Soap for daughter’s eczema

[Krbmom]

I am a disabled housewife and mom. I’ve had MGUS for 12 years and stopped working 4 years ago. My youngest daughter has severe eczema and her arms and face bleed often. If she gets upset or angry her skin will just open and bleed. Then she scratches and cries and more bleeding. Medicine that will work cost a lot. I decided to make soap she can use that will help her skin. Soaps the dermatologist suggest is like the cheap medication you can get, it’s a band-aid that doesn’t really help. So far I’ve only made one batch of soap. I cut it 3 weeks ago so of course I’m not sure how it well it will work. I was prepared to need to make adjustments to that first batch ,but had so much fun. I’ve planned the next 3 bar I want to try for the rest of the family. I have 3 daughters, 3 sons, 1 daughter-in-law, 1 son-in-law, and a grandson that my husband is really bad at sharing with me.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. My SIL has a grandson with an extreme eczema problem. She told me that the child's doctor had prescribed Benadryl for the boy.

 

[zanzalawi]

hello and welcome! my husband has terrible eczema too, we feel you

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome! It's hard to say what will or won't work. It seems it's different from person to person. Some have found just using handmade soap that's not high coconut works. Others have sworn by salt soap. It's going to take some testing on you and your daughter's part. There are several threads on this subject on the forum. It comes up quite a bit.

 

[Aromasuzie]

I am a disabled housewife and mom. I’ve had MGUS for 12 years and stopped working 4 years ago. My youngest daughter has severe eczema and her arms and face bleed often. If she gets upset or angry her skin will just open and bleed. Then she scratches and cries and more bleeding. Medicine that will work cost a lot. I decided to make soap she can use that will help her skin. Soaps the dermatologist suggest is like the cheap medication you can get, it’s a band-aid that doesn’t really help. So far I’ve only made one batch of soap. I cut it 3 weeks ago so of course I’m not sure how it well it will work. I was prepared to need to make adjustments to that first batch ,but had so much fun. I’ve planned the next 3 bar I want to try for the rest of the family. I have 3 daughters, 3 sons, 1 daughter-in-law, 1 son-in-law, and a grandson that my husband is really bad at sharing with me.

Hi and welcome, I'm a new member too. With eczema, you should really try and stay away from soap at all, and yes, the irony of being on a soap forum With eczema, the acid skin mantle doesn't work effectively and each time the skin gets washed, the bodys own natural oils don't get replaced. Any soap you make would want to have a high concentration of oils or more saturated fats and butters. Also applying a carrier oil after washing will help protect the skin. Omega 3 oils have been found to help with eczema but it would be better taken orally than adding it into a soap recipe as they will be destroyed during the soap making process. Have you considered dust mites might be an issue? If your daughters condition improves when new bedding is placed on the bed, that could be a trigger. Always better to try and find cause and there is a genetic component too. A lot of food intolerances can also trigger eczema as well. I hope you have fun with your soap recipes, I have found it rather addictive

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

Welcome and I feel your distress in the eczema department. My husband and youngest son have it and that’s why I started making soap and lotion. I hated using the steroid creams on my little one but they worked. The crazy thing about skin is that everyone’s is different and reacts differently. I hope you find what works for your family.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

If you use any fragrance in your laundry detergent or dryer sheets, I would wash all her bed linens and clothes and switch to Dreft.

I know little about eczema but I did make up this concoction that worked for my dear hubby when it showed up on the back of his legs, behind the knees:

96 ml almond oil (or carrier oil of choice)
3 ml benzoin EO
1 ml lavender EO

 

[Amonik]

How old is your daughter? If she isn’t big enough to understand her options, please don’t experiment with her skin!

