I think I've mentioned it a couple of times before but I suffer from severe eczema and have for about a year and a half now. I have discoid eczema and atopic eczema and it's pretty much taken over my life since it started. Not only is it constantly itchy, sleep disrupting and painful but my skin is very dry which makes it prone to breaking when I scratch. I don't think I own any piece of clothing that isn't spotted in blood anymore!
I have steroid creams and moisturiser prescribed from the doctors and I have to apply the moisturiser as soon as I get out of the shower without drying off or anything, but even then my skin is back to being really dry within in hour. Sooooo, my mum did some research and heard that a lot of eczema sufferers were championing Body Shop's hemp body butter, and since I don't have anything to lose I thought I might as well give it a try!
My only regret about this is not finding out about it sooner! MY GOD. This stuff is pretty much a miracle cream. A little spread over all of my leg, for example, will last from 8 AM until I get home from work at 4 PM without needing to be reapplied. A little really does go a long way so it's great value for money too. Almost instantly after I used this I felt a crazy different and for the first time in ages my skin felt soft and healthy. Okay, so it hasn't stopped the itching but the product sort of sits on your skin as well as sinking in so it helps protect my fragile skin (the steroid creams thin the skin). Honestly, it's pretty much a wonder cream.
The product has a very odd smell. It's not nice, but it smells natural and to me it smells like wet soil. I quite like the smell of soil after it's rained (not that I go around sticking my nose in soil all the time) so I'm all right with it! I would totally recommend this to anyone with ANY type of skin. Iit is designed for very dry skin but I can't see it not benefitting a lot of different skin types. It's quite steep at £12.50 a pop, but currently Body Shop have got a two body butters for £15 deal on which is great! I also bought a citrus lemon body butter which I've been using on my face and under my arms to keep me feeling fresh at work, plus it keeps the flies away!
Are you an adult eczema sufferer? Please share any tips and tricks you may have for dealing with skin conditions, because they are incredibly hard to live with. Some days I don't even want to get out of bed I feel so terrible and it's very disheartening to hear people to tell you to "just stop scratching", so I would love to hear some other stories!
