1
The maddening irritation of Eczema has been an on-off feature throughout my life. As a child my hands were covered in itchy, red, crusty patches. As a young adult stress brought eczema out on my face. And as a mum I’ve seen my daughter inherit the dry skin and often maddening itch.
Desperate to find some relief away from steroid creams, my mother started researching natural ingredients and remedies 30 years ago. This led to some extremely funny brews in our kitchen, but also to significant improvements and eventually, a business in skincare for
SelfishMother.com
2
sensitive skin as we both came to the conclusion that natural is best.
Now with young children of my own and thousands of customers sharing my passion for gentle, natural skincare, my mission continues to help future generations avoid the suffering.
It’s bad enough to suffer with eczema yourself but as we all know, seeing your child suffer with it is so much worse. The pain of the scratching and redness and feeling like you can’t make it better is awful. The lack of sleep as they struggle to get comfortable can affect the whole family, so
SelfishMother.com
3
it’s really important to try and prevent/treat skincare troubles as much as possible.
Fortunately, these days we are so much better informed and know so much more about diet, inflammation and management. One area I found that many of us are still misinformed on though is the use of washing powders and how beneficial the right choice can be for our kids’ eczema.
As a mum I take the view that forewarned is forearmed, so I set out to create the most comprehensive and up to date understanding of the issues those with eczema or dermatitis face with
SelfishMother.com
4
washing powders and compile a list of the best washing powders for sensitive skin.
We asked thousands of our customers, and a further 10,000 people via social media. We spoke to professionals and pored over dozens of forums and websites devoted to the subject of washing powders and eczema, including Talk Health and The National Eczema Association.
The results were illuminating. Many of you suggested that contrary to the idea that non-bio was critical, fragrance was actually this issue and this is scientific fact – biological enzymes are rarely
SelfishMother.com
5
irritants, however fragrance residue very much is.
Chemical components themselves are also an issue. Did you know that washing powders don’t have to list their ingredients in the same way as food or beauty brands do? Fortunately, websites like Waitrose do wherever possible to help you make the right choice for your child’s Eczema prone skin.
Potentially harmful ingredients to watch out for include:
Petrochemicals
Optical Brighteners
Phosphates
Fragrances
Lots of our respondents found that switching to natural alternatives was
SelfishMother.com
6
a safer option.
This could be in the form of a natural washing powder, like Surcare or Skinnies, or it could be a natural alternative.
Soapnuts, also known as ‘natures detergent’ are quite brilliant. They go in your wash and basically knock the dirt out of your clothing. Ecoballs are similar and they last for up to 1000 washes. When I tried this my kids complained that the fabrics were getting a bit scratchy, so I took a suggestion from a parenting forum to try a little white wine vinegar with a few drops of lavender essential oil in the wash
SelfishMother.com
7
and this worked a treat!
Another tip that is extremely effective is to ensure that you double rinse. Surfactant residue (degreasers) left on clothing can be horribly irritating.
Using cotton sheets and, if your child will wear them, cotton gloves can also be really helpful.
If your budget is tight, there is no need to panic. Interestingly, Tesco’s value washing powder was one of the most recommended. This is because the scent is so light that that it doesn’t seem to have as much of a negative effect.
Being in a hard water area can lead
SelfishMother.com
8
you to look for ‘builders’; these are ingredients like phosphonates and sodium carbonate that soften the water for you.
Hard water can be really damaging on your machine but builders can be really hard on your baby’s skin, so we found that adding a tablespoon of good old soda crystals to the wash worked really effectively in place of this.
You can read the full research on the best washing powders for eczema here, but I’d love your suggestions and remedies below – the more we all learn, the less our children suffer!
SelfishMother.com
This blog was originally posted on SelfishMother.com - why not sign up & share what's on your mind, too?
Why not write for Selfish Mother, too? You can for free and post immediately.
We regularly share posts on @SelfishMother Instagram and Facebook :)
Abi Weeds - 21 Jun 16
The maddening irritation of Eczema has been an on-off feature throughout my life. As a child my hands were covered in itchy, red, crusty patches. As a young adult stress brought eczema out on my face. And as a mum I’ve seen my daughter inherit the dry skin and often maddening itch.
Desperate to find some relief away from steroid creams, my mother started researching natural ingredients and remedies 30 years ago. This led to some extremely funny brews in our kitchen, but also to significant improvements and eventually, a business in skincare for sensitive skin as we both came to the conclusion that natural is best.
Now with young children of my own and thousands of customers sharing my passion for gentle, natural skincare, my mission continues to help future generations avoid the suffering.
It’s bad enough to suffer with eczema yourself but as we all know, seeing your child suffer with it is so much worse. The pain of the scratching and redness and feeling like you can’t make it better is awful. The lack of sleep as they struggle to get comfortable can affect the whole family, so it’s really important to try and prevent/treat skincare troubles as much as possible.
Fortunately, these days we are so much better informed and know so much more about diet, inflammation and management. One area I found that many of us are still misinformed on though is the use of washing powders and how beneficial the right choice can be for our kids’ eczema.
As a mum I take the view that forewarned is forearmed, so I set out to create the most comprehensive and up to date understanding of the issues those with eczema or dermatitis face with washing powders and compile a list of the best washing powders for sensitive skin.
We asked thousands of our customers, and a further 10,000 people via social media. We spoke to professionals and pored over dozens of forums and websites devoted to the subject of washing powders and eczema, including Talk Health and The National Eczema Association.
The results were illuminating. Many of you suggested that contrary to the idea that non-bio was critical, fragrance was actually this issue and this is scientific fact – biological enzymes are rarely irritants, however fragrance residue very much is.
Chemical components themselves are also an issue. Did you know that washing powders don’t have to list their ingredients in the same way as food or beauty brands do? Fortunately, websites like Waitrose do wherever possible to help you make the right choice for your child’s Eczema prone skin.
Potentially harmful ingredients to watch out for include:
- Petrochemicals
- Optical Brighteners
- Phosphates
- Fragrances
Lots of our respondents found that switching to natural alternatives was a safer option.
This could be in the form of a natural washing powder, like Surcare or Skinnies, or it could be a natural alternative.
Soapnuts, also known as ‘natures detergent’ are quite brilliant. They go in your wash and basically knock the dirt out of your clothing. Ecoballs are similar and they last for up to 1000 washes. When I tried this my kids complained that the fabrics were getting a bit scratchy, so I took a suggestion from a parenting forum to try a little white wine vinegar with a few drops of lavender essential oil in the wash and this worked a treat!
Another tip that is extremely effective is to ensure that you double rinse. Surfactant residue (degreasers) left on clothing can be horribly irritating.
Using cotton sheets and, if your child will wear them, cotton gloves can also be really helpful.
If your budget is tight, there is no need to panic. Interestingly, Tesco’s value washing powder was one of the most recommended. This is because the scent is so light that that it doesn’t seem to have as much of a negative effect.
Being in a hard water area can lead you to look for ‘builders’; these are ingredients like phosphonates and sodium carbonate that soften the water for you.
Hard water can be really damaging on your machine but builders can be really hard on your baby’s skin, so we found that adding a tablespoon of good old soda crystals to the wash worked really effectively in place of this.
You can read the full research on the best washing powders for eczema here, but I’d love your suggestions and remedies below – the more we all learn, the less our children suffer!
Did you enjoy this post? If so please support the writer: like, share and comment!
Why not , too? You can share posts & events immediately. It's free!