3 Simple Ways to Keep Eczema in Check | #EczemaAndMe

The word ECZEMA is practically a cuss word to anyone who is directly affected by the dry, scaly and itchy skin that defines it. If you or your children are affected by eczema you have probably tried a multitude of products and skin care regimes in an attempt to rid it from your lives.

And, just as I know, you probably know, that's never going to happen: eczema's persistent.

Eczema is my reality, just as it is Bolt's. We live with eczema and we make choices every day that may help or hinder our skin condition. As Bolt ages I will give him more freedom to make those choices, because his eczema won't kill him; when he's a teenager who wants to go out without gloves, that will be his perogative, he will be the one who suffers.

But until he can truly grasp the consequences, I rule the roost when it comes to eczema management and here are a few of the hard and fast rules at our house.

1. MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE - When you have eczema, there is no such thing as too much moisturizing. If at all possible, cream should be applied to damp skin after bathing to seal in as much moisture as possible. Using a heavy, unscented cream works best before bed and the new Polysporin Eczema Essentials Daily Moisturizing Cream is a great choice. It's accepted by the Eczema Society of Canada, which is high praise, feels thick and rich but absorbs quickly without any greasy residue.
   


2. MINIMIZE THE SOAP - Although its essential that we wash ourselves and our children, there is no need to lather our children up every day with heavily scented or processed products. When I use soap on my children, I tend to use a very gentle, homemade soap but a great alternative is to use a very mild body wash as a bubble bath. The very diluted body wash cleans my children while they play and there's no soapy irritation. My kids love all the fragrance free bubbles that the new Polysporin Eczema Essentials Daily Body Wash creates  in their bath and I love that they are squeaky clean and not the slightest bit itchy.


3. USE CORTISONE as needed - Many parents are fearful of using cortisone on their children, but I know with certainty, that almost none of those parents have eczema. Although, cortisone is a steroid, and should be used with caution, in an intense eczema flare up, nothing will calm the irritation like cortisone and I know this first hand. Although we have prescription strength cortisone in our house, there are times when a budding flare up really doesn't call for such an intense amount of medication. In those moments, the new Polysporin Eczema Essentials Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream does the job. It's also great for managing random itchiness, like the spider bite I got in my eyebrow last week.

I was super excited to try out the brand new Polysporin Eczema Essentials line and I'm happy to report that the products stood up to the standard I expect from Polysporin. Have you tried them in your home?

What are your tips for keeping Eczema in check?

“Disclosure: I am part of the the POLYSPORIN® Eczema Essentials Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Four Ways We're Surviving the Sleepytime Battle | My Sleepytime Routine

Although I hate to admit it,  for a long time  when it came to discussing bedtime, I was a teeny bit of a smug mom, but can you blame me, for a while, I had two kids that went to sleep on their own.  But, karma has kicked in, these days I have a negotiating,  manipulative four year old who is not against screaming and flailing to get his way.

Have you read the book 'Go the F**k to Sleep'?  In a nutshell, that's Bolt, except you can sprinkle in a bit of the ADHD power struggle to make things a little more fun.

We are doing all sorts of things to help my 4 year old manage his emotions and bedtime is no exception.

Since my boy loves the '4 because I'm FOUR' rule, here's four ways we're Surviving the Sleepytime Battle

1. Manage Expectations:
We started by identifying a consistent bedtime routine and developing a checklist to help our boy manage his expectations and prepare for bed. It also ensures that he moisturizes, takes his medications and brushes his teeth. This goes hand in hand with his calendar, which we review nightly; we use clip art magnets to illustrate what he's doing each day of the week.

Download a PDF copy of 'My Sleepytime Routine' here.

2. Help your child "calm his/her body":
Relaxation scripts are bountiful on the Internet, search for child friendly ones and try to find one that resonates with your child.  Bolt seems to like this Treehouse Relaxation Script and I hope it will eventually become a calming visualization for him.

