When it comes to rescuing dry skin (xerosis), a soothing, natural cream can be your skin's best friend as it can help to restore your skin's natural barrier.  What causes dry skin? Nutritional deficiencies and genetics may be to blame for dry skin, including defects in the structural protein called filaggrin and it's breakdown products which help to form Natural Moisturising Factor (NMF). NMF is essential for hydrated skin.  Dehydration can also cause dry skin and premature skin ageing. Researchers found that drinking 2 litres (68 fl oz) of water per ..read more

If you have eczema, getting eczema advice from an expert can be a valuable way to help you on your road to recovery.   Over the years we have seen blogs and social media posts, where some of the ITCHY DOZEN WORST FOODS FOR ECZEMA have been recommended for eczema. It's no wonder people are confused about diet and eczema! Remember, just because you like and follow them, it does not make them an expert.  It’s important to get your eczema info from a reliable source, which means not only someone who has successfully healed their own ecze ..read more

By Grace... The Vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve involved in the bidirectional communication between the brain and gastrointestinal tract. The two-way nerve extends from the brainstem, through the neck and down to the abdomen, which is responsible for keeping a number of bodily functions in check, including digestion, heart rate and respiratory rate (1). If you’ve ever experienced a “gut feeling” or even worse, a “gut reaction”, this is exactly what I’m talking about. This is your brain speaking to your gut, and vice versa. So what does all this mean? Inflammation is the underlying caus ..read more

Our Oat and Zinc Bath Powder contains three key ingredients that are all excellent for healing, soothing and moisturising the skin. It has been formulated to be used either as a bath soak, or as a soothing paste and is gentle enough to be used both on your face and body.  Read on to see exactly why we chose each ingredient and how each one is going to help your skin...  Colloidal Oatmeal Colloidal oatmeal is a fine powder, that comes from grinding and processing whole oat grains. When these small particles are dispersed in water, a barrier on the skin can form and protect the skin from extern ..read more

To all the carers, moms/mums, dads, friends (and other amazing souls out there) caring and supporting someone with chronic eczema: this latest blog by Bonnie is for you. {Photo of Bonnie, taken by Karen Fischer) Recently my mother was snooping around my mess (she uses the word 'cleaning') and picked up a book that I had been reading ‘Curing My Incurable Eczema.’ In her book, Cara Ward recalls her journey with eczema and Topical Steroid Withdrawal. Mum came to me to confess that she had to stop reading it because it bought back such painful and vivid memories of the many years that I (we) suff ..read more

I recently returned from an epic 3 month backpacking trip throughout Europe, don’t be too jealous! Because of my life experience with eczema, I would like to share with you my ‘eczema travel tips’. For many years eczema, or as I like to call it- ‘bloody eczema,’ at times stopped me from socialising with friends, going swimming in chlorine pools and generally made me retreat from life. However, as I gradually educated myself via the wonderful Skin Friend community, overtime I was empowered to make significant lifestyle changes- altering my diet, introducing supplements, exercising more and med ..read more

Although I was an ‘atopic kid’, suffering from environmental allergies, hayfever and asthma, growing up I was lucky enough to be free of food allergies or eczema. The first time I experienced eczema was during year 11 and 12 due to stress from school work and it showed it showed its red angry face under my arms. As many eczema suffers out there would understand...it is horrible. However, once the stressful exam periods finished it would go away and vanish from my mind until it returned.  As I got older, I grew out of my day-to-day asthma, with it only effecting me during excessive exercise or ..read more

Sauces, spreads, dressings and chutney....what would this world be without them. Offering a 'flavour delight' to an otherwise boring meal, sauces certainly bring flavour to a dish. But for those prone, to skin flares, they may also bring more then what we bargained for such as itchy skin, flare-ups, stomach upsets and headaches.                Many store-bought sauces contain ingredients high in itch promoting food chemicals such as salicylates, MSG and amines. Therefore, these are not an option for many following my Eczema Detox programs which exclude ingredients that have been shown in re ..read more

By Bonnie T. I have struggled with eczema for most of my life. I’m sure as any eczema sufferer reading knows, eczema can be a real pain in the butt. My personal eczema journey led me to Karen Fischer and her book The Eczema Diet and her Skin Friend supplements, which along with a commitment for change, healed my skin from the inside out. A few recent ‘naughty’ weekends indulging in gluten, alcohol and appalling food (yes, I mean crispy chicken and hot chippies), as well as stressful circumstances, have welcomed back my old adversary in an angry red, oozy rage. I’m sure many sufferers out ther ..read more