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This £5 moisturiser ended my lifelong battle with eczema
Gamechangers: After years of receiving unsolicited product recommendations that never worked, this cheap no-frills lotion finally solved my skincare woes
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Your support makes all the difference.Some of my earliest memories are of being slathered with thick emollient cream, a pink little baby slug, hands in mittens so as not to scratch. At school I’d be the only girl wearing trousers in the peak of summer to avoid showing the raw red patches on my legs, and later as a teenager, having to convince my boyfriend’s mum that the rash on my neck wasn’t contagious certainly wins a spot in the top five most embarrassing moments of my life.
The symptoms of eczema; flaky, inflamed, and irritated dry skin, often decrease with age, but can also develop seemingly out of nowhere in adulthood. There are many types of eczema, but atopic eczema is the most common and affects one in five children and one in 12 adults in the UK. While mine has indeed lessened somewhat as I’ve gotten older, patches of raw, dry skin on the flexor surfaces (inside of elbows, back of knees), eyelids and neck have persisted.
As with many skin conditions, flare-ups can be unpredictable but for me, they are often induced by stress and heat, and – as I’m sure you can imagine – if stress is making your skin drier and itchier, you become more stressed about it, and the cycle continues.
Due to their thickness and oiliness, many emollient creams traditionally prescribed for eczema take a long time to absorb, so can sit on the surface of the skin, a bit like an insulated blanket, warming up the poor person inside and even exacerbating the itchiness.
As anyone who has suffered from a skin condition knows, a decent percentage of that suffering comes from continuously being recommended to try this bath oil, that very expensive cream, cutting out dairy, or being asked “could it be your laundry powder?”, or “have you tried a dessert spoon of flaxseed oil a day? It worked wonders for my husband’s boss's sister!”
However, it was actually a co-worker, Sara, who suggested that I try Aveeno, (her own eczema formerly so severe that her wrists were frequently bandaged to prevent the broken and raw skin from getting infected), and it turned out to be the product that made all the difference.
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The gamechanger: Aveeno daily moisturising lotion: £5.08, Amazon –Buy now
For those who aren’t already familiar, American brand Aveeno is owned by Johnson & Johnson, and while founded in 1945, it was in the early Noughties that it started expanding its product range and gaining mainstream appeal. Jennifer Aniston became Aveeno’s brand ambassador in 2013, and says she’s used it herself since she was a teenager.
The Aveeno offering is broad, with an array of delights to choose from, ranging from a baby soothing bath treatment to eczema therapy itch relief balm to scalp soothing shampoo and conditioner. After trying out a variety of the brand's products, I have now been using two of them consistently for the last four years, and I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen how brilliant they are.
The active ingredient in all Aveeno products is colloidal oatmeal – also called avena sativa, but simply fine ground oats to you and I. They are targeted at anyone with dry or sensitive skin, but they’ve become known for being a gamechanger for those with skin conditions, as well as soothing hives, chickenpox and sunburn.
Keeping the skin on my face and body eczema-free requires constant maintenance, so while Aveeno lotion has – and not to exaggerate, changed my life – I must make it clear that it hasn’t cured my skin condition, rather, it works excellently as a treatment. If I have a flare-up, applying Aveeno lotion regularly will cause it to practically disappear in a couple of days, something nothing else I’ve tried has achieved, aside from harsh steroids which thin the skin.
A creamy and shiny formula, Aveeno's daily moisturising lotion becomes translucent when spread over the skin and absorbs quickly – leaving skin feeling slightly damp for around a minute, then supple and soft. Though it’s labelled unscented, to me it has a gentle almond-y smell. As I tend to get eczema on my eyelids, too, I use it on my face before applying make-up and find that it’s a light, non-greasy base that's absorbed more quickly than you’d expect from a body lotion as opposed to traditional face cream.
Aveeno’s 300ml bottle of daily moisturising lotion comes in a handy pump bottle, whereas the 500ml size has a cap top. Mindful of all the empty bottles being thrown away, I do try to buy the larger size, though annoyingly, you often get slightly more product for your money with the smaller size. A simple beige and green bottle, the packaging doesn’t feel cheap and tacky, and having been thrown into many an overnight bag it’s never leaked.
If Aveeno's moisturiser is my skin’s best friend, water is its worst enemy, which is where the brand’s daily moisturising body cleansing oil (£5.79, Amazon) comes in. A perfect compliment to the lotion, this soap free, creamy oil is perfect for use in the shower, cleansing the skin while also acting as a moisturising barrier to prevent natural oils being stripped away. Watch out though as it is quite runny, meaning you only need a little to cover a large surface area but will it run off your hand if you don’t cup it in your palm.
If you’re still struggling with thick and greasy creams or fretting over the long-term damage regular use of hydrocortisone or steroid creams can bring, there are other options out there. While the above two products worked miracles for me, you may find other products in the range that help your skin.
Still unconvinced? Check out the 7,255 five-star reviews on Amazon touting this miraculous potion, including one from someone who has had scaly facial skin for 30 years, but after using this lotion it has “almost gone”, to another who suffered from severe flare-ups on their shins and calves, but after using Aveeno lotion for three days, “the eczema rash has already healed”. Or simply take it from me; one former scaly lizard person turned moisturised goddess; give oat a go.
For more gamechangers, read how this £12 cleanser cleared up our writer's acne in just two weeks