Which Vermont Soap products should I use if I have eczema?

I have eczema and the prevailing medial opinion is to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate. The other recommendation is to avoid soaps with perfumes or dyes. Which bar soap should I select? The ones you have listed for sale all have a perfume in them.

Hi Judy,

My personal take on eczema is that it starts as a topical dermatitis and if left untreated can become infected ie “wet or weeping eczema”.

If you have the more extreme form Porter’s Lotion is an excellent product to try. It is the original hand sanitizer from the 1890’s and it really works when infection is present.

But the initial issue of product residues touching your skin still needs to be addressed, and that is where Vermont Soap comes in.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and its many cousins and versions is actually best thought of as a “detergent bundle”. You may be able to find less de-greasing and irritating detergents, but it is also possible that you will have increasing reactions to them over time as well. As a detergent sensitive individual I formulate non detergent soap and natural oil based alternatives for Reactive Bodies.

Laundry, dishes, dishwasher, per shampoo, car wash etc: Start with a gallon of Unscented Castile Liquid Soap.

Hand Soap: Unscented Foamer

Moisturizer: Green Gold Unscented

Cuticle Cream: Shea Butter

Body Soap: Butter Bar

Shampoo: Baby wash and shampoo or Butter Bar. These work best for finer hair. We continue to experiment with shampoo formulas!

This is easy once you get used to products that work slightly differently from the detergent products you are used to.

Add soap to water for low foam

Add water to soap for high foam

Soap likes hot water!

Wash out your washing machine in hot water if you can before switching over. Make sure everything that touches your skin – esp pillow cases and a top and bottom sheet is cleaned in castile soap. Detergents are on your dishes and in your clothes. Within a few days you will either notice a difference or you are not particularly detergent sensitive and should continue your detective work of finding which molecules trigger your eczema flare ups.

All the Best!

Soapman

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