Eczema Review

The ingredients list on this is absolutely terrifying.  It's not posted on their website, or printed on the bottle.  It comes on a slip of paper in the bottom of the packaging, and reads like a "what not to use" list for eczema sufferers.

That being said, I've used it for four weeks with no sign of irritation.  Go figure, huh?

The ingredients in this Four Elements lip balm are amazing; most of them are food.  This is what I look for in a lip balm, because what is that oft-quoted, never-sourced saying, "you eat seven pounds of lip balm/lipstick in your life"?

Despite the tasty ingredients list, this lip balm will slowly flare up the eczema on and around my lips.

This was highly recommended to me, and I am fairly impressed with it as a foundation.  As an eczema sufferer, though, I am much more impressed at its non-exacerbating qualities.

Verdict: Non-Irritating

Mary Kate and Ashley's Creme Bronzer unfortunately leaves my skin a little more inflamed and itchy, rather than sparkling and sun-kissed.

Eczema on or around the lips is a horrible experience, one that's made me wary of trying new brands.  I've had good luck with the homemade Silk Naturals brand of makeup.  This lipstick is no exception.

This primer from Neutrogena is advertized as slightly tinted to even out the face.  I have used it for several weeks now, with no skin reactions or excess itching.  Wear it less for its priming abilities and more for its SPF 15.

As many of you know, finding a mascara that doesn't irritate those of us with eye eczema is difficult.  This "sensitive eye" mascara from Herbanlux is just that; a non-irritating mascara.  As an added bonus, I personally think it is simply a better mascara than many of the big brand names I've tried.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Nature's Gate puts out some fine lotions.  This has become my standby when I don't feel I need to pack a heavily-medicated punch.

When I feel I can't slather an obscenely expensive medicated ointment all over my body, I use a "normal" lotion instead.  Nature's Gate lotions have so far been good to me; except the Tea Tree Calming Lotion.  It doesn't aggravate or cause a flare up, but when it comes into contact with an already angry patch, it burns.

The bottle says "suitable for sensitive skin", but dyshidrotic eczema is probably a little more sensitive than it's suitable for.  Most of the time my hands are fine and eczema free- it takes contact with an aggravating substance to make them blossom with blisters.  This is one of them.

Covergirl's LashBlast Mascara is extremely irritating.  For those with eczema around the eyes, finding a non irritating mascara is near impossible, but of the mascara I've tried, this one is particularly bad.  It flakes off throughout the day, leaving a sprinkling of black gunk  around my eyes and aggravates the already maddening itch.

Foundations tend to be bad for people with facial eczema.  If not outright exacerbating, they're at least a little itchy.  For the past few years I've used Silk Naturals Original Coverage and been pretty happy with it.  It doesn't irritate, and covers my eczema and seborrheic dermatitis moderately well, provided I keep everything well moisturized.

Nobody knows what it is, I mean really.  Oh, they think it might be connected to allergies or possibly an inability to metabolize linoleic acid; maybe it's linked to severe diseases or tiny bug poops.  But when it comes down to it, the experts are just guessing.

So what do the itchy among us do while the cure is pending?  Don't put anything on our skin ever?  Drop cash on a product that we might use once and throw away?

This isn't for eczema treatment products; there are plenty of reviews for those out there.  This is for the rest of it.  Makeup, shampoo, lotion, deodorant, soap; anything we smear on our skin. 

So if something made you flare up,- or didn't,- let me know.