by Alison Williams-Smith | May 27, 2022
Eczema symptoms may go away for a while, then flare up again. Here are some tips to prevent your itching from worsening, becoming inflamed and possibly getting infected:
- Fragrance
Keep away from Fragrance!
Fragrance is usually synthetic, unless it specifies that it is natural. One synthetic fragrance can be made up of 30 or more individual synthetic chemicals that cause skin sensitivities. These can all trigger your eczema. It is in in your body wash, facial wash or anything you use or put on your skin that isn’t natural with no added fragrance. For some eczema sufferers, even natural essential oils/fragrances can be a trigger.
- Natural Skincare & Ingredients
Go Natural!
When you choose your skincare products, always look at the labels.
Go for Natural Oils:
- Coconut Oil
- Shea Butter
- Olive Oil
- Hempseed Oil
- Moringa Oil
- Cocoa Butter
- …The list is endless, but some of these oils can cause blockages of pores, so be wary. Remember we are all unique, so what may affect one person positively, may not affect another in the same way.
- Trigger Foods
Is something you are eating triggering your Eczema?
Some of the big food triggers for eczema sufferers, as well as processed junk foods can be natural gluten and milk, eggs, peanuts and oily fish. However, there are many others. The only way to know what you are sensitive to is by doing an temporary exclusion diet for a fortnight, and then reintroducing one trigger food back at a time to see if you react.
- Ultra Processed/Junk Foods
These foods are so far removed from being natural, that I believe they should come with a health warning about how artificial and dangerous they really are! They are massively processed, and that is not good for the body.
They are highly addictive due to the sugars, fats, and salt in them. To achieve eczema free skin, it is better to stay away from these.
- Natural/Man-Made Bedding & Clothing
Avoid natural scratchy material such as wool; and avoid man-made fabrics like polyester. Instead, you can wear bamboo clothing! It is soft against the skin and let’s your skin breath. I would also opt for natural cotton that hasn’t been dyed with any type of colour.
Except for wool, natural products are always a yes.
- Eco Friendly Laundry Liquid
Don’t use harsh soaps, detergents, or solvents. Again, these are massively synthetic which can cause your eczema flare-up. If possible, opt for a fragrance-free brand. As you know by now, anything with added fragrance is a possible trigger for a flare up.
- Air Fresheners
This one is sometimes overlooked. You go around spraying or using plug-in air fresheners around your house, so as well as inhaling it, you are also sitting in and on it, as it lands on your soft furnishings such as your sofa. You’re basically causing your immediate environment around the home to be full of allergens that trigger your eczema, and even asthma.
- Humidifier
Is your house too dry?
It’s a good idea to add some moisture to the air in your home, if you have central heating.
This can help avoid having dry skin and aid a comfortable night’s sleep if you have issues with your sinuses.
- Wash Time
If you’re sweating a lot, it’s important to have a shower or bath, as your sweat can be a trigger.
Take warm baths or showers and keep them short. Long, hot showers can dry out your skin, making it more prone to flare-ups. Don’t forget to slather on a body oil or body butter based moisturiser on your skin before and after you shower.
- Water!
Drink enough water!
It’s important to stay hydrated both on the inside and the outside. Don’t neglect one over the other, as looking after the body and the skin are equally as important for the prevention and care of eczema.
Where necessary, work with your health practitioner to find the right treatments for you.
Alison x
For more information, check out our YouTube video;
10 Tips to Prevent Reoccurring Eczema @ Tigs and Moo Naturals
Also check out our Instagram and Facebook @tigsandmoonaturalskincare
by Alison Williams-Smith | May 27, 2022
What is it? What causes it? How to I know I definitely have it?
If eczema look different on different skin tones, and even appears differently on the skin, depending on its severity or type, then your first port of call is going to be seeing a doctor, or even your local pharmacist or naturopath.
Itching skin is often, but not always the first, symptom followed by dry patches, inflamed skin, rough, thick skin and if itched, broken and also infected skin.
Eczema can vary in intensity when it comes to how irritating the itch can be and it also varies in time when it comes to how long it lasts.
In some cases of eczema, the skin can react to tap water, but the most common triggers are detergents, skincare, body soaps, food products, grass, allergens and lack of humidity, stress, or a combination of these elements.
For some sufferers, the main cause of worry is that reaction can occur without any apparent reason, even if a person isn’t exposed to the usual triggers. This is where triggers such as stress or lack of sleep can also be looked at.
THE BEST TIME TO DEAL WITH THE SYMTOM OF ECZEMA IS STRAIGHT AWAY, BEFORE IT SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL AND GETS WORSE. HOWEVER, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GET STARTED
Check out: How Do I Know If I Have Eczema? on YouTube
SEVERAL TYPES OF ECZEMA YOU WILL HAVE HEARD OF:
Atopic Dermatitis The most common and most painful, frustrating itch. Can leave skin prone to infection, inflammation and can appear anywhere on face & body.
Allergic Contact Dermatitis Happens when your skin comes into contact with a specific substance. The substance can trigger an abnormal reaction in the immune system.