3. Implement rhythmic white noise:
I ordered a noise machine and with the help of ocean waves, when he's tired and relaxed, Bolt seems to be settling into sleep in 10-15 minutes if I lay with him. Interesting fact, our psychologist tells us that rhythmic sounds change the way neurons fire in the brain and helps calm the body.

4. Go with the flow:
In the few weeks we've been following this routine, Bolt has been willing to do the relaxation script about 2/3 of the time. Some days he's eager to do his deep breaths on his own, others he isn't interested at all. It's his routine, he can skip steps if he wants, but he can't replace them with steps we've already done such as playing or reading. After 'calm my body' the only step left is sleepytime and that I'm firm about.

How do you survive the sleepytime battle?
Do you have a sleepytime routine?
Do you use white noise?

Bleach Baths for Preschoolers (with Eczema)

My boy Bolt is 4 years old and has had eczema, literally since the day he was born. We recently started giving him dilute bleach baths (approximately 0.005%) as a way to keep his skin clean and free of bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph. According to this article, from the London Eczema Society, less than 10% of healthy individuals have staph on their skin, but almost all eczema sufferers have staph somewhere on their skin. 

I'll admit, the idea of bathing my child in bleach did not appeal to me initially. In fact, people have been casually mentioning it to me for about two years, but I just couldn't get on board. However, a few months ago, I couldn't get Bolt's eczema under control; his hands were constantly raw and his legs, arms and torso were covered with small bleeding and/or raw sores.

We started by applying some prescription antibiotic cream followed by a 10 day course of oral antibiotics to get the infection under control. It's only the second time he's needed antibiotics for his skin, but its frequent enough that I wanted to find a way to prevent these occurences rather than treat them after the fact.

So this time, when a friend mentioned how successful bleach baths had been for managing her daughter's eczema, I listened. I asked questions, I read articles and talked to other friends who were using the treatment before I went to my doctor to discuss bleach baths as a possible method to control Bolt's eczema.

Coincidentally, my doctor had recently received an email regarding the use of bleach baths for eczema and after reviewing the material and providing me with a copy of the article, she encouraged me to try it. Although the studies indicated we should have a bleach bath twice a week, we started out by having them every fourth day. Bolt consistently scratched himself raw on the third evening.

Now, both my son and I are have a bleach bath every three days and there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of scratching, bleeding and discomfort we are both experiencing. I personally have a patch of eczema that has been irritated since Simba was born two years ago, and its finally healing.

I'm no doctor, but I am a Mom and right now I am a believer in the power of bleach to ward off staph. I whole heartedly believe you should talk to your doctor before trying any new eczema treatments for your child. If you and your medical practitioner decide this might be an option for your family, I encourage you to give it a try. We've been having bleach baths for about a month now since I already had bleach in my house, it hasn't cost us a cent.

For those of you who are interested, here's a summary of what we're doing.

Bleach Baths for Eczema
(to be repeated every three days)

• Fill bath half full with warm water
• Add 1/4 cup of bleach to the bath and mix well (I usually add 2 capfuls)
• Have your child bathe in the water for at least 10 minutes.
• Rinse your child with warm, clean water.
• Pat dry.
• Follow your regular mouisturizing regime.

Foods for Healing | Program Introduction, Giveaway & Coupon Code

I'm a firm believer that food affects our well being; its just common sense, what goes into our bodies must affect how they function. Perhaps its the biologist in me, but as of yet, I have found no argument that can convince me otherwise. My recent experience with Meghan Telpner's Fab Detox only proved my point, in addition to feeling better both emotionally and physically, my experience also brought some insight into my eczema.

Up until recently I was certain that my eczema flare ups were due to the food I ate as well as the hormone fluctuations and changes my body underwent as a result of my pregnancies. I honestly expected that within a few weeks of starting the Fab Detox, I would see a dramatic improvement in my skin. The truth is, I didn't see any change over the course of the cleanse, which led me to realize that food cannot possibly be the primary contributor to my condition.

One month, tonnes of smoothies and oodles of superfoods later, my skin is clearer than its been in months, years even. I'm fairly certain its due to my new daily regimen of superfood smoothies, which always contain omega 3 rich hemp hearts and delicious antioxidant rich raw cacao powder.

