THE WAY TO NOURISH

A personal favorite, this moisturizing cream keeps my feet, and the rest of me, soft and oh so supple! It's readily available at Trader Joe's for $3.99 plus tax for the 16 oz. bottle. Try it! 

HOW DO YOU TREAT UNSIGHTLY ECZEMA?!?!?

A few weeks ago, we featured these before and after pictures to illustrate the effectiveness of our product, T!NTALIZE® concealer for feet. And while we want to continue selling this innovative concoction, we realize that we would be doing our readers and clients a disservice if we didn't take this one step further and talk about any effective measures that we know to eliminate the unsightly skin rash which characterizes eczema. That said, let me start by saying that I have eczema. As a child, my rash was largely stimulated by food allergies. I was highly allergic to strawberries as well as  chocolate, oranges and tomatoes. As I grew into puberty, my rash became less of a food-stimulated occurrence and more of a hormonal and stress related one. I remain susceptible to those stimulants to this day. But I DID have a 25-year remission, and here's the simple truth:

One day, when I was 22 years old, I left work and as soon as I got in my car, I began to scratch my legs until blood was streaming down in rivulets. I had concurrently begun to drive and ran onto the curb and into a fire hydrant as I scratched. Luckily, I wasn't going fast enough to tip the hydrant, but that event DID tip me. I knew I had to get help for my condition. I called a dermatologist whom I just happened to meet at a Stanford Alumni concert two days prior. Her name was Carla Herriford.  I made an appointment for a couple of days later, and went to see the good doctor. She asked how I had been controlling the eczema, and I explained that for long periods I used steroid creams and ointments. She said I needed to get off of them immediately. She introduced me to a lotion which had just been released on the market that stimulated new skin growth in the dermis while "burning off" the epidermis with lactic acid. This product was called Lac-Hydrin. She told me to couple that with using Dove cream bar during my shower. I did that, and within a few weeks, I was rash-free and I've remained that way for 25 years!

Besides steroid creams and the Dove cream bar/ Lac-Hydric combination, what else can you do???

1) Phototherapy which is simply treatment with light in a controlled environment. For skin disease, a narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) light is used

2) Psychological techniques (meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis)

3) Alternative therapies including acupuncture, traditional Chinese herbs, diet and vitamins

4) Bleach and vinegar baths

In addition, here are some other helpful tips: First, take warm showers/ baths, not hot. Hot water may feel great on your rash; somehow the heat makes the itch diminish; but, it's also very drying to the skin which then makes it itch again. Second, pat your skin dry, don't rub, and immediately follow your shower with a lotion. Third, determine what triggers your eczema and avoid it.