"Nature is the HEALER of Disease... Medicine is the DISEASE."
FACT: In China, you don't pay the doctor anything until you are healed.
I’ve suffered with Eczema since the day I was born. Although it was much worse when I was growing up, it has always been there in my system even when my skin showed no signs of having any eczema. As I got older, the symptoms lessened. However, being that my skin had a rough history, I'm super susceptible to flare ups. Growing up, my mom applied Petrolium Jelly to the areas where I had broken the skin from scratching and it worked so incredibly well in healing those wounds that I still use it to this day when I have a minor cut or minor broken skin. But when it comes to treating my Eczema flareups, I found myself needing something else. I have tried everything in the Eczema “handbook” and beyond and just recently I discovered some incredible facts about what is going on when my skin starts to flip out that allowed me to find the perfect cure and it has worked for me commendibly. Your skin becomes raw and red, it goes in waves of endless flaking and feeling tight almost leather-like. If you have Eczema, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It consumes your every thought and often times causes me to fall into a hermit-like depression of self-concious embarassment.
I wanted to know just what was going on when my Eczema would show up out of nowhere, uninvited, as usual. I thought if I could learn or discover what my skin is doing, then I could cure it!
Here's what I found, it works for me, and I hope it will help you in your life and cure you of your Eczema too :) (Quick side note: This is in NO way an attempt to sell a product or a book of cure secrets. NOTHING OF THE KIND! I am not selling anything. I am simply sharing my experience in hopes to help other people struggling with the evil Eczema that I thought was incurable. Everything I am telling you is what I have done myself and that's it. Pure, unadulteratedly, my story. Take from it what you want. Come to your own conclusion and do your own research. Thanks!!)
First things first:
Before I get into this, here is some IMMEDIATE action to take:
1.) If you are putting any natural oils or butters on your face, coconut oil, jojoba oil, neem oil, tee tree oil, almond oil, lavender, oil of oregano, olive leaf oil, etc. (you’ll notice I mentioned many anti-fungals, and the list goes on)… STOP immediately!!
2.) If you are using a soap of any kind, natural or otherwise, STOP immediately!!
3.) If you are using steroid creams, cordizones, or various prescriptions with side effects too numerous to mention…for the love of life... STOP immediately!!
Why? You may be asking...
HERE'S WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR SKIN!!!
The first thing we need to address is the specifics of what's really happening to your skin during a flare-up. It's called Seborrheic dermatitis; Seborrheic dermatitis itself (and this applies to psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea as well), what and why it is happening, and what I mean by “cures” (plural) will help in fully understanding your skin and from that figure out what needs to be done specifically for YOU. Without getting too in depth, Seborrheic Dermatitis or dermatitis in general, is causing your skin to flare up because of YEAST; more specifically Mallassezia yeast. This yeast grows on everyone’s skin and feeds off of the sebum (oil) that your body/skin produces. With dermatitis, you are producing more oil than normal in the areas of your flare ups, while also overproducing skin cells. The Mallassezia yeast feeds on this oil (and lipids…in soap!) and grow themselves. This causes skin irritation and flaky skin, due to the rapid oil and skin cell production. The rapid skin cell production, rapid oil, and yeast production, go hand in hand with flare ups. That said, any oil you put on your face is providing a feeding ground for yeast to thrive. Various natural oils, or creams that contain natural oils, may provide you some burning relief temporarily…but you are taking one step forward and two-three steps back! There are many oils that have anti-fungal properties that can help kill or diminish the yeast. HOWEVER, you are still providing food for them to grow! Moreover, you are providing A LOT of that food. It’s more food and growth than you are killing. Most dermatitis is also usually secluded to particular areas of your body or face and scalp. Those are the areas that are overproducing oil, while the other areas are not. So when you start adding additional oil to those areas, AND to the areas that are not overproducing, you are actually encouraging the yeast to spread to areas it normally wouldn’t. Think about it, now there is food there too! Just know that anti-fungal oils may hurt the yeast a little bit in theory, but the amount you are feeding the yeast is WAY more! Go ahead and try putting coconut oil on a flare up for a long period of time. While coconut oil can do wonders for people's skin that do not suffer from dermatitis… it can only damage and worsen skin for those of us that do and your flare ups will only get worse over time. Soaps are also no good! Soaps tend to clog your pores no matter how natural, and more importantly, almost all are made of lipids which yeast also feeds on. So in a way you are almost trapping the yeast with an additional food source along with the over production of oil you are producing in that area.
