eczema-prone skin
Eczema
We know how frustrating and sometimes debilitating Eczema can feel. Itching, dry, tight cracked skin that can feel raw. It can settle for a few weeks but then something sets it off, and you are awake at three in the morning trying not to scratch. On this page we cover which of our products can help, and how Dead Sea minerals can support eczema-prone skin.
Our hero eczema products
Floatation Bath Salt Crystals
Dead Sea salt for the bath. A twenty minute soak that softens rough patches and alleviates the itch.
From £19.00
Defining Body Cream
Rich cream that glides on and absorbs without leaving any residue on sheets or clothing.
From £27.00
Hand & Foot Cream
For hands that crack around the knuckles and split at the fingertips. Our bestseller that everyone loves.
From £10.00
Refining Body Scrub
Dead Sea salt with olive and grape seed oils. For keeping skin smooth and hydrated between flares.
From £30.00
Getting the most out of our products
Many customers ask us if there is an optimal routine for helping to keep the symptoms of Eczema at bay. The problem is water on its own dries eczema-prone skin out. Water followed quickly by a good moisturiser does the opposite. A typical routine could look like this:
EVENING · 15 TO 20 MINUTES
Soak in tepid water with a handful of bath salt crystals
Let the crystals dissolve before you get in. Tepid rather than hot, because heat aggravates the itch even though it may feel good at the time.
EVENING · STRAIGHT AFTER THE BATH
Pat dry and apply body cream while skin is still damp
Pat, don't rub. Apply in the direction the hair grows rather than up and down, which is what blocks follicles and starts the itch again.
THROUGH THE DAY
Hand and foot cream after every wash
Hands lose moisture the fastest because they get washed the most. Keep a tube by the kitchen sink and anywhere you regularly wash your hands. A lot of Eczema sufferers also like to keep a tube in the car for emergencies.
NO EXFOLIATING DURING A FLARE
Don't scrub until skin has settled
Exfoliating broken or inflamed skin hurts more than it helps. Our Refining Body Scrub is a brilliant preventative measure to keep moisture locked in or remove dead skin after a flare up but not for use while skin is cracked and inflamed. We wouldn't recommend any scrub during this phase.
once the flare has settled - MORNINGS · IN THE SHOWER
Refining Body Scrub for maintenance
Keeps hydration up between flares. Dead Sea salt buffs away the dead skin that builds up, and the olive and grape seed oils inject moisture, so skin stays soft rather than starting to roughen again. It is lovely used in the shower in the morning, and in an independent consumer perception study, 100% of respondents said it felt gentle even on sensitive skin.
understanding eczema
Why does it happen?
Eczema affects around one in ten adults in the UK, and considerably more children. Underneath the different names and types, the same mechanism is doing the damage: the skin barrier is leaking.
Healthy skin holds a layer of lipids and water that keeps moisture in and irritants out. In eczema-prone skin that layer is thinner and more permeable, so water escapes faster than it should. Dermatologists measure this as 'transepidermal water loss', and it is why eczema skin feels tight and dry even in a humid bathroom. The skin dries, cracks, lets irritants through, the immune system reacts, and the itching starts. Scratching breaks the barrier further, which is what makes things worsen still.
This is also why so many products make things worse. Foaming cleansers, alcohol and synthetic fragrance all strip the layer that is already compromised. A product can feel pleasant for the first week and still be working against you.
Why Dead Sea minerals are different?
Dead Sea salt has an unusual mineral profile. Ordinary sea salt is mostly sodium chloride. Dead Sea salt is high in magnesium, along with potassium, calcium and bromide. Magnesium is the one that matters most here, because it binds water and supports barrier repair.
The clearest evidence comes from a study published in the International Journal of Dermatology in 2005. Volunteers with dry, atopic skin bathed one forearm in a five per cent Dead Sea salt solution and the other in ordinary tap water, then had both measured over six weeks. The salt-treated arm showed improved barrier function, higher skin hydration, and significant reductions in both roughness and redness. The tap water arm did not.
Proksch E, Nissen HP, Bremgartner M, Urquhart C. Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin. International Journal of Dermatology, 2005;44(2):151–7. PubMed 15689218
What does that mean?
A mineral soak is having a measurable effect on the skin barrier rather than simply feeling nice. However it doesn't altogether replace a prescribed topical steroid, we'd advise using both while in a flare up situation. Eczema UK's guidance is to apply the steroid first, leave it around thirty minutes, then apply your emollient over the top.
The guidance also advises Applying your moisturiser at least twice a day, more often during a flare, whether or not the skin looks bad that morning. Consistency between flares is what shortens the next one.
Eczema UK / National Eczema Society, emollient guidance. Independent UK charity, not affiliated with Dead Sea Dream. eczema.org.uk
Eczema on the hands
“Beautiful product. Continues to help calm my flared skin. I love it and would thoroughly recommend.”
- Nicole C, Verified buyer
Ready to give it a try?
step 1
Select your products
Everything in the range is built on the same Dead Sea minerals, so it works together however it is combined, whether that is a single product or one of the sets. Some people begin with one and build up from there, others go straight to the full routine.
step 2
Receive your products
Delivered to your door in three days, with free UK shipping.
step 3
Get comfortable skin
A night that isn't broken by the itching, sleeves you can push up without thinking about it, and skin that feels like your own again. Because comfortable skin feels good.
questions
Eczema and Dead Sea minerals
Yes, and many people find it settles the itch. On very broken or weeping skin salt can sting, so the sensible order is to get the flare calmed with your prescribed treatment first, then bring the soak back in.