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I'm pretty certain that it's eczema which is causing my face to be itchy and sad, and I'd really like my face to not be itchy and sad. So I'm wondering if anyone can point me toward vegan, fragrance-free treatments for eczema. I really don't want to resort to supporting cruelty to animals to treat this...I just don't feel like my itchy face is a good enough reason to support that. There has to be something out there that works, right?

(Note: I'm not judging anyone else's choice to use nonvegan products for this sort of thing -- I just personally don't feel okay doing it myself.)

I find ex foliating gently with a muslin cloth and lots of moisturising keeps it bay most of the time, I use the Liz Earle moisturisers, not sure if you can get them over there tho. A gp told me that moisturising is your first line of defence (in the absence of cracks, bleeding and infection).

Doh, sorry, my brain read psoriasis instead of eczema!

I have read that evening primrose oil capsules are prescribed in some countries as an eczema treatment, you can easily find vegicaps of it. I used to take it for hormonal/menstrual cycle stuff and it did make my skin really soft and glowy, though I don't have eczema.

Are you supposed to eat it, or open it and rub it on your skin?

My baby has eczema and we have found that certain foods make it worse. Have you tried eliminating certain foods from your diet to see if that helps? Also, we used a couple drops of vegetable glycerin that we bought at Whole Foods and that seems to help the skin but you have to be consistent in applying it.

Some say eat it, some say apply topically. Borage oil also is high in GLA and is often recommended for eczema too.

It may or may not do anything though.

It could work!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19442393
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17892041
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10617999

It could do nothing!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14670885
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10233322 (but it might help some people?)
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRel ... H/epo.html
http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/411/


Apparently a b-12 cream might work?
http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/409/

i agree with zoey, foods can trigger it. my daughter has mild eczema on her face which is worsened by soy and not sure what else... possibly traces of dairy since we're not always so good about that here. the heat this summer definitely made it worse too. i have eczema on my hands, nearly always triggered by excess exposure to cleaning supplies and made worse by winter cold. i use cortisone cream to start the healing process and then use natural plant oils to moisturize. coconut oil, shea butter, and an awesome diaper rash cream consisting mostly of olive oil and calendula oils seem to work pretty well for both of us.

yeah, I was referring to taking it internally, but people do use it externally as well. Thanks for all the info vegimator!

It's not designed for your face but at Lush we get great feedback from customers about our Dream Cream and Dream Wash products for eczema. Hope you can control it.

I found a product at the local food store which is called Derma E Psorzema. It's cruelty-free and fragrance-free. It's on my face right now. Wish me luck.

Please keep us updated! I am always on the search to help out my baby's skin.

I dunno, y'all. I'm still itching really badly. It calmed my skin down for a few hours, but then I woke up in the middle of the night itching so much I'm about to rip my forking face off. :(

It probably doesn't help that I cannot will myself to stop scratching it.

I don't have it on my face, but I've had luck with tea tree oil (applied topically) followed by some Aquaphor. I do it before going to bed because it can be smelly and annoying to deal with during the day.

Oh, and before I apply the tea tree oil, I'll first run really really hot water (as hot as I can stand) over the affected area until it stops itching. At first it will make your knees weak with relief - it's soo satisfying, feels like you're going at it with sandpaper but without the bleeding/torn skin from physically scratching - and after a little while the itchiness goes away. Then I'll run very cold water over the area (skin will be very red from the heat) for a few seconds. And then apply the tea tree oil, etc.

Hope it clears up soon. I've never managed to completely get rid of mine, and it's a constant battle. I'm thinking of trying Omega-3/6/EFA supplementation next.

i've heard that good quality aloe vera gel taken internally/ used externally has been helpful for some - BUT, i have nothing to back this up. just maybe something to look into!
unless the other cream magically started working. aw, good luck.

I used to get a steroid cream from a doctor and I also used coal tar (OTC) for it. The coal tar smells but it works, I let it sit for a few hours while PPking or reading.

As for foods, sugar is usually a trigger for me for an inflammation. I hear night shade veggies effect some people.

As a child I had it on my hands and feet quite bad. It went away for many years and it came back in 2006 though it is more mild.

Good luck!

I use california baby calendula cream for the eczema on my arms. I was using another brand of calendula cream, but I saw that at Wholefoods and decided to try it. It works well enough but I also have to watch my diet too as my food sensitivities are what seem to trigger it in the first place.

Oatmeal will help take away the itch. You can buy a moisturizer, or grind some up and make a paste to dab on your face. It worked for me for a super dry and itchy patch of skin I had on my elbow.

I have eczema on my upper arms, chest and a patch on my face, but it doesn't usually get itchy. They are just bumpy, dry patches that visually bother me. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything natural that smooths it out.

Food definitely was a factor for my eczema until I was in my teens, especially citrus. But since then soaps (including dishwashing), shampoos and lotions are the triggers.

Any topical treatment you try may take a few days to start being effective, and I think internal ones will take even longer. When I used to use cortisone cream (prescription strength), it would be 3-4 days before I would stop itching and it would start to clear up.

I'm so sorry you're having to suffer through this - let us know if anything seems to work!

Are you sure it's not an allergic reaction? Unfortunately the only thing I've found to help eczema breakouts is hydrocortisone cream.

i get mild eczema on my hands as a reaction to products with alcohol in them (hair gel or styling products, evil evil hand sanitizer)

ive always used hydrocortisone.

i had some really bad on my face after jaw surgery 2 years ago because i spent about a week with the medical equivalent of duct tape on my face and they gave me hydrocortisone cream.

my dad has something Rx strength as he gets it really bad on his hands and arms because he works in a machine shop with stuff he's allergic too.

i dont know if hydrocortisone cream is vegan or cruelty free but if none of the other treatments work you may need something Rx strength.

good luck!

This thread was bumped by a spammer, guys.

soooo they dont want advice 2.5 years after they originally posted??? ;-)

hehehe