So stay away from soaps and oils! What you need is something that has no oils, no soap or lipids, no chemicals, fragrances, irritants, etc., that cleans your pours/skin and kills the yeast. Forget about coal/pine tar soaps or shampoos, pyrithione zinc, selenium sulfide, ketoconazole, or any of those medicated soaps/shampoos. Yes, they have good anti-fungal properties that can be effective, but they also have other properties and chemicals that will not work for many people and can be causing or adding to the problem, feeding the yeast making your symptoms worse.
So stay away from soaps and oils! What you need is something that has no oils, no soap or lipids, no chemicals, fragrances, irritants, etc., that cleans your pours/skin and kills the yeast. Forget about coal/pine tar soaps or shampoos, pyrithione zinc, selenium sulfide, ketoconazole, or any of those medicated soaps/shampoos. Yes, they have good anti-fungal properties that can be effective, but they also have other properties and chemicals that will not work for many people and can be causing or adding to the problem, feeding the yeast making your symptoms worse.
So what do I use then?
The answer is Sea Salt - unrefined, no frangrances, PURE, natural, unadulterated, Sea Salt with trace minerals.
The best that I have found, hands down, is Dead Sea Salt. The more trace minerals that are in the salt, the better. The best way to know if the Sea Salt you are buying is actually PURE sea salt, is by looking at the "INGREDIENTS" on the label. If it says "Sea Salt" and that's it, thent you got the right stuff. If the ingredients say sea salt and ANYTHING ELSE, then you don't have PURE natural sea salt. DO Not get regular Table Salt. Table Salt has been stripped of almost every trace mineral and put through a chemical preservative filter leaving you with synthetic lab-created garbage that will ruin your skin (not to mention your stomache)You want to avoid any labels with the words "GOURMET" or "PREMIUM" or "WHITE" as these are indicators that the "Sea" salt has been processed or filtered in some way. When you see Sea Salt at the grocery store or wherever you go to buy it, as strange as this sounds, look at the "Ingredients." You would assume that if the main label says something like "Natural Sea Salt" that it would obviously have ingredients of Sea Salt, period. But don't be so sure! Check the ingredients. Often, I have found Sea Salt with more than just Salt as the ingredients. So keep your eye out for that and always look at the ingredients, no matter what you are buying ;) Just go to any natural foods store (it doesn't have to be a natural foods store per say, sea salt can be found at Wal-Mart or Target as well) and pick up a pure sea salt that has lots of trace minerals or if you are lucky enough to live near the Dead Sea or Ocean, just jump in and soak your body in the Natural Sea. :) But for those of us not living in the middle east or near the beach, this will work just as beautifully. You can also order some from Amazon which has a mider range of choices for you to choose from and find just the right one for your skin. But essentially, Sea Salt in general will do the trick. The pure Dead Sea Salt just takes it to a whole nother level. Just research it if you want to know more about the incredible multi-purposes and healing properties of Sea Salt. (Here's a great paper that will get you started) (Click here to hear how sea salt worked for other people) The Dead Sea has the lowest elevation in the world and has properties found nowhere else on earth. You've heard it said, "You are the Salt of the Earth" which can be interpreted in several ways to mean different things. But In my case with Eczema, "You NEED the Salt of the Earth!" :)
The best that I have found, hands down, is Dead Sea Salt. The more trace minerals that are in the salt, the better. The best way to know if the Sea Salt you are buying is actually PURE sea salt, is by looking at the "INGREDIENTS" on the label. If it says "Sea Salt" and that's it, thent you got the right stuff. If the ingredients say sea salt and ANYTHING ELSE, then you don't have PURE natural sea salt. DO Not get regular Table Salt. Table Salt has been stripped of almost every trace mineral and put through a chemical preservative filter leaving you with synthetic lab-created garbage that will ruin your skin (not to mention your stomache)You want to avoid any labels with the words "GOURMET" or "PREMIUM" or "WHITE" as these are indicators that the "Sea" salt has been processed or filtered in some way. When you see Sea Salt at the grocery store or wherever you go to buy it, as strange as this sounds, look at the "Ingredients." You would assume that if the main label says something like "Natural Sea Salt" that it would obviously have ingredients of Sea Salt, period. But don't be so sure! Check the ingredients. Often, I have found Sea Salt with more than just Salt as the ingredients. So keep your eye out for that and always look at the ingredients, no matter what you are buying ;) Just go to any natural foods store (it doesn't have to be a natural foods store per say, sea salt can be found at Wal-Mart or Target as well) and pick up a pure sea salt that has lots of trace minerals or if you are lucky enough to live near the Dead Sea or Ocean, just jump in and soak your body in the Natural Sea. :) But for those of us not living in the middle east or near the beach, this will work just as beautifully. You can also order some from Amazon which has a mider range of choices for you to choose from and find just the right one for your skin. But essentially, Sea Salt in general will do the trick. The pure Dead Sea Salt just takes it to a whole nother level. Just research it if you want to know more about the incredible multi-purposes and healing properties of Sea Salt. (Here's a great paper that will get you started) (Click here to hear how sea salt worked for other people) The Dead Sea has the lowest elevation in the world and has properties found nowhere else on earth. You've heard it said, "You are the Salt of the Earth" which can be interpreted in several ways to mean different things. But In my case with Eczema, "You NEED the Salt of the Earth!" :)
So here’s what you do:
1.) First, make sure your bathtub is clean before you start. Fill the tub with WARM WATER (make sure it's not too hot as it will irritate your skin)
!!!! DO NOT ADD THE SEA SALT IN TO YOUR TUB YET !!! Well, you can if you want to, but it works better if you wait. :)
2.) When your bathtub is filled with warm water, carefully get into the bathtub. Relax with your entire body emmersed for about 30 seconds. (This will open up your pores so they are open and ready for the Sea Salt to seep in.)
