Shea butter as substiture for Vaseline?

[AllTheGoodOnesAreTaken]

Ds's lips are so dry they are always cracked. All around his mouth is very red; he recently had impetigo, he has been suffering from eczema all his life (all over body but mostly on legs and wrists and face when he's under the weather). In addition to the creams prescribed by GP (hydrocortisone, Fucidin, Fucibet, Bethametasone to name but a few) plus several courses of antibiotics, I use Aveeno and Vaseline several times daily and I'm beginning to think I might need to try an alternative that is purer and doesn't contain petroleum, lanolin and of course preservatives, perfumes, colours, etc etc. Would yo say pure organic shea butter might be a good substitute for vaseline? I need to create a barrier on his face, lips, legs and wrists at least twice a week when he goes swimming. If you have tried shea butter, where do you get it from? I know Body Shop sell it but I'd prefer to buy the unadulterated real deal. Thank you all.

I use shea butter a lot as a general moisturiser/barrier cream for me and slightly eczema-y baby. It seems to help and has never irritated either of us.

L'occitane sell a hugely expensive shea butter, but you can get it much cheaper elsewhere - I get mine here - www.essentialoilsonline.co.uk/acatalog/Raw_Materials.html.

Shea butter needs to be quite warm to 'spread' (I think the word butter is a bit misleading, unless you're thinking hard butter just out of the fridge!). I never use it neat for this reason - unless you can plonk it on a warm radiator to warm up, it takes a while to warm it in your hands.

What I do, which is quite quick, is melt a lump of shea butter in a saucepan and stir in a tablespoon or two of pure vegetable oil (I use olive oil mostly, but you can use others - almond oil is good for skin, or rose hip oil if you can afford it). Pour it into a jar or tupperware container, let it cool so it solidifies, and then it's much easier to scoop out and spread than pure shea butter.

I do recommend Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream for very dry lips and cracked skin! Pricey, but a little goes a long way, and it comes in a tube, easy to use. I use it on the odd bit of eczema-ey skin on my Ds, and it works a treat. It was originally created to treat burns, I believe, and is great for healing dry and cracked skin. I don't think it's the answer to your barrier cream needs of you need to cover a wide area, but I bet it works wonders on your son's lips (do a patch test somewhere less sensitive first, obvs).

PS should say, if your son has a nut allergy, avoid shea butter. sorry, really obvious point I know, but I'd worry if I didn't say.

Maybe coconut butter? Biona sells organic ones?

VedaOils is one of the leading manufacturers, suppliers, and exporters of Natural Essential Oils & Raw ingredients. What Distinguishes Us from other Oil manufacturing units is the care and caution with which oils are composed in our state-of-the-art machinery.