Ingredients to avoid when looking for a moisturiser for Eczema

If you want to end the struggle with ECZEMA , this really needs to be worked on from the inside and is a longer term strategy. Whilst this is under way, you still need to manage the symptoms topically and consider what you are putting onto the skin.

Straight up, let me tell you that I understand the struggle to find the “perfect” or “magical” cream when dealing with eczema.

At one point my husband looked in our cupboard and joked that I could almost open up my own chemist with the different creams I had. You know what, NONE of them worked effectively. They would provide moisture or relief for about 20 min and then I was back to square one with red, itchy, scaly skin. Hence my search for the magical cream.

This is what prompted me to ask the question why? These creams come highly regarded and marketed specifically for eczema, and yet they did not live up to their promises. So, I started doing a little more digging, aka obsessed research. It was during this time that I started to find out that the ingredients in these so called “miracle creams” over the counter and quite reasonably priced could be the issue why my son’s skin was NEVER getting better or within in 20 minutes of applying, he was itching like mad again. Don’t even start me on the hideous smell.

I found that there was a lot of ingredients in these so called “miracle” creams that were actually irritants to any skin, let alone someone suffering with highly sensitive skin, they also contained known carcinogens.

Not only that, if you read the ingredients closely, you could barely pronounce one single ingredient. To me that screamed chemical sh&t storm. As someone who favours a more natural way of living, it was not okay to put copious amounts of this stuff my precious boy’s skin.

 So what are the ingredients to avoid?

The below list is not exhaustive, but a sample of the most common toxic ingredients found in commonly known skin moisturisers.

Sulfates

This is a chemical cleaning agent that is found in soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, laundry detergents and so much more. Sulfates ates can cause the skin to become dry itchy and irritated which seems crazy as that is exactly what you are trying to fix. Go figure! This chemical essentially strips the natural moisture and oils.

Parabens

These are very commonly added preservatives to cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. They are easily recognised by a list of names such as methylparaben, ethylparaben and many others with the ending of “paraben”.

This preservative is absorbed by the skin and remains in the tissue. Not only does it mimic the hormone estrogen, but it is also a known endocrine disrupter.

Phthalates

These are similar to parabens which are a chemical preservatives and tend to make the fragrance in cosmetics last longer. If suffering with eczema, you definitely want to avoid anything with a strong smell.

Fragrance, perfume or parfum

As mentioned above, this will be a synthetic chemical added to provide a ‘smell’ which would be highly irritating to anyone with sensitive skin.

Triclosan

This is an active ingredient that is found in just about any type of antibacterial product such as deodorants, cleansers and hand sanitisers. Studies have shown that this ingredient is absorbed by the skin and therefore interfering with the hormone function.

Siloxanes

These silicone based compounds are often found in cosmetics to soften, smooth and moisten the skin. Similar to Tricolsan, studies have shown this ingredient to be toxic for humans.

PEGS

These type of products are petroleum based and are widely used in cosmetics as thickeners, softeners and moisture carriers.

PEGS commonly go by the name of Oxynol, Ammonium laureth sulfate as well as all ingredients with the ending of “eth”

Petroleum

This is otherwise known as petroleum jelly and the European Union have actually classified it as a carcinogen and restricts its use in cosmetics and therefore best as avoided at all costs.  It is commonly used as a barrier to lock in moisture.

Examples of Ingredients in commonly used over the counter moisturisers specifically for Eczema:

More than half of the ingredients can’t even be pronounced and keep in mind they are absorbed by the skin, therefore you body is needing to process these ingredients.

Ingredients 1

• Behentrimonium, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carbomer, Ceramide EOP, CeramideAP, CeramideNP, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Dimethicone,, Dipotassium Phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycerin, Methosulfate, Petrolatum, Phenoxyethanol, Phytosphingosine, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Water, Xanthan Gum

Ingredients 2

• Acid Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceridestearic, Petrolatum, Sodium Hydroxypropyl, Water

Ingredients 3

• White Soft Paraffin 14.5% w/w, Light Liquid Paraffin 12.6% w/w and Anhydrous Lanolin (Medilan™) 1% w/w as active ingredients and also Empilan Glyceryl Monostearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Cetostearyl Sulphate, Carbomer, Methyl Hydroxybenzoate, Propyl Hydroxybenzoate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid Monohydrate, Purified Water

So what now you ask, what do I use instead:

Ingredients in your skincare should easily be easily recognised and should not only moisturise, but nourish and heal the skin.