I've spent so much time taking 'bad foods' out of my diet, that I forgot how many benefits there are to adding 'good foods' back into my diet. This is precisely why I'm so excited to share Meghan Telpner's brand new online course FOODS FOR HEALING with you.

'Foods for Healing' program registration
opens on November 9th 
enter code mommastuff at checkout to receive 10% off or
ENTER TO WIN 
registration in the 'Food for Healing' Program 

by using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post!

Whether you suffer from pain, digestive trouble, headaches, fatigue or just about any other ailment, food can help you and Meghan will help you understand how.  Meghan's Food for Healing Course includes:

• Over two hours of lecture style teaching with images, diagrams, and incredibly easy to follow explanations.
• Accompanying handouts of the slides to follow along and take notes.
• Additional documentation offering detailed information on specific healing protocols.
• 8 cooking demonstration videos showing how you can put what I share in the lecture, into practice in your kitchen and in everyday eating.
• A full 7 day meal plan + over 30 recipes.
• A full transition plan to help ease your way into a foods for healing mind set.
• Options to upgrade and get consultations and amazing kitchen equipment.
• Completely secure access to all your course materials.
• Flexibility to watch the videos and download the print materials at your convenience.
• Lifetime access to the course materials.

The 'Foods for Healing' program is broken down into 9 modules:

• Module 1: My story and how I healed.
• Module 2: Understanding the root of inflammation, food as medicine.
• Module 3: The role of the digestive system in total health, managing stress and it’s impact
• Module 4: Making the connection with food, conscious eating, assessing common dietary recommendations.
• Module 5: General guidelines for eating for health and healing, the universal approach to health.
• Module 6: Specific therapeutic foods for healing, dietary recommendations for the three stages of healing, specific nutrients for healing.
• Module 7: Lifestyle habits and natural solutions.
• Module 8: Healing beverages, therapeutics foods in practice, cooking demos
• Module 9: Healing meals, therapeutic foods in practice, cooking demos
• Tools: Meal plan, recipes, transition guideline.

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Thankful for Family

Today, I am thankful for my husband's family, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. They have offered to watch the boy once a week and today is the first day.  A day I can spend devoted entirely to my little baby boy, a day I can give him my full attention, a day all about him.  The boy had me to himself for my entire year of maternity leave and the baby boy has had only a few short days one on one with momma.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and a friend is posting a daily 'thankful' on her facebook; I'm hoping to follow her lead.

This break from my reality as a momma of two couldn't come at a better time; I'm exhausted and feeling like I'm starting to unravel a bit at the edges.  I've been working like crazy on my Blissdom Canada costume (which is now complete), my mom, who is always available to help me out on a rough day, is on a well deserved two week vacation, the baby boy is teething and we just discovered the boy has asthma.

This discovery unfortunately came when I was home alone with my boys, the hubs went on a fishing trip last weekend and the boy caught a cold, neither child slept through the nights and on Saturday night I was overwhelmed by crying babies that both needed my attention at the same time.  Around the same time the boy started physically pushing air out with each breath and his little stomach was jumping dramatically.  By six thirty in the morning, I had called my mother-in-law to watch the baby and I whisked him off to the hospital.  More thanks to my mother-in-law are clearly in order here.

Although they can't technically diagnose him with Asthma until he can complete a breath test, the symptoms, the response to ventalin, the family history and the fact that he has both a nut allergy and eczema all point to a diagnosis of Asthma.

My doctor described the relationship of eczema, asthma and nut allergies as a trilogy and the hospital doctor explained it had to do with the physiology, the way the body responds to irritants.  Either way, I'm sad for the boy that we have to add yet another ailment to his list, but at the same time I know that its both relativley minor and completely manageable.

Anyone else have a child afflicted by this 'trilogy'?