3.) Next, begin adding a generous amount of Sea Salt to your bath. Mixing it in, stirring it around until the salt dissolves. The more sea salt the better. (I am not including a specific amount of Sea Salt that you should put into your bath, because I think it is important for everyone individually to determine that amount. Keep in mind, although Sea Salt is a natural substance from the earth, like everything in life, it's always good to keep things balanced and never to do too much (or too little) but moderately and according to your own body's needs)
4.) Stay in the bath, entire body emmersed in the salt water for a few minutes. If you can soak your face in it periodically, do that too. Or splash the water onto your face. You really want it to soak in and clean good. Be sure to relax. Stressing out during the bath wont help. Turn on some of your favorite music or find a video on youtube for relaxation and play it on your phone while you soak up the salty goodness.If you have a really bad flare up or get it in your eyes, it will sting, but only for a moment. The sting is natural and expected. The sting is fine for your eyes too (unlike stings from chemicals which are harmful and cause damage if not treated) and hurts only initially the same as if you opened your eyes under water in the ocean.
5.) When you are nearing done soaking, unplug the stopper so the water starts to drain out of the tub. When you feel it safe enough to stand up, turn on the shower head and rinse your body with COLDish WATER. Doing this, with cold water, will seal in the sea salt into your skin creating a light barrier of protection so that the sea salt can freely begin the healing process. Rinse for about 30 seconds then turn off the water.
6.) Seeing as how your skin is desperate for moisture, I suggest NOT using a towel to dry off your skin right away. Wait about 30 seconds and let the moisture drip off naturally. Then lightly dab your skin dry. DO NOT RUB YOUR SKIN TO DRY OFF. This will scrape off the protective layer you created with the cold water and it will irritate your skin causing itchyness. Lightly pat your skin. I would suggest using a microfiber towel, again, not rubbing your skin, but gently pat it dry. This towel is gentle on your skin and gets the job done without irritating it.
7.) If your skin does not feel tight or overly dry after, then leave it alone and don’t put anything else on it, that means NO LOTION, NO CREAM, NO NADA. That is ideal. But if you feel the need to put a moisturizer on, as I did the first time, I would recommend only one solution: apply a very small amount of Aveeno Eczema Therapy lotion. It’s oatmeal based, but non-greasy, fragrance-free, and tends not to sting flare ups like nearly every other "eczema" treatment lotion. If you have extremely sensitive and thin skin, try Aveeno BABY Eczema Therapy. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Aveeno products, but this one is in a whole different class of its own. Do not dump tons all over your skin. Gently rub in a small amount, see how your skin feels after a few minutes, and if it still feels too tight or uncomfortable, then rub in just a little more as needed. Do that until you are comfortable. I suggest lightly patting your face also with a Microfiber Towel (thanks Mama!) after moisturizing to remove any excess. When your skin is completely healed soon, you won’t even need the moisturizer after taking a shower.
I know. Crazy right?! Not really! Just try it! The worst that can happen is get a nice bath and you're body is clean. But I'm confident that if you have tried everything else under the sun to try and cure your Eczema, like I did and still have those painful flare-ups, if you try Sea Salt, you wont regret it and wish you had discovered it's natural abilities sooner!
NOTE: These products above are the lotions that I use personally, after years of trying everything, these are the products that I live and swear by. Doesn't mean they will work for everyone, but I sure think if you have Eczema and you haven't tried these out yet, you are sure to find them helpful. If they don't work for you, well then you can cross them off your list of products you've tried but don't work, and move on with the experience of at least you tried them.
