have spent a lot of time cutting allergens out of my life. I have not cut very many foods from my diet but I have watched for outbreaks that happen after eating certain foods. I have noticed no correlation between my diet and eczema outbreaks. I thought that perhaps there were environmental causes and since my last outbreak I have gone about being more diligent about cleaning, wearing gloves when washing dishes, and switching to beauty products that contain less chemicals.

I believe that the steps I have taken have helped and actually spent a good 3-4 months without an outbreak. Then in December I has another hand eczema outbreak. The difficulty in determining what caused the outbreak is that it could have been one of two things (my diet did not change). One it was my cat. I am very allergic to cats and after discovering this a few years ago, I sent my cat to my parents. When the holidays come around, I get to see my gorgeous kitty again. This usually lead to my asthma being triggered and some bad days and nights. This time around was WAY better because I did now allow my Luna to sleep in my room and limited the amount of time I held her. I still let her sleep near my on the couch and played with her, so I still got my Luna time.

My little allergen: Luna 

So now to stress. Holiday stress gets to all of us. I had a great time with my family and there was no drama but still. I had a layover getting home and my first flight was delayed making me miss the second and apparently last flight home. That was stressful. Spending two weeks away from my significant other was stressful, especially after he got sick. I also lay awake at night thinking about finishing my dissertation and my future, so that was stressful... In short there was plenty of stress despite the happiness of getting to spend time with my family and the new puppies (Rory and Amelia).

RORY

Amelia

I now suspect that along with environmental factors, my eczema is triggered and/or worsened by stress. In 2014 I hope to work on this. I hope to spend time on my hobbies and get this dissertation finished. Over the last few years the dissertation was been a major source of stress and I really can't wait for it to be done. In the meantime here is a list of things I plan on doing to help reduce stress:

• exercise 
• leisure reading 
• baths 
• meditating 
• spend time on my hobbies (makeup and art) 
• spend time talking to my family 
• going out with close friends 

So, there you go. Hopefully you all are staying eczema-free!

Products used!

Here are the things I am using right now: 

Moisturel Therapeutic Lotion amazon link

Bragg organic apple cider vinegar from amazon

I bought it at Sprouts but I think the brand should not be hard to find. I believe the only requirement is that it be organic (so it's not as opaque as the non-organic). Although I have to say that the non organic kind worked just fine for me. 

She Butter Hand Creme L'Occitane

I can not say enough good things about this wonderful cream. The problem? It does not really help during flare-ups. I'm still going to keep it around and recommend it to friends, I just have to find something else for these bad times. 

Nivea creme amazon

This one is very inexpensive and last time that I had a bad flare-up worked well. You can also find it at Target and Walmart, which is a huge plus. It leaves my hand feeling soft and smooth. I did not keep using it after I originally ran out because I did not like some of the ingredients and was hoping to find one that had less harsh things but alas...

100% Pure honey buttercream Here it is from Dermstore

I bought mine at Ulta but I'm pretty sure Target carries the brand. As an awesome bonus it is crielty free and vegetarian. I've only used it twice since buying it today but I do have high hopes for it. 

The next couple I have tried in the past but have not been good enough to repurchase: 

Eucerin Intensive Repair from amazon

I love Eucerin and only stopped using their body lotion because of the parabens and my serach for more natural less harsh ingredients. The hand cream was ok and it probably works great for most lucky people without eczema but I had to keep searching. 

Aveda hand relief from Aveda- travel size

I got this one as a free sample and decided to try it. I love the Aveda Be Curly line for hair but this hand lotion did not work at all. I like the way in smells and I am sure it is great for a lot of people but it irritated my skin. I keep getting free samples of it and I take them because I never refuse something that's free but I should probably start giving them away to friends and family :) 

Thant's all for hands. I just have a couple of more soaps to try before before I can pick a favorite, although I am pretty sure I know what it will be. That journey, while still in progress has already been more successful. 

Lots of love and itch relief! 

~Cynthia   

Again...

I'm going through a horrible flare-up. So bad that even the steroid cream is not working. I've decided to not use the cream at all. Right now I'm taking Zyrtec and Bragg organic apple cider vinegar. To make things worse it's been really hot this week in Souther California. 

For the part month and a half I've been super careful with my hands. I use gloves to wash dishes and clean. My bedsheets get washed at least once, sometimes twice a week. I carry hand lotion with me everywhere and use it every chance I get. As much as I love hand cream from L'Occitane it might not be helping at all. In the past I've noticed that Nivea Creme has helped so I went out and bought some today. I also bought the 100% pure honey almond hand buttercream. So my search for the right hand cream continues... I just hope that I can control things in the next couple of weeks before I go on a trip abroad. 

On the other hand (no pun intended) the eczema on my legs appears to be under control. I still prefer the Body Shop body butter for moisturizing but I have been using Moisturel Theraputic Lotion and it is quite wonderful. I put in on right after the shower and it absorbs quickly without being sticky or feeling weird. It has no smell and it keeps my legs moisturized even if I forget to reapply it. 

