Considering Deciem/The Ordinary products for extremely dry eczema-prone skin. Any experience?.

[Pinkkahori]

My dd has suffered from eczema since babyhood. She rarely has flare ups these days but she has extremely dry skin all over.

She has come to detest thick, greasy emollients and I have been looking into other options. She is only 11 but she has said to me that it is 2017 so surely there must be better things available to help her.

From some threads here I have become aware of hyaluronic acid etc. and think they may be the answer she needs.

Just wondering if anyone with similar skin issues has tried them and how has it worked out.

Thanks.

I use it for acne.
I would not use hyaluronic acid on a child.
My DS both have eczema, both have been treated by a specialist, I would go back and ask the consultant what you should use.
Good luck, eczema is horrible, hope you can manage it ok.

Thanks Sas.
We did see a specialist in the past but discharged now as she doesn't many flare ups these days. Just the extremely dry skin.
I'm trying to get her to eat more fish, avocado etc to see if that helps but always looking for the 'miracle cure'

I'm a Deciem addict, an d their stuff is amazing, but I'd hesitate to use adult cosmetic products on an 11 year old's medical condition. Why don't you email them? They are very responsive to enquiries about specific issues, and usually happy to advise on whole regimes for individuals. Otherwise, I can only think that a dermatologist might be able to help.

Sorry crossed posts. Have you tried the lush body cream? Friend with eczema swears by it. Cant remember what it's called though - dream cream maybe?

Thanks HMC. I've emailed them so will be interested in what they say.

HA is to treat dehydrated skin (lacking in water), eczema is an extreme form of dryness (skin lacking in lipids/oils). I'm quite familiar with the Deciem lineup and there isn't anything there that I'd suggest for someone with an atopic disposition, to be honest. Eucerin, Avene, etc. are better brands to explore, their cleansing oils for the body are especially good since they focus on barrier restoration and not stripping the skin of its natural oils (Avene Xeracalm and Eucerin Atopic lines). La Roche Posay Cicaplast B5 ointment is also a good standby but may not be heavy enough for truly problematic eczema.

Because the skin is lacking in oils and especially delicate, traditionally the emollients are the preferred option but you could take a look at Hübner Original Silicea Balsam. It's a traditional German ointment (but I think it is available on Amazon) that acts like a heavy ointment but not with the characteristic heaviness as it's a gel. You can apply directly or if needed (in more extreme cases, think properly broken skin) you can follow a protocol where you dilute the product and use a gauze to feed it extra hydration with water continually. It can be taken internally (so can be a confusing product) but I have no idea if that works for eczema. Even though the treatment of dry skin is focused on oils it often helps to feed it many watery layers to make it more responsive to other ingredients (in that sense HA isn't terrible but I think other humectants like glycerin or aloe are preferable as the risk of irritation is much lower). Even the Avene Thermal Water would do, it contains a bit of silica as well and it may help to spray the area first, then follow up with your occlusive.

There is some research out there with regards to cutting out dairy and/or added refined sugar for the management of eczema but since she's still growing obviously discuss that with a health care provider.

Thanks botemp. That is very interesting. I'll check on the Hubner Balsam.

We've had great success with La Roche Posay and they are our go-to products for shower and baths.

It is good to hear your take on it. It is difficult to get much information from medical professionals other than layer up with emollient.

DD has a sensory processing disorder which means she is extremely sensitive to touch and she genuinely hates the heavy greasy feeling on her skin.

She is a typically atopic child - eczema, asthma, hayfever and I would never disregard medical opinion but now that she has moved on from red, irritated, sore eczema to a calmer but still dry skin I just thought there may be options we hadn't explored.

If it helps, it's probably best to think of very dry skin a bit like a plant or a dessert floor. When it's bone dry it can't hold any moisture so if you suddenly feed it large amounts of water in one go it just goes straight through and hardly any of it is absorbed. If you feed it water in tiny increments it's able to take on much more volume slowly and steadily thus retaining that moisture. It's tempting to go all guns blazing but it usually has the opposite effect.

Are you already familiar with oatmeal baths already? Very easy to do (bung a bunch of oats in an old pantyhose and tie to your tap) and very soothing for atopic skin. Hydrolyzed oats are a very good ingredient for very dry skin in general, it's Aveeno's USP but I'm not wholly convinced by their entire product lineup as most contain fragrance which I'd definitely avoid with atopic skin.

I have eczema and lived in the US for a bit where my dermatologist prescribed CeraVe moisturising cream. It is a very moisturising emollient but is not greasy at all. I've tried eucerin, doublebase, zerobase and Aveeno and this is my favourite by far. You might be able to get it on Amazon in the U.K. It won't be any more expensive than La Roche Posay. Otherwise I'd say Aveeno (make sure it's the cream not the lotion) and zerobase have the lightest consistencies of eczema products.

Try Moogoo MSM soothing cream for her dry skin - it's fantastic stuff. I'd avoid Deciem like the plague for dry/ eczema prone skin - their serum really irritated my skin. If you want a hydrating product then Superdrug pure hydrating serum is excellent

moogooskincare.co.uk/soothing-msm-cream.html
www.superdrug.com/Skin/Face/Face-Serums/Superdrug-Simply-Pure-Hydrating-Serum-50ml/p/342700?gclid=Cj0KEQjwv_fKBRCG8a3ao-OQuZ8BEiQAvpHp6Eox89JwYgAOLUuojgnjaRXsn3Lu3mvOqB8WQjbhHLkaAugH8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Fabulous advice from botemp. I was just popping back to say that the main ingredient of the Lush dream cream is oat milk - basically oats soaked in water - but it turns out that they've changed the formula to make it self preserving, and the texture is now oilier. Which is what I gather your daughter doesn't like.