I know. Crazy right?! Not really! Just try it! The worst that can happen is get a nice bath and you're body is clean. But I'm confident that if you have tried everything else under the sun to try and cure your Eczema, like I did and still have those painful flare-ups, if you try Sea Salt, you wont regret it and wish you had discovered it's natural abilities sooner!
******* For flare-ups on the face and neck: ********
So here’s what you do:
1.) Take a small bowl and fill it with warm water, mixing in a generous amount of the sea salt, stirring til it dissolves.
2.) Put the bowl aside and splash your face with regular warm water first, for 10-30 seconds to open up your pores. You can do this with a warm wash cloth if you wish, lightly dabbing. The goal is just to open your pores and make sure they are open when you wash with the sea salt water.
3.) Now wash your face with the sea salt water. If you have a flare up or get in in your eyes, it will sting, but only for a moment. The sting is natural and expected. The sting is fine for your eyes too (unlike stings from chemicals which are harmful and cause damage if not treated) and hurts only initially the same as if you opened your eyes under water in the ocean. So continue to wash your face with the salt water for a few minutes. If you can soak your face in it, even better, as you really want it to soak in and clean good.
4.) Now rinse your face with cold water. Seeing as how your skiin is desperate for moisture, I suggest NOT drying your face at all. Not even to pat dry the moisture off your skin. Be patient and let the moisture sink into your skin. If you really need to dry off or don’t have time to just stand there and wait for the moisture to set in, then I would suggest using a microfiber towel. This is gentle on your skin and gets the job done without irritating it.
5.) If your skin does not feel tight or overly dry after, then leave it alone and don’t put anything else on it. That is ideal. But if you feel the need to put a moisturizer on, I would recommend only one solution: apply a very small amount of Aveeno Eczema Therapy lotion. It’s oatmeal based, but non-greasy, fragrance-free, and tends not to sting flare ups like nearly every other "eczema" treatment lotion. If you have extremely sensitive and thin skin, try Aveeno BABY Eczema Therapy. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Aveeno products, but this one is in a whole different class of its own. Do not dump tons all over your skin. Gently rub in a small amount, see how your skin feels after a few minutes, and if it still feels too tight or uncomfortable, then rub in just a little more as needed. Do that until you are comfortable. I suggest lightly patting your face with a Microfiber Towel (thanks Mama!) after moisturizing to remove any excess. When your skin is completely healed soon, you won’t even need the moisturizer after taking a shower.
If you do this routine morning and night, for just a few days to a week, your skin will have dramatic results almost immediately. You will be shocked! I was, too!
Also when you are not having a Salt Bath, throughout your day, for example, it's important that you try and keep your skin as CLEAN and DRY as possible. Dry? YES. As strange as that sounds, keeping your skin as DRY as possible means any yeast that may be on your skin has nothing to feed on, and therefore your dry skin is not an environment attractive to yeast keeping it at bay. Some moisturizing is okay and in most cases needed in the beginning and every now and again, but keep it to a minimum and you’ll be okay.
A friend of mine had a very bad flare up for weeks with the severe sunburn look all over her face because she was spreading it with natural oils. I gave her these exact steps that I did for myself, and she told me that within an hour she saw a 75% improvement with her skin and was almost 100% clear the next day. She actually didn’t have the Aveeno until the next morning so she used a very light layer of Neosporin all over her face, then splashed cold water on and patted dry. Anyways, I don’t know about the Neosporin, but whatever works for you is always best. Everybody is different. Everybody's skin reacts differently in some way, so it's always important to listen to your body (in this case, your skin) and be patient when learning what your skin needs. Your skin will tell you what's up if you are willing to figure it out.