Skin Fix Body Paste | Review & Giveaway

Before the boy was born I received a sample container of Skin Fix Buttocks Paste; this Canadian-made, natural product was touted to be great for diaper rash and cradle cap.  And it was.  This was the only product that seemed to lift the cradle cap scales off the boys head rather than mucking them up into a icky, mess.

After realizing that Skin Fix buttocks paste delivered on its promise, I was ecstatic when Skin Fix provided me with the opportunity to test out their Body Paste.

 Body Paste is free of lanolin, parabens and sulfates and has antiseptic, antioxidant, anti-inflamatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties and "can really help in just about every skin problem known to man".  Skin Fix Body Paste has been known to be effective for "acne (head), fever blisters, cold sores, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, insect bites, minor burns and abrasions, skin irritation from razor burn, cuts, wounds, rashes, post tattoo, and athletes foot."


You will notice eczema was on that list, which is of course what piqued my interest.  As regular readers will know, both the boy and I suffer from Eczema and have only had moderate success at controlling it with anything except corticosteroid creams, which no one wants to use on a regular basis.

As with any new product I started small and applied the body repair paste to the eczema that plagues my ring finger (and prevents me from wearing my wedding ring).  I was amazed, in only one night I saw an improvement; Skin Fix Body Repair Paste had made my finger appear smooth and unblemished, a feat my physician prescribed creams has never been able to achieve

After my success with the Body Repair Paste, I was eager to try it out on the boy.  At the time, he was experiencing an eczema flare up on his knees, legs and ankles.  Again, after only one application a visible improvement was noticeable, both the redness and inflammation was significantly reduced.  Within a few days, his eczema had pretty much cleared up altogether.  These days I find myself reaching for Skin Fix Body Repair Paste, instead of the cortisone, at the first sign of a flare up and it gets things under control in short order.

A 112g tub of Skin Fix Body Repair Paste will last you a long time, its very thick and a little goes a long way.  It's also likely you won't need to use the Body Repair Paste everyday; we only use it during flare ups and that seems to be more than enough.  Since I slather the boy with Aquaphor each night to keep his skin as moisturized as possible, I had great success when I applied the Aquaphor (I'm sure any thick moisturizing cream would work) right over top of the Body Repair paste as part of our evening routine.  I also found that like pretty much everything else I have ever tried, in the bleeding aftermath of fervent scratching, it was worth waiting until morning before applying Body Repair Paste.

Skin Fix Body Paste is a great natural product with antiseptic, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties that was able to effectively clear up both the boys' and my own eczema symptoms.  At a price of just $13.49 CDN for 112g, its definitely worth trying out if you suffer from dry skin conditions.

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(Three to be awarded)

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Leave a comment and share, which Skin Fix product are you most interested in trying out?

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Does your family suffer from Eczema? Skin Fix Body Paste can help | #Review & #Giveaway | @mommastuffblog #CMTT http://bit.ly/c5Xz8D 

Giveaway closes Sunday November 14th at 8pm.  Winner will be determined by a random number generator. Winner will be notified via email and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new name will be drawn and contacted.

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Druide Baby Starter Kit and Pur & Pure Review

Druide is an an ECOcert certified Canadian company that creates personal care products that are natural, organic, biodegradable, scented without synthetic perfums and preservatives and all their products are paraben,sodium laurel sulfate and nut free.  In short Druide encompasses all of the things I look for in personal care products.  Druide has a very honest website, including a listing of the ingredients used and their benefits; a surprising rarity on personal care product websites.

I had the opportunity to test out the Baby Starter Kit, which includes four great products in a clear carrying case; a great present for the eco-momma's in your life.  We also had the chance to test out a few products from the Pur and Pure line, which contain no fragrance and are designed for hypersensitive people with sensitive skin.

My absolute favourite product was the Baby Protecting Balm, which is designed to rebuild and protect sensitive skin.  The balm is very soft and slick making it easy to apply to the boys diaper area whenever signs of redness appear.  The boy put up no protest when applying the baby protecting balm and I found that redness was drastically reduced, if not gone within a single diaper change. 

