Frost previously featured eczema-sufferer Camille Knowles and her products, which are kind to any skin but specifically formulated to help eczema. Let me remind you of her Vlog and books – very useful and give hope if you’re losing the battle with this painful and distressing affliction.
Last time we featured Calming Cream and Pamper Me Bathing Oil which contain numerous plant oils and, amongst other things, small amounts of crystals – reflecting Camille’s spiritual, holistic approach.
But I’m itching to tell you about two other fabulous products – Skin Warrior Wash and Salty Soother – sadly, itching being an appropriate word when talking about eczema.
Skin Warrior Wash contains Sweet Almond Oil and Oat Kernel Oils – important to hydrate your skin, plus a fermented sugar ingredient which protects and soothes – and if your eczema makes showering a painful experience, a number of reviews comment that this product really helps.
Salty Smoother is a bath salts with pink Himalayan, Dead Sea & Epsom salts, but also Omega 3 & 6, Oat lipids and other plant oils.
It’s worth mentioning that a cornerstone of treating eczema is hydration, as the dryness can damage your skin, weakening its key role as a protective barrier. High quality plant oils, and plenty of them can really help, and The Beauty of Eczema products all contain oils – even the bath salts, which is perhaps unusual. ‘Balanced’ Omega 3 and 6 are used in some of the products in the range. Omega 6 and 3 refer to fatty acids (components of oils), usually found in our diet. Western diets tend to have far too much Omega 6 compared to Omega 3, which can lead to inflammation, and it’s good to balance them by increasing Omega 3 and reduce Omega 6, for example by eating more oily fish and less animal fats. It’s interesting that Camille has balanced these two fatty acids in her products, and to be honest I’m not aware of research on the benefit of balancing the two for direct skin application, but skin certainly absorbs oily products and local benefit is theoretically possible.
She also uses prebiotics in some of her range. Prebiotics are substances which encourage ‘good’ bacteria, which can help fight the ‘bad’ bacteria which contribute to infection and inflammation – again I’m not aware of any studies on this but they may help and worth a try.
However they work, Camille appears to have gained control of her eczema by a mixture of life-style, diet and skin products so why not take a look? They’re really lovely to use, I promise you. All products are available from her website.
By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q
Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.