CURE #2 – From inside out
As I mentioned earlier, the skin is the body’s first line of defense signaling that something is wrong. And let me tell you, something IS wrong. As I said earliler, everyone is different and their body’s react differently to things. Take a shell-fish allergy for example. Some people may break out in hives, some may get lock-jaw, some may have their throat close, others keel over. In this case shell-fish is the cause, and the reactions can obviously differ. But various body reactions don’t just happen with allergies, they can happen with a myriad of issues. For example, when there’s too much bad flora in your gut and your liver has too many toxins. This is quite difficult to get rid of and takes a very strict diet/detoxing over time to heal. This is not an allergy, but something that the body will react to. In my, or your case, our body reacts with dermatitis! Wonderful, huh? Hey, it’s better than our throats closing! Anyways, my point is that everyone is different and everyone has a different cause. That's key. The causes are mainly going to be allergies, or something health related. Once you have that pinpointed, and put your skin through YOUR version of the steps and cures that I layed out for you here, Seborrheic Dermatitis is GONE! Just remember, the dermatitis you have is a reaction. It’s not just “hey sorry, this is how your body works get used to it” like doctors may have you believe. It doesn’t just happen, just like your throat wouldn’t close under healthy/normal conditions. It’s a reaction…so find your cause. That said, your cause could be an allergy to food, environment, detergent, SLS in shampoos, any chemical out there, or you name it. If it’s health related, it could be bad flora (candida overgrowth) in the gut needing probiotics and diet detox, or it could be a vitamin deficiency where your body is not functioning properly for example. So it’s not JUST a food allergy, or JUST a health problem. It’s different for everyone. The next time you see someone ranting or even selling their “it’s 100% a food allergy” theory, know that they might be helping some people whose cause is actually a food allergy, and seriously misguiding many others at the same time. PS – I hate to say this but it could be more than one issue - like bad gut, and multiple allergies, etc.. However, remember that the body may react differently to different allergies as well. In the meantime, you can try to cut out some obvious bad habits you might currently have. If your eating a lot of crap food, smoking, drinking lots of coffee, alcohol, eating high amounts of sugars, etc.,well, it shouldn't take a doctor to tell you that those kinds of intake are not helping your overall health. These are common knowledge even if most people ignore them. Like I do :/
So, let's continue. In most cases you will see a DRASTIC change overnight that will make you say “holy crap” when you look in the mirror. The second cure is the cure for what is causing your Dermatitis. I consider “cured” to be when you have absolutely no symptoms and you no longer have a skin problem. You have probably heard many people say “it’s a food allergy!”, or “it’s your diet and toxins”, or “it’s your detergent”, or “it’s SLS in your shampoo and toothpaste” and confidently proclaim their cure. In some regard, they are correct, but they are also very misguided and incomplete from what I have seen. So this info is to help you to understand everything better avoid all of the wild goose chases this skin issue (and people) can send you on.
Depending on how bad your flare up is, this information will get rid of your flare up completely from within HOURS and gone without a trace up to 1-5 days. It's really that simple. That’s right, not weeks like other lab-created synthetic treatments. AND NO i'M NOT GOING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING or try to sell you some miracle product. I have nothing to sell, only an experience and important information to SHARE in hopes that others suffering from eczema will use and end the suffering for good and live happier and comfortable in their skin :)
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Two more suggestions:
#1 if your skin starts to feel itchy... Nothing works better for me when I start to feel itchy, than the Cortizone 10 Hydratensive Anti-Itch Lotion HEALING. There is another Cortizone10 Hydratensive Anti-Itch Lotion for ECZEMA, but I also tried this, it was actually the first one of the two that I tried, but for some reason, it did not work. Oddly enough. You'd assume that the one made for ECZEMA would be the right one, but for me, it still left me itchy. So the one with the GREEN label that says "HEALING" is the one I am referring to and recommend. I swear by it and it works beautifully for stopping the itchy feeling and it also leaves my skin feeling super soft.
#2: If you have an open sore, minor cut or broken skin (even if it has nothing to do with your Eczema): Aquaphor BABY Healing Ointment. This speeds up healing of the skin and prevents crusty scabbing. It's the best and I personally use it all the time, and highly, genuinely recommend it.
Thanks for reading! Remember, and this goes for EVERYTHING you read, USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT and never just take someone's word for it. Do your own research and look at things from as many different perspectives as you can. Filter what you read. Take the good and leave the bad. It's always better to form your own opinion, based on your own research and come to your own conclusion on your own. Every person is different. No two people can ever have the same point of view, let alone have the same exact cure for any one issue. They can have slight variations of one way to cure it, but never identically to a T. So take from my experience what fits and sits well with you, try it out and adjust it according to you personally. Don't trust me, don't trust anyone telling you to believe them, either. That's never a smart idea. YOU are much more capable of making your own decisions on what your body needs than any doctor, any expert, any professional, could ever prescribe in telling you. You just gotta look into it, Whatever it may be. And don't just look at Wikipedia, or WebMD, those have a track record of being bias in one way or another. Read articles saying "No, it is bad for you" as well as articles that say "Yes, it is the best for you" and research natural home remedies, and by your own gathering of facts and opinions, YOU DECIDE WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU!
If you have any questions, send me an email at
I will do my best to help you find the answer if I can't give you any myself :)
love,
missa
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