The Baby Shampoo utilizes hibiscus flower extract and natural fruit extracts to create a delicious smelling cleanser that eliminates unwanted bacteria and yeasts.  The shampoo suds' easily and left the boys hair smelling yummy and feeling squeaky clean.  Like all other shampoos we have tried, the boys scalp was still dry and a little flaky after use, but in truth this is an issue of the boys', not the product. 

The Calming Baby Soap utilizes mango butter, chamomile, vitamin E and aloe making it an anti-inflammatory and purifying blend.  Like the other products in the Baby Starter Kit, the calming baby soap smells delicious, it suds' beautifully and left my skin feeling soft and clean, but not slimy with mouisturizers like some soaps do.  The unique shape of the soap includes a divet on the top, so that you can mash the dregs of your previous bar right into it, a trait that I personally think is fabulous.  

Unfortunately, the boy was hypersensitive to the calming baby soap, but the Pur and Pure Soap which contains no fragrance at all, didn't cause the boy any irritation.  The Pur and Pure Shower Gel based on olive and rice proteins, was also provided for us to try as a soap alternative.  It's mild, scent-free cleansing abilities didn't irritate the boy's skin and was a great alternative for his hypersensitive skin.

The Baby Soothing Lotion is intended to repair young skin and soothe irritations including itchiness, rashes and sunburn.  It felt smooth and silky on my skin and was not greasy at all.  It was quickly absorbed, but left my skin smelling great.  Sadly, the boy also displayed hypersensitivity to the Baby Soothing Lotion.

Pur and Pure Face and Body Lotion was provided as an alternative to the baby soothing lotion for us to try.  It uses rice proteins and is specifically designed to be free of irritating agents.  I was happy to discover that for the boy, this lotion lived up to its claims and caused no irritation following use on multiple consecutive days. 

Overall, I was impressed with Druide products and would feel confident buying a Baby Starter Kit for any of my eco-momma friends, provided there was no history of skin conditions, eczema and hypersensitivity (which we have in my family), in that case, I would definitley steer towards Druide' Pur and Pure line.  Find out more about Druide on their Website, Facebook and Twitter.

All Terrain Company: Kids Eczema Cream Review

I recently admitted that I am a 'lotion addict' and that I am pretty much always open to trying out a new lotion, particularly if it is natural and has the potential to help with eczema.  When presented with the opportunity to test out a product from the All Terrain Company I knew I wanted to try out the Kids Ezema Cream.  We've had some success with colloidial oatmeal products, and its the feature ingredient in the Kids Eczema Cream.

Other key ingredients include Aloe,  Shea Butter, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree, definitely a soothing and moisturizing mix.  It's stinky though; not overly so, and the scent fades fast, but I would be remiss if I didn't tell you there was a noticable odour.  With ingredients like eucalyptus and tea tree however, scentless isn't particularly an option.

The Kids Eczema Cream is thick, but it blends into the skin easily and leaves the skin soft, cool and silky, not sticky or sweaty.  I tried it out on the boys eczema and it seemed to noticeably smooth and soften his poor inflamed skin.  I also used the Kids Eczema Cream on the bumps on the back of my arms and was surprised to find that my arms too felt quite lovely the following morning.  Needless to say, the bottle is emptying very quickly!

As a Company, the All Terrain Company strives to provide "Natural Remedies for Outdoor Enthusiasts", their product packaging is all made from recycled, recyclable or biodegradable materials and they donate 10% of their product cost to an Environmental Charity (you choose one of six) and have numerous environmental programs and partners.  At $7.99 for a 2oz bottle of Kids Eczema Cream, you're donating $0.80 cents to charity, which is not much, but we all know the little things add up.

I've truly enjoyed the All Terrain Company's Kids Eczema Cream; its all natural and left both our skin both smoother and softer.  I rate it a 4.5/5.

Check out the All Terrain Company:

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My Detergent Dilemma

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, the boy and I both have sensitive skin and eczema.  When I was young the dermatologist gave me all sorts of advice, including the fact that I should never use fabric softener or brand name laundry detergent.  Fabric softener, is pretty much all chemical and fragrance, which essentially just means its all irritants for lucky people like us.