 

[KiwiMoose]

My son had dreadful eczema when he was younger. It would weep all night while he was sleeping, and in the morning when he woke his little sleep-suit would be stuck to him. Torso, legs, arms, face... poor little guy. I asked the doctor if it was anything I was eating ( he was solely breastfed at the time, aged 4 months) and she said no, don't be silly and here's some steroid cream to put on your baby's skin...
Don't use soap everyone said, just put a bit of oil in the bath water, try sweet almond oil because it's good for skin...
Fast forward two months and I was back in NZ on holiday and went to see an alternative health practitioner here. Turns out he was allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts and once I stopped eating those ( yes it was VERY MUCH caused by what he was getting from my food via breastmilk) his eczema cleared up virtually within a week! And I stopped using the almond oil in the bath - being that he was allergic to nuts!
Anyway, after getting all that off my chest, he is now 12 and still allergic to eggs and nuts, but can tolerate dairy ( although he doesn't eat much of it because he doesn't like it, unless it's ice cream, lol) and he can use anything on his skin now and it's fine.
Having said that, my sister in law, and my friend's daughter who have eczema ( the latter far more severely) have both stated that my homemade soap is a non-irritant for them. There's nothing special about my recipe, and I'm sure that you will find if she is using commercial soap, that, by comparison, your homemade soap will seem far more gentle. Just keep the CO down to below 20% and consider having a slightly higher superfat. Make sure that any of the oils you use are non-irritants for her. Some people can't tolerate OO for example, even though most say it is very mild. Don't bother with fancy additions like neem oil or other expensive oils because that kind of expense is better put into leave on products. Although, I do add aloe juice (homemade) oat milk ( homemade) and coconut milk to some of my soaps and they are lovely additions that are not expensive. To start, I wouldn't bother with any of those, just make a good base recipe and see if she can tolerate it first before making additions or tweaks.
Good luck!

 

[cmzaha]

How old is your daughter? If she isn’t big enough to understand her options, please don’t experiment with her skin!

So I have to ask, is she supposed to let her daughter suffer? Sadly dealing with severe eczema is constantly experimenting to find what works and what does not. All the while praying you happen to find the magic something that works. What is so aggravating is the fact, there are new steroid-free meds available that supposedly help but our wonderful big pharmaceutical companies make them unobtainable for the average person. So all that becomes readily available are steroids that no one really wants to start young children on. I wish I could offer some great advice but prednisone is all that really helps me since I retired and medicare nor medicare supplements will not pay for the new meds either.

I will say, even handmade soap is not a great answer for severe eczema. Sometimes a mild surfactant cleanser such as some of the Cetaphil products is better than soap. Even water hurts when the skin is extremely dry and cracked open. Good luck to you and your daughter.

 

[Amonik]

So I have to ask, is she supposed to let her daughter suffer?

/cut for focus on what I want to reply to/

So all that becomes readily available are steroids that no one really wants to start young children on.

I would much rather use a mild steroid under supervision by a doctor, than experiment with homemade remedies. That is what should have been clearer in my reply, I’m not suggesting the op does nothing.

 

[cmzaha]

I would much rather use a mild steroid under supervision by a doctor, than experiment with homemade remedies. That is what should have been clearer in my reply, I’m not suggesting the op does nothing.

Now your answer makes more sense. Sadly steroid ointments become a vicious circle, but the none steroid ointments that may very well help are very un-affordable in the US for the general population since most insurance will refuse to pay for them. Sadly ointments even steroid ointments tend to not help severe eczema, it needs to be treated internally. Also, steroid ointments tend to thin the skin so long term use is not the greatest way to go and can cause rebound effects. Most parents will look for alternative ways to treat a child's severe eczema. The first line of defense is to have testing to help find out what the triggers are. Although skin testing is not all-inclusive and not fun it does help as a good guideline.

I have live with severe eczema all my life with it in remission for about 15 years. It came back with a vengeance a year or so ago and being retired on a set income I cannot afford the new medicines, so I am still stuck with Predisone when it gets too out of control. Some of the new ointments are $500+ for a tube.

 

[dixiedragon]

My suggestion would be to purchase some different soaps, see which ones help and which ones don't, then work from there.