I remember when I started this journey and searching for that magical “natural’ cream, the advice I was given and will pass onto you is “You need to be able to pronounce and recognise the ingredients and most should be edible so that the body can recongise them”

This article will explore alternative topical applications that will moisturise, nourish and heal the skin.

Also keep in mind that healing the skin is an inside job and you need to be very cognisant of what you are applying topically onto your skin.

 If you need help starting to heal your eczema from the inside using nutrition, then please send me a message to info@chantalkhoury.com.au and let’s get the ball rolling.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a very special interest in helping time poor mums create thriving families by using Food as Medicine and transformational wellness practices.

The Eczema Diet

If you have eczema, you might be wondering whether the food you eat plays a part in not only triggering a flare up, but also plays a part in healing. Do you need an eczema diet?

The answer would be a definitive YES to both. Food can definitely play a part in setting off a flare up and is a huge part of the healing process.

As eczema is a highly inflammatory skin condition, you want to remove the highest inflammation causing foods to reduce the body burden and allow the body and skin to repair.

Possible Food triggers for Eczema:

Removing these foods will not cure the eczema in you or your child, but it will alleviate the symptoms and reduce flare ups.

• Gluten

• Dairy

• Refined Sugar

• Nuts

• Soy

• Corn

• Eggs

• Shellfish

• Possibly Fish

The first step would be to remove GLUTEN, DAIRY & SUGAR as these are the HIGHEST inflammation causing foods and remove the other foods as secondary if symptoms still remain.

Sometimes, even after you have removed ALL of the above foods, symptoms still persist.

If that is happening for you, then the intolerance may lie deeper and may be caused by naturally occurring food chemicals, which include:

• Histamine or Amine

• Salicylates

• Fodmap

This is where food elimination diets can get really tricky and complicated – unless you are working with someone that can help you navigate nutrition and identify the best starting point for you and your family.

So looking at the above list, you may be thinking, what on earth can I eat???? Let’s focus on that instead.

 The eczema diet food list

Without a shadow of a doubt, the diet must be rich in whole and real food and free from any additives, preservatives or colours.

The specific beneficial foods to include are:

• Fatty Fish- Such as salmon, cod and herring which are high in essential fatty acids, omega 3 and said to be ant-inflammatory

• Foods high in quercetin which is a natural powerful antioxidant and anti-histamine (great if you are avoiding high histamine and amine foods)

• Probiotic containing foods – these will greatly support the immune system as well as aid healing the gut.

• Quality sources of pastured protein - meat and quality dairy (if not removing)

Your Eczema Diet Shopping List:

• Salmon, Herring, sardines or cod

• Organic pastured grass-fed meat or grass fed at a minimum

• Apples

• Blueberries

• Cherries

• Broccoli

• Spinach

• Kale

• Avocado

• Olive oil

• Seeds

• Good quality yoghurt

• Sourdough bread sparingly

• Miso soup

• Naturally fermented pickles

• Sauerkraut

• Fermented drinks and tonics

• Tempeh

• Good quality grass-fed bones to make bone broth

Where to from here?

Any food that triggers eczema that you choose to eliminate from your diet, should NOT be long term. The purpose of the elimination serves purely as a window of healing to provide the body the right environment to heal whilst you treat the root causes.

While all this information is useful, I have to stress that the food is not the problem, it is merely a trigger and the problem lies much deeper in a root cause such as:

1. nutritional deficiencies,

2. gut microbiome imbalance,

3. high levels of toxicity and

4. high stress levels and toxic mindset.

This is where your focus needs to be.

Rather than micro managing a food elimination diet that can be rather tricky and overwhelming, you need to get help to navigate this journey with the right level of support.

If you are interested in how I can support you during this journey, please email me at info@chantalkhoury.com.au or head to my contact page and leave me a message there.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutriton & Wellness Coach with a special interest helping stressed and overwhelmed mums create robust and thriving families using healing nutrition and transformational wellness practices.

The Role of the gut in ECZEMA

That itch, that flare up, not another round of cortisone, sleep……what is that you ask????

 As someone who has navigated eczema with her baby quite successfully a number of years ago, I understand your angst when it comes to dealing with this skin condition. You just want it to go away, but how???

 I remember searching for hours on end for the MAGICAL solution or cream.

The truth is that eczema is a complex condition to navigate and what works for one, might not work for the next child or person. My road to success will look very different to your road to success, because each and everyone of us are so uniquely different.

However, at the heart of the issue for everyone, the same foundational pillars need to be “FIXED” in order to heal and it takes TIME, WORK & PERSEVERANCE.