The laundry detergent on the other hand seems a little odd right?  You'd think the big brand name laundry detergents would be the best, but its just not so.  Apparently you get what you pay for; more money equals more pretty smells which equals more irritants and a very itchy, uncomfortable body (at least for me).  Growing up, my Mom bought the cheapest, store brand laundry detergent she could find and we all suffered through crunchy natural smelling towels.  Personally, when I go somewhere where the towels and sheet smell all flowery or scented, it kind of grosses me out, I just like the smell of clean.

I like to use Nellie's All Natural Washing Soda, and let me tell you there's no room for fillers in Nellie's.  One tablespoon of washing soda does an entire load of laundry in my large front loading machine; it dissolves easily in cold water and leaves our clothes clean and residue free.  The package pictured to the left, is only slightly larger than a medium sized Ziploc Freezer bag and it will wash over 50 loads for only $10.  Nellie's is high efficiency compatible and great for traveling since you need so little and it dissolves so easily.  I took a Ziploc snack bag half full of Nellie's on my three week trip to Asia (with an 8 month old and all the mess that entails) and still came back with about half of it left.  Oh and did I mention the most important part?  With Nellie's there's no filler, no fragrance and no itching or irritation.  Yay Nellie's!

I've pretty much only used Nellie's on the boy's clothes and although he constantly itches from his eczema I'm confident that Nellie's is not the culprit.  In fact his skin has cleared up dramatically now that I've taken soy, as well as dairy out of his diet, but that's a story for another day.

The boy and I are on a little mini-vacation this week with my Mom, we're at a cabin a couple hours away from home and we've really been de-stressing and enjoying the chance to have one on one time for an entire week.  Well knowing that in a week the boy could go through tons of clothes, or barely any, I packed for somewhere in between with the inention of doing laundry while I was here.

But I forgot to bring the Nellie's.

Of course, we'd already started the laudry and let the machine fill up with water before we realized that we had no soap.  We had to use the soap at the cabin.  We had to use Tide.  We used a very scant amount in the hopes that we could get our clothes clean without any irritation and things seemed to be going fine.  The boy wore pants that had been washed without any concerns, so after bathtime, I lubed him up with his Aquaphor, dressed him in his freshly cleaned sleeper, read him his books and popped him into bed.

Around 11pm, he started to whine, when it started to elevate into crying, I went in to his room and he was barely awake.  A hand on his tummy and he drifted back to sleep, but as soon as I lifted my hand, the whining started again.  Then I started to notice that he was itching his head, and his neck, and his arms with some serious vigor.  I got him up and immediately felt that his body was covered in a fine sandpaper type rash.  Stupid Tide.  I changed him into his dirty sleeper from the night before, gave him some Benadryl and he drifted back to sleep.

Now I'm kicking myself for forgetting the Nellie's.  Its essentially irrelevant now since we're going home tomorrow, but I know better than to use brand name detergent and it annoys me that I took the chance.  I guess I was just in need of a gentle reminder.

Soapwalla Body Oil & Deodorant Cream Review & Coupon Code

I have always had sensitive skin, as a child I would frequently have red, inflamed and itchy skin.  I was around 8 when I first went to the dermatologist, he told me to wash my face with distilled water and that I should use Cetaphil as a cleanser.  To this day, I still use Cetaphil, it is the only product that I can consistently use on my face without breaking out in acne or a rash.  I've only ever had one facial, for fear of a skin reaction, and sadly it didn't go well.

That being said, I am older and wiser now and am always on the look-out for high quality natural skin care products.  I am always cautious when I try a new product and occasionally I find something fantastic.  I recently had the opportunity to test out some Soapwalla products, for the purposes of this review, and was more than impressed.

