You’ve had the same dry, irritated patch of skin for weeks and nothing you use seems to help. The itching, red, flaky area of skin is driving you crazy and you’re just looking for relief.
My friend, it sounds like you may have eczema. Eczema is a skin condition characterized by dry, itchy, irritated skin that doesn’t go away easily. It’s more than just dry skin, it’s a dry skin condition that can be so uncomfortable it distracts you from your daily activities.
We know it’s rough (like, literally your skin probably feels like sandpaper), but keep your chin up. There are steps you can take to get rid of it.
The skin care experts at Disco know eczema, what causes it, and what you can do to treat it and prevent more flare ups.
Is there a Cure for Eczema?
Short answer, no. There’s no cure for eczema. The good news is, it’s not always severe, and it can be pretty easy to prevent flare ups of eczema.
Eczema is kind of an umbrella term used to describe several skin conditions. They can include something as simple as dry skin to conditions as severe as sores and painful rashes. Classic eczema symptoms are:
- Dry skin
- Scaly, flaky, peeling skin
- Irritation, pain, or burning
- Itching skin
- Redness or rash
Most often, an occurrence of eczema will look like scaly, dry skin that itches. You may apply moisturizer to the area repeatedly with little relief. It can leave you wondering what you can do, and what made your skin so irritated in the first place.
How Did I Get Eczema?
If you suffer from eczema, the issue is likely genetic. If one or both of your parents had eczema, you’re more likely to have it as well. More than 31 million Americans suffer from eczema, which makes it a pretty common condition.
You can’t catch eczema from another person, and although environmental factors can cause you to have a flare up, normally it’s something that you’re either born with or something you develop early in life.
If you’re one of the 31 million lucky eczema patients, you may have to make some lifestyle changes to avoid flare ups.
What Can Cause a Flare Up?
Eczema flare ups (periods of time when you experience eczema symptoms) can happen frequently if you don’t know what causes them. If you know your triggers, you can avoid them and possibly avoid another flare up.
Some of the most common triggers are:
- Dry skin. This is one of the biggest reasons a person with eczema will experience a flare up. When your skin becomes dry, it becomes tight, itchy, and brittle. Skin becomes dry when you don’t hydrate enough and don’t use a proper moisturizer.
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Skin irritants. We all know to think twice before using bleach without gloves, but for a person with eczema, there must be forethought before using practically anything that can come in contact with the skin.
Common irritants include cleaning products, cigarette smoke, sun exposure, improper skin care products, harsh skin care ingredients like formaldehyde (yeah, it's in some skin care products), and laundry care products.
- Stress. It’s not understood why stress can be a trigger for eczema, but it for some people, being stressed can cause an eczema outbreak.
- Free radicals. Free radicals are unbalanced molecules that damage healthy cells. They can come from sources like UV rays from the sun, cigarette smoke, pollution, and even fumes from cleaning products.
If you can determine what triggers your flare ups, you can avoid them and experience less outbreaks. Here’s how to avoid some commons triggers and get rid of your flare ups.
How to Get Rid of Eczema
The itching you experience from a flare up can be indescribable, and the more you claw at it, the worse it seems to get. All you want is a relief. The best way to get rid of eczema is to first try to prevent flare ups from happening. Here’s how.
Preventing Dry Skin
Since one of the biggest triggers for eczema flare ups is dry skin, it’s pretty easy to address this issue and keep your skin hydrated. You’ll do this two different ways.
- Hydrate. You know you need water, but how much do you actually need? The old rule of 64 ounces doesn’t apply. You may need that much water if you’re physically active, but the current standard simply states to drink enough water to make your urine clear. If your urine is clear, you’re hydrated. That’s the acid test.
- Use better skin care. It’s not just a matter of switching to a better lotion. For someone with eczema, you’ll have to revamp your entire skin care routine (or get one if you don’t have one.
Better skin care starts with the basics of cleansing and moisturizing your skin. You’ll need to swap out your current cleanser and moisturizer for products that are hydrating and contain natural ingredients that won’t irritate your skin and make it worse.
Look for ingredients that hydrate naturally without stripping skin of natural moisture. A great cleanser to try? Disco’s charcoal face cleanser stick. This stick contains natural charcoal to dig deep into pores and clean out dirt and oil while coconut oil keeps skin hydrated and calm.
After you wash your face, smooth on a super hydrating face moisturizer with macadamia nut oil to fully moisturize and protect your skin against dryness.
Avoiding Skin Irritants
Unless you’ve been incredibly cautious about what you put on your skin, your current skin care products probably contain ingredients that could trigger an eczema flare up.
Skin care, in particular, is a really commonplace to find harsh chemicals that can cause irritation to your skin even if you do not have eczema. The skin care industry goes pretty unchecked, so it’s not uncommon to find less than desirable ingredients in your products.
Disco was founded on the belief that men deserved access to safe, natural skin care that didn’t contain harsh chemicals that could irritate the skin or cause harm. Our products don’t contain sulfates, parabens, or formaldehyde.
Our products contain plant-based extracts and oils, along with natural acids that help hydrate, moisturize, clean, repair, and restore. Our body wash is a great choice for anyone, but especially men who experience eczema from time to time.
Our body wash cleanses the skin with natural ingredients and hydrates with soothing aloe to help moisturize and calm irritated skin and prevent post-shower dryness.
Disco’s body wash also contains horsetail extract that helps repair damaged skin, remove dead skin cells, and promote the growth of new cells. We finish it off with chamomile to keep your skin protected from free radicals, which could trigger an eczema flare up as well.
Stress
If stress is a trigger, finding a way to manage your stress will help you avoid flare ups. It will also help you avoid a stroke at age 30.
Whether you take up yoga, meditation, or weightlifting doesn’t matter. Find a method of stress relief that works for you and be intentional about including it in your daily routine.
Free Radicals
How can you protect against free radicals? You need antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your healthy cells from free radical damage by acting as a shield to your cells. The free radicals essentially “attack” the antioxidant and leave the cell alone.
Antioxidants are abundant in nature, and vitamin C is one of the biggest sources. Disco believes in the power of antioxidants, so you’ll find them in every one of our products. It’s like adding numerous layers of protection to your skin every time you use our skin care line.
The Bottom Line
Eczema isn’t curable, but it’s a condition that is definitely manageable. You can see less occurrences of eczema outbreaks if you determine your triggers and avoid them. You can also prevent dry skin related outbreaks by always ensuring your skin is fully hydrated.
Simply swapping out your current skin care products for ones that are more natural and don’t contain harsh chemical ingredients, you can improve the overall health and quality of your skin and experience fewer overall eczema flares.
Why choose Disco? We’re the skin care line created by a man, for men. Our products are specifically formulated to help keep your skin’s natural pH balance in its healthy range. Most of the products you find on store shelves are formulated for women.
Men’s skin is tougher and thicker than women’s skin, and also grows facial hair. Disco’s entire skin care line addresses these concerns with products that are clean, natural, and easy to use. If you’re dealing with eczema, our products can keep your skin hydrated, moisturized, and nourished.
Sources:
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/
https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/formaldehyde/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/family-health/mens-health/combat-stress.aspx