Hopefully my hand will be under control soon. 

Eczema Hell

After two weeks of really horrible hand eczema, my right hand middle finger got so bad that it hurt and woke me up in the middle of the night. Even in my dreams I was scratching my hand and searching for eczema relief. The Apple cider vinegar was giving me some relief and did eliminate the mild eczema but I finally had to give in and use the steroid cream. Two days after starting the steroid cream I was able to sleep through the night and while my skin looks flaky and super dry the blisters are disappearing. This is what my finger looks like today:

There are a few things that are probably to blame for the bad flare-up. I am a graduate student currently working on a dissertation so stress is a constant. In addition, a week ago I cleaned the vacuum filter, and cleaned and dusted my entire apartment without using gloves. I am very clean and organized but I do clean everything once a week. In the part I have not noticed a correlation between cleaning and eczema flare-ups but in this instance I think the cleaning, especially the dust exacerbated the eczema.

A couple of days ago, I was going crazy and just waned to rip the skin from my hand. It’s an awful feeling and I am so glad that it’s finally getting better. I know that I have to be careful with the prescribes steroid creme but I am SO happy to have it, it really saved my week. 

From now on, I am going to stop using the steroid cream and focus on moisturizing. I’ve been trying several different hand lotions. Including: The Body Shop’s Almond Hand and Nail Butter, Aveda Hand relief, Eucerin’s Intensive Repair, Nivea crème, and L’Occitane en Provence’s Dry Shea Butter Skin Hand Cream. I am trying each one more at least a couple of weeks and I will post full reviews once I am done trying them all. In the past I have used Burt’s Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Crème and Boots Expert Sensitive Moisture Boots Hand Cream. The Boots Expert worked great but Target always seemed to be out of it so I decided to try something new. So far I have to say that I really enjoy some of the creams but L’Occitane and Nivea are my current favorites and at the moment I am using Nivea crème. 

Hopefully, my right hand will be back to normal soon!

Summer hopes and vinegar

I live in California and I hate to gloat but it’s basically summer here. As an “eczema sufferer” this means my eczema is about to get worse. It gets worse in part because of sweat and clothes that don’t let certain areas air out. For me it also means small bubble like blisters in my hands. I hate them because they itch like hell and it makes shaking hands embarrassing. I get them during the winter but they are worse and more constant during the summer. During this time I usually use my steroid cream like crazy but even that only helps so much because I try to not over use it, plus almost as soon as it disappears it comes back. The other thing that makes my eczema worse in the summer is shaving. I want to wear shorts and skirts more often, this requires shaving and the constant shaving irritates my legs and the eczema leaves them supper itchy and red.

I am not sure that I will ever be able to avoid all of this but I’ve been doing some research into what things help other people. I know to keep my hands washed and moisturized but I recently read that apple cider vinegar has helped some people so I decided to try it. Here is my experience:

The first time that I tried it I dabbed toilet paper into the vinegar and placed it on my finger for 10 minutes. There was an immediate relief of the itching and the next morning there was some reduction in the size of the blisters. The next night I left the apple cider vinegar soaked toilet paper on my finger and part of my hand for 30 minutes and two days later those blisters had almost disappeared. I stopped using the vinegar and focused on moisturizing my hand. A couple of days later new blisters appeared in a different part and I’ve been using the steroid cream for comparison. Unfortunately, it has been really hot and it’s been impossible to keep things under control so I’m trying out the vinegar again.

I am not sure if my early success with the apple cider vinegar was just a placebo effect or if it’s really going to help but I am hopeful that this will make my summer more enjoyable, even if my hands will be a bit smelly :) I also plan on doing more research and will post updates. 

Have a great day!

Soaps

I am not sure if most people put very much thought into their soap purchases. I know I never did. Even after I found out about my eczema, what soap to buy did not rank high on my priority list. The first dermatologist  I went to, told me that I could not use any scented soaps and to stick to plain ones. I think he gave me a list which included Dove and so up until a month ago I've been using Dove for sensitive skin.

About a month and a half a go I was talking to friends about skin care and they were shocked that I was using Dove. Apparently is has some of the worst chemicals ever. That conversation got me thinking about soaps and about trying different types. My current dermatologist had given me a few samples that I never used and so I started with those. The first I tried was Vanicream. I only used it for a couple of weeks but it was good while it lasted and I will probably go back to it at some point.

For the last two weeks I have been using Sebamed cleansing bar. It is made in Germany and cost me something around $5 on amazon, which pricey but if I like it and order more the price is better. I am also thinking that if it really helps I am willing to pay a bit more than normal.

After two weeks of use, I think it is a good cleansing bar. Unfortunately I think I need a soap that moisturizes a bit more intensely.This one dries out my skin a little bit which would not be a problem on someone with normal skin, but I don't have normal skin. On the other had, I love the clean feeling I get when I use it. So far it has worked over all because on the intense body butter that I am using. If I can't find anything better then I will come back to it. The next one I'll try is a paraben-free all natural cleansing bar. More to come.