Soap for Eczema

[brempel]

I am looking to make a soap for a friend who has really bad eczema. Does any one have any one have any tips? I would appreciate any information your willing to share!

[TallTayl]

it really depends on the root cause of her eczema. What do her doctor and dermatologist recommend?

Sometimes even the most gentle of soaps and good intentions we have only exacerbate the symptoms.

[Chefmom]

I suffered with an eczema on my right hand for more than 20 years. Dermatologists never gave a reason, just drugs and creams that never helped me. I didn't want steroids, and that seems to be the main answer in pill form and creams to help stop itching. At least for me.

I didn't have anything that truly helped, but I knew what made it worse and I adapted. I slowly took away every single chemical cleaning agent in my life and that helped, but didn't heal. That eczema was the start on my path of making my own soaps and creams and salves and removing all chemicals. About 12 or 13 years ago I started casually studying herbs, especially herbs for skin healing. I realized that many of them grew as weeds in my yard, or along the country roads. I was working as a baker and cake decorator, and in food service, there is no avoiding washing your hands until they crack and bleed and hard work with your hands. My hand grew worse and worse, especially in the winter months. I spent a lot of money on treatments and creams, but nothing helped.

Making homemade soap helped, at least at home. I learned how to superfat soaps so that they did not strip away my natural oils, but left my hands soft. But at work it was back to harsh treatment, so the cracking and bleeding and peeling and itching continued.

I started simply with herbs, mashing the fresh leaves and schmearing it on my hand, then wrapping my hand in cotton to hold the mash in place. I started with what was in my lawn, plaintain and burdock leaves. I also began growing comfrey, and I added fresh comfrey leaves to the mix. Yes, my hand usually was a bizarre color of dirty green and grey from the plants chlorophyll. But the itching slowly stopped, and very slowly my hand began to heal. I eventually began to steep this mixture of plaintain, burdock, comfrey and then added yarrow leaves, elderberry blossoms and calendula to the mix. I steep for about 8 weeks in olive oil, and then I began schmearing the oil (especially in the winter when there weren't fresh leaves available) on my hand, and wrapping it in cloth.

I believe it took a good 6 months to bring my hand around to the point that it no longer cracked and peeled. I had cracks that were 1/4-inch thick/deep and the pain was unimaginable. It took a full year to bring it back to full elasticity and for it NOT to crack and itch when I was at work.

I no longer work in food service, so it is easier to control and I have not had an outbreak in 4 years. I get dry patches on occasion, but every Fall I take my oils from the Summer and make a basic salve with beeswax. I use that through each Winter and into the Spring. Usually my soaps and the occasional basic hand cream gets me through the Summer without any issues.

Also, skin issues can be a sign of liver issues, so be sure to have your friend talk to her usual Doctor about liver function to be sure that isn't the cause of skin issues. A good liver cleanse for everyone is taking Dandelion root (I take it in pill form) for one week every 4 to 6 weeks. Of course, read about it for yourself, some people get very bad digestive issues from taking it.

Good Luck.

[lindanelson]

I make soap and lotion/cream for my stepdaughter using melt and pour base and add olive oil and shea aloe butter to it. No scent. It has helped her.

[CareBear]

My children had horrid eczema. It cleared up when I started using handmade soap but I am the first to admit it could have been coincidence since we made many changes. First and foremost I left my ex, which reduced stress for all immeasurably.

Other things -

Laundry detergents without enzymes in them. Tiny print on the bottle. All Brand works (we get Free & Clear, but dyes don't seem to bother us)

Double rinse laundry.

Cotton cotton cotton.

Rinse sweat off immediately. It's immensely irritating.

I love my gentle soap for our skin now. It's a very mild formula with tomato juice (fresh) for the liquid. It's marvelous.

Edited June 25, 2013 by CareBear

[judys]

My customers who have eczema say that it goes away when they use my unscented cp goats milk soap. Adults and children. No colors added. Sometimes colloidal oatmeal.

[Noodle]

Handmade soap never helped my eczema. I lost 9 fingernails as a child and slept with cotton socks on my hands. My eczema has gotten better as an adult, but every summer it flares up on my toes, on my back and at joint areas- behind my knees and where my arms bend at the elbow. I agree that stress is the number 1 factor- at least for me anyway.

[Kitn]

My unscented buttermilk bastile or castile to wash my hands with whipped shea put on after washing helps my hands a lot, they crack and bleed if I do not take this care of them. I put the shea butter on at night too.