Soapwalla is created by the Soapwalla Chef, Rachel in the comfort of her home, using organic, food-grade ingredients and pure essential oils.  The products were borne out of necessity, as Rachel also had trouble finding products for her sensitive skin.  When I asked her how she learned about making personal care products, she informed me that just like I would have done, she scoured the internet, bookstores and libraries, reading everything she could and watching every video she could get her hands on before starting Soapwalla.  Gotta love a resourceful woman!!

I had the opportunity to try out the Soapwalla Luxiurious Moisturizing Body Oil and the Soapwalla Deodorant Cream.  Soapwalla Luxurious Mouisturizing body oil is all natural, vegan and smells absolutely amazing.  It's not too floral (that would make me sneeze) and not too citrusy, its just slightly sweet and left me sniffing my hands after applying it on the boy.  I used the body oil primarily on the boy's scalp; it is very dry and prone to eczema, if I don't moisturize before bed each night, he will have a very flaky and itchy scalp in the  morning.  Unlike straight grapeseed oil (which I often use) the Soapwalla moisturizing oil didn't leave the boy's hair greasy and seemed to absorb quickly. 

I have tried various natural deodorants, including a salt rock, but they've never really been strong enough to take care of my sweat and odour.  I don't sweat profusley, but unlike many people I know, I do sweat. Soapwalla Deodorant Cream "utilizes superfine vegetable powders, clays, and lavender, peppermint and tea tree essential oils to absorb moisture, inhibit bacteria, and ensure a long-lasting and highly effective experience."

Soapwalla Deodorant Cream smells minty and delicious, is vegan and free from chemicals, aluminum and petroleum, so you can feel good about slathering it on your armpits and let me assure you, you will need to slather it on.  The first few days I wore Soapwalla deodorant cream, I started to find that I had the slight stench of sweat as the day came to a close, but after generously applying it to the entire armpit (as suggested by Rachel) I found that it was much more effective, apparently I had been a little stingy with the product the first few days.

Overall, I found that both Soapwalla Luxurious Moisturizing Body Oil and Deodorant Cream I tested out lived up to their claims, smelled great and worked well.  Rachel was super helpful and happy to provide any additional information or guidance I needed.  I had a great experience with Soapwalla and rate them a 4.5/5.

Coupon Code:

Want to try out some Soapwalla Products? Save 10% off your purchase (valid through July 15) by entering coupon code MSB10 in the comments section on the Etsy purchase page.

Benefits of Essential Oils:

Rachel was kind enough to provide the following details about the benefits of some of the essential oils used in the Soapwalla Luxurious Mouisturizing Body Oil and Soapwalla Deodorant Cream.  As a knowledge junky, I found this information very useful, I hope you do too.

Lavender: renowned for its skin healing properties and antiseptic properties. Benefits a host of skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, rashes, scars, etc.

Tea tree: an incredibly potent antibacterial and antiseptic oil. Tea tree is unique in that it is active against all three varieties of infectious organisms -- bacteria, fungi and viruses. Heals skin rashes, balances oily skin, reduces dandruff.

Evening primrose: a rich source of gamma linoleic acid, an Omega 6 fatty acid that has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Anti-aging, nourishes and balances the skin.

Carrot seed: Remedies and moisturizes dry, mature, or wrinkled skin. Some believe that it removes wrinkles and rejuvenates the skin by removing toxins. Reduces skin irritation and balances redness.

Sea Buckthorn: A miracle oil, typically used to treat sun-damaged skin, ulcerations, scar tissue, wrinkles, eczema, burns, etc. Some small studies have proven its ability to combat wrinkles, acute dryness and other symptoms of prematurely aged skin.

Rosehip Seed: rich in Vitamin A, essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acids, and Vitamin E, all of which reduce pore size, diminish the effects of skin aging and result in firmer, smoother, and more youthful skin with greater elasticity.

Jojoba: Jojoba oil is actually a wax,  not an oil, and absorbs easily into the skin. Jojoba is also non-allergenic and non-comedogenic (non-clogging), which makes it ideal for those with sensitive skin as it won't irritate the skin. 

Lemongrass: tones skin and acts as a gentle antiseptic. It's a natural insect repellent and can reduce headache and other muscular pain.