 

[zanzalawi]

hey @cmzaha - do you know what skin tests specifically to ask for? husband had a skin biopsy done, but it really seems like there is more that dr's office is missing

 

[Kari Howie]

My daughter also has severe, bleeding, even water hurts eczema. She just started using "Dupixent", a self-administered injectable. Too soon yet to tell if it's going to work. Her insurance (BCBS) does not cover it. However, if you contact the manufacturers (sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc), they can help with the cost, but's it's based on your income. My daughter is an apprentice hair stylist living in Charlotte, NC, so her income is pretty low--about $20,000--so she qualifies for a significant subsidy from the mfr. I just texted her to ask if she has any out-of-pocket expenses.

My daughter just texted me back. She said she has zero out-of-pocket costs. Unfortunately, after a month of using it she has seen no improvement.

 

[cmzaha]

I hope it ends up helping her Kari. When you are on Medicare the companies will not help even though Medicare will not help with any of these types of meds. Sadly your daughter is in the wrong business for someone with eczema. Been there and did that for over 30 years and it was though. Fortunately, I did not have to work it full time. Just working with the wet hair aggravates and hurts if your hands are broken out.

hey @cmzaha - do you know what skin tests specifically to ask for? husband had a skin biopsy done, but it really seems like there is more that dr's office is missing

Over the years I have had all of these tests, scratch, intradermal, and patch tests. They do help you find out what are allergin triggers, but the allergy shots really do not help much with eczema. Mine were done through an Allergist, years ago.

 

[K’mystri]

Hi, I (new member) can certainly relate to your concerns as a mother... I have eczema and so does the youngest 2 of my 3 children and 1 of my 6 grands... I took an interest in soap making for several reason and the eczema is certainly one of them... I have found through personal experience that everything does not work on all skin... although we are all related, some of the things that my mommy used on me didn’t work on my children or grand... and it does pay to try out the different thing because, you can certainly find out what doesn’t work and it’s the only way to find out what would work, lol... it’s certainly a lengthy process but, it is certainly worth it... stress, foods, dyes, detergents, soaps, lotions, pets, pollen, heat, colognes, perfumes, combos... phew the list is long... they can play a part in triggering it... and the scratching, the bleeding and appearance really make it way worse when you care about the comfort of others... I have found that it is something that gets better with age... our body has a fighting system that gets stronger during test... the immune system... as we take on illnesses our body goes into fight mode... and every time we get well it makes us stronger... and our body remember the last illness and takes that into play for the next and fights using what it has learned and then when it comes to a wall it strategized to a new win... remarkable right... It’s so wonderful to be able to make soap and use ingredients that you learn are capable in helping with dermal issues... (skin, our biggest organ) and be a part of a soap forum family and have many minds instead of just our one, lol... funny side note: we are a lot like cars, one issue can trickle to a domino effect if we just over look the signs (the oil light)... well, anyway my text wind can be a bit much so... thx for a good read and all the informers you pulled with their shared experiences and great suggestion...

 

[Becky1024]

My skin really likes Bastille soap. I make it with olive oil, shea butter, castor oil and coconut oil with 8% superfat. It's made a huge improvement with my eczema.

Some folks swear by pine tar soap too. I haven't tried it but hear it works well to clear up eczema.

I would stay away from any fragrances which might irritate her skin.

After her bath you may want to use a salve, lotion bar or body butter to help seal her skin and heal it. Add a calendula and plantain infusion into it for healing.

 

[Kiti Williams]

Hi there! We got into soap making because my Dear Daughter had terrible eczema. Turns out she has a sever allergy to Sulfates, which are in all commercial soap/shampoos. I found that a simple oatmeal soap is best for her when she has break outs.

 

[Keaton]

I hope the other users soap recipe suggestions help out. Ive read some research that ceramide lotions will help as well. Not all are created equal, but I saw the majority of articles recommend CeraVe and Aveeno ceramide lotions. Something to do with the ceramides in the skin layer of people with psoriasis having different ratios of ceramide to cholesterol/fatty acids than the skin of a normal-skin person, and that the ceramide lotion helps to balance the ratios.