The skin is influenced by other organs in the body and this is especially true of the gut and brain, so much so that scientist coined the term “gut-brain-skin axis”

In this article I am going to focus on the role of the gut in healing eczema.

The triggers of a flair are different for most people, but the most common include:

• Food intolerances and/or allergies

• Environmental

• Emotional wellbeing

 None of these “triggers” are the real problem for eczema, but rather an indication that the gut microbiome is out of balance and that the mucosal lining needs to some repair, otherwise known as a leaky gut.

So rather than messing around with lengthy food eliminations protocols for an unsaid period of time, you want to put your efforts straight at the ‘ROOT CAUSE,’ and that is healing the gut.

The gut and eczema:

Eczema is a highly inflammatory skin condition which is a signal that the immune system is unbalanced. The unbalanced immune system is as a direct result of an unbalanced gut flora and leaky gut.

The approach to healing, is that if you correct the gut microbiome balance and seal a leaky gut, this improves the immune function, which decreases inflammation, the body is better able to handle the “triggers” and therefore heal eczema.

How to heal the gut?

When healing the gut, it is best to adopt the very common 4 R approach used in functional medicine:

1. REMOVE – all packaged and processed food in addition to any known trigger foods

2. REPLACE – with whole & real food

3. RESTORE – balance with healing nutrition such as bone broth and fermented foods

4. REPLENISH – the whole person with lifestyle choices that enhance emotional wellbeing

 In a nutshell, eczema is just a symptom of a number of organs that are not functioning at optimal levels, one of which is the gut. Start wherever you at and make smaller consistent changes over a period of time and be observant with YOUR reaction to the eczema.

Chantal is an Accredited and Certified Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a very special interest in helping mum’s create thriving wellness for them and their family through the use of healing and transformational wellness practices.

The Top 3 Foods that could be triggering the next Eczema Flare

This really is a topic that is close and dear to my heart. My little man suffered terribly with this debilitating skin condition. I was literally pulling my hair out and would do ANYTHING to give some relief and not watch him scratch himself to sleep. These are memories that still haunt me today. There was a silver lining in the cloud and we did heal his eczema naturally with lots of concerted effort.

Eczema is very much an inflammatory skin condition that is linked to the health of 2 organs in particular, the gut and the brain, i.e. root causes. Will go into that another day.

There are 3 main triggers that can set off a flare up, food being one of them. Most people suffering from eczema will quite often have a very strong sensitivity or allergy towards the common inflammation causing foods. This was definitely the case for my son, even though none of the practitioners would listen to my concerns at the time to get him tested. In true stubborn "Chantal" style, I took myself privately to get him tested, and what do you know? A positive testing to at least 3 of the 7 common foods, anaphylactic to 2 of them.

The top 3 trigger foods for Eczema:

• Dairy - A sensitivity or allergy to cow milk dairy is more than likely due to the A1 protein found in the milk. This is not to be confused with a lactose intolerance to dairy, which is an issue processing the natural sugar found in the milk.

• Eggs - Once again due to the protein found in the egg and more than likely the white of the egg than the yolk, however both can present an issue as it did for my son.

• Gluten - The culprit here, you guessed it, is the protein found in the gluten. Unlike the other 2 foods above, symptoms can be presented within minutes of consuming gluten, whilst the others can have a delayed reaction.

Other likely and common culprits are:

• Nuts

• Soy

• Fish

• Shellfish

My little man tested positive to Nuts, Eggs, Dairy, Peanut & Sesame with anaphylaxis to Nuts, Peanut and Sesame.

How do you know whether these foods can be a trigger for yourself or a loved one?

The short answer is to remove them from the diet for a minimum of 30 days. Couple this strategy with a healing protocol and you will give the body an innate window of healing at which point you can challenge the trigger food.

Just removing the 'culprit food' is counter productive if no healing strategy follows.

For clarity purposes, I want to re-iterate that allergies or sensitivities to the above mentioned food is not the main cause of the eczema, they are just a symptom of a much deeper issue, however can trigger a flare up in most people, not everyone.

If you are feeling completely frustrated and overwhelmed dealing with a skin condition, then why not grab my 90 minute Nutrition & Wellness Audit, where I can help you, uncover the the potential triggers & root causes. Together we will lay out an achievable plan how you can overcome the root causes and start healing without relying on topical & band aid solutions.

Chantal is a Certified and Accredited Nutrition & Wellness Coach with a special interest helping families implement healing wholefood protocols and wellness practices to transform the health of the family.