10yr old hates her eczema scarred legs, suggestions on what to do.

[misdee]

dd1 has had eczema since shec was a baby. her legs are still affected now but generally under control.

the problem is, she doesnty like showing her legs due to the scarring from the damage done by scratching. she has lighter patches of skin, and what can be described as thicker patches behind her knees.

she had gone to her end of year disco in leggings to hide her legs

am looking for ideas on how to make her less conscience of her legs, or any tricks people know to make her legs look lovely to her.

she is a beautiful girl, who is growing up quickly, and i want her to be confident and not self conscience,.

anyone?

does anyone know of a good moisteriser (aveeno has stopped working for her) which helps with a touch of colour? am thinking of letting her try self tan as she really doesnt like her legs.

Double base is the best cream, you may have to get it from your gp though, it really works well and isn't heavy or sticky.

What about bio oil, also meant to be good for and may help with the darker patches.

The only cream with a hint of tan I have used in Dove and it was ok, not a fan myself but I can't seem the harm in trying if it helps her confidence.

she is allergic to double base.

wil ltry the bio oil though. and hopefully that will improve the condition of her legs.

she is at the age where she is getting more self conscience.

avene stuff (from larger boots or online) is fab

poor dd misdee

Be careful with the dove stuff. I find it stings a bit if I use it just after shaving. Make sure you apply a good layer of regular moisturiser first.

it's difficult misdee

in a way she's too young for make up but perhaps not too young to be told she can use some to cover up patches like that when she's older if she needs to or feels she wants to

the other option is stockings - you can get girl's stockings with lovely fashionable patterns.You can get glittery ones which always go down well but you need to check with her that they don't irritate her skin more as sometimes those stockings (with glitter or patterns) are itchy.

It's difficult as ultimately, you want her to accept herself the way she is but if she is noticing it now, it might be worth pointing out that you can do things when she is older.

I have funny over pigmentation in addition to skin like that and it doesn't bother me tbh (though it is noticeable, especially on my face). It may be that she gets more comfortable with it as she gets older.

Does she know other children with eczema or skin conditions?

Poor little thing - vitamin E capsules are supposed to help improve the appearance of scars. Maybe worth a try?

I'd let her use some self tan if it helps to improve her self confidence. I've used Johnsons holiday skin which comes in different strengths so wouldn't look too unnatural or streaky if you choose the weaker strength.

I hope you find something which helps

You can get Palmers Cocoa Butter with a hint of self tan which I find the best for my very dry skin. But beware if you do let her fake tan her legs it is more than likely the thicker patches of skin will come out darker (more orange) than the rest of her legs, thus drawing attention to them.

Another option is to use a moisturiser with a hint of shimmer, Dove and Nivea both do these. The overall effect is less dramatic than fake tan, but does even out skin tone.

Finally Boots 17 does some good wash off fake tans and shimmery creams, which you can remove easily if it goes wrong and are perhaps more suited to a ten year old.

I hope this helps, I was and still am very self concious about my legs.

Poor thing. I used to get quite bad eczema on my legs when I was younger too so I can definitely sympathise.

I would suggest you try PhytaOil. It's similar to Bio Oil but rather than being petrochemical based, which might irritate her skin further, it's all natural containing rosehip oil and vitamin E. Both are supposed to really help improve the appearance of scars; a friend of mine has been using it on post-op scars following breast cancer recently and she really is very happy with the results. I've also tried it on my stretchmarks (!) and it is a lovely product - smells nice and not at all greasy. It also comes in a lotion I think if you/she would prefer that.

You can buy it online from Nutri Centre or in bigger Tescos I think. Let me know if you'd like a link and hope you find something that works.

Bio Oil or try Neostrata Problem Dry skin Cream
here

I've got experience in skincare/beauty and I wouldn't put any high street brands like dove or neutrogena etc. on your daughters legs.

If you want to go down the self-tan route then I would recommend the Green People self-tan or St Tropez.

Bio oil would also help tremendously ime.

Also, reassure her that the scars will fade dramatically in time. As long as no new scarring occurs, I would expect that by the time she is mid to late teens they will be unnoticeable.

Neal's Yard reccommended a rose oil to my sister who has a similar problem. I think they do it in a lotion too which wouldn't be so pricy.

I've had eczema all my life, I sympathise with your DD. At her age I had eczema and hairy legs (mmm nice combo!) so I used to wear leggings in the summer under dresses etc. It was better than wearing black tights. You can get nice patterned leggings in primark and uniqlo, and I've noticed lots of girls wearing stuff like that at the moment

Now with the assistance of razors I just bare my legs but I'm old enough to not care if anyone's looking (these days, they ain't!).

Try Bio Oil or the other oils recommended- I wouldn't use fake tan as a previous poster has said, it may make the thicker skin patches darker. Once the eczema heals then fake tan should be fine.

Reassure DD that her eczema will get better as she gets older, and keeping her legs moisturised will soothe and mend her skin over time.

thank you all for your lovely input. will def try bio oil, as heard good things about it.

will lay off the fake tan for now. she has gone to school in trousers today as her legs were sore yesterday. fortunatly its cooler today so she wont overheat.

she wears a lot of leggings and skirt combo's but really wants to wearshorts like her friends do. hopefully her legs will get better soon.

Hi, I sympathise it sounds like just the kind of thing that can really make a young girl very self-concious. I would give the oils a go, and phytaoil is a very nice choice, imo. If you go onto their website you can get a free sample, I think.