When Baby N was a couple of months old I noticed a tiny dry patch of skin on his chest. I duly moisturised his skin daily but the patch just got bigger, and redder, until he had big red angry blotches all over his back and chest. The doctor said it was baby eczema and prescribed Oilatum which seemed to stop it getting any worse but didn’t help his skin get better. I remembered that my fiancé had used Gentle Green Soothing Cream in the past and since it’s made from completely natural ingredients I thought it would be worth trying on Baby N to see if it would help him.
The ingredients list makes it sound like you could eat it: shea fruit butter, avocado butter, coconut butter, sunflower oil, rosehip seed oil, hemp seed oil, sea buckthorn fruit, marshmallow, calendula, chickweed, St John’s wort, nettle leaf, Roman chamomile, manuka and lavender. That’s it. No synthetics or nasties to be found here!
In the jar it’s a fairly solid balm which softens to an almost liquid consistency when rubbed between your fingers. It smells very much like chamomile tea! You don’t need to use too much but be warned, a few of Baby N’s vests have been stained slightly yellow. I think this must be from the sea buckthorn. I decided that I would gladly put up with stained vests if it meant his skin would get better.
I ended up with a routine of applying Oilatum after Baby N’s morning bath, then applying Oilatum and Gentle Green Soothing Cream alternately at each nappy change, then smothering Gentle Green Soothing Cream at night time. It took a good couple of weeks of doing this but his back and chest are now completely clear. He still has a small patch inside each elbow and a small patch on his shoulder which I’m having to use a steroid cream on but otherwise I’m delighted with the improvement.
Gentle Green Soothing Cream isn’t cheap, it costs £30, but it does work and my little boy is no longer scratching himself to sleep or waking up crying because he’s itchy! You can buy it here.
Have you ever suffered with eczema? How do you manage it?