AVOID: Fragrance in skincare, detergents, laundry cleaning products, wool, citrus, grass, vinegar.
Cradle Cap (Infant Seborrheic Eczema) Looks crusty but isn’t itchy. It mostly affects babies up to age of 1 year old.
Adult Seborrheic Eczema: Appears on scalp as mild dandruff but can end up on ears, face, and chest. Normally found in 20-40 year old. It looks flaky and can become inflamed. Normally cause by an increase in yeast, and if it becomes infected it will need anti-fungal treatment.
Dyshidrotic Eczema: More common in women than men. Appears as small fluid blisters on hands and feet. Blisters can itch and hurt and skin can crack and become flaky.
Caused by: Allergies, stress, damp hands & feet, exposure to substance like nickel, cobalt & chromium salt.
Hand Eczema: Dry and itchy, may form blisters or cracks. It is triggered by exposure to irritant causing chemicals. Using antibacterial gels can trigger hand eczema as well.
Nummular Dermatitis: They look like a round coin shaped dots on the skin, it can itch a lot and become scaly. It is triggered by insect bites or an allergy reaction to metal or chemicals. Atopic dermatitis is also a trigger for nummular dermatitis.
Stasis Dermatitis: Triggered by fluid leaking out of weakened veins into the skin. It causes swelling, itching & pain. It mainly effects the lower leg and feels achy and heavy. Possible for people who suffers varicose veins with dry itchy skin over the veins, which may develop open sores.
For all of these, don’t think there is nothing you can do about it if you have been told it is genetic or it keeps reoccurring. As well as treating the symptom itself, you will need to start looking at what is causing your eczema.
We are all unique, so what triggers one person’s eczema, may not be the same for another person.
It is definitely useful to keep a food and lifestyle journal to document everything.
- WHAT YOU ATE THAT DAY, WHERE YOU ATE, WHO COOKED
- PRODUCTS YOU USED: SKINCARE, HAIRCARE, SUNSCREEN, PERFUME, MAKEUP
- JEWELLERY WORN THAT DAY
- WHAT YOU DID: SWIM, WALK IN CITY, WALK IN WOODS, CLEAN HOUSE
- LENGTH OF TIME AND TEMPERATURE OF BATH WATER
- STRESSFUL DAY, FUN DAY, GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP, EXERCISE, AIR CONDITIONING, CENTRAL HEATING
- SYMTOMS OTHER THAN ECZEMA EG. STOMACH PAIN, SINUSES, HEADACHE, SINUS PAIN, ARTHRITIS PAIN
If something as simple as sweat can be a trigger for your eczema, then is is definitely worth documenting for 2 weeks before starting your exclusion diet. Removing all known eczema triggers for 2 weeks then reintroducing one at time to see if there’s a reaction.
Check out What Causes Eczema, Exclusion Diet and Creating A Healthy Food Diary on YouTube.
Once food, skincare and your environment have been addressed, you can also look at gut health and possible supplementation to help your gut, skin and overall body health.
See Eczema, Supplements & Powders Part 1 & Part 2 on YouTube.
Once you deal with the triggers and the possible cause of your eczema, you will start to suffer less and less. It isn’t a one cure fits all condition, as we are all unique and eczema is multi factional. It won’t be cured or healed overnight but the symptoms will start to reduce and calm down.
For more information, check our YouTube channel to help with your skin journey! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE, like, comment & share!
@ Tigs and Moo Naturals
Also check out our Instagram and Facebook @tigsandmoonaturalskincare
by Alison Williams-Smith | May 14, 2022
In March 2010 a study of 640 infants aged 4 to 11 months was conducted. Of that study, 23% of infants were already found to be sensitive to peanuts.
The researchers measured immunoglobulin E (IgE), an immune system protein the body makes in response to allergens. A positive result means a person is sensitive to that particular food and therefore more likely to be allergic to it.
However, if you aren’t allergic to peanuts, you can still have a sensitivity or intolerance to peanuts, not so much because of the peanut itself, but because of the quality of what it is you are eating.
Let me explain…
PEANUTS
Always assume that peanuts are massively sprayed with chemical pesticides unless you come across an organic brand. This is because, producers and manufacturers of highly processed foods create their product as cheaply as possible to make a profit for that company.
Your health isn’t their concern.
This is also the case for all genetically modified (GM) foods. GM crops were originally created to reduce the level of pesticides used on crops, but instead, all that has happened is one harmful pesticide has been replaced by another…just ask the bees and butterflies why their numbers are declining.
I used to believe that peanuts were at the top of the list of GM crops, which is why I quit eating them, but currently they aren’t. My reacting to peanuts was because some of the brands are manufactured in premises that handled gluten and milk, and so my skin would break out because of cross contamination at the processing plant, and because of the manufacturing processes of the other added ingredients.
I did however learn that corn, soya, and canola are at the top of the list for GM foods.
Some foods that are from outside the UK and rest of Europe are from GM sources but don’t forget that unless you check the back of everything you purchase to see where it was manufactured, you can very easily be eating GM foods from the US or China that have been approved for human consumption. Be vigilant and become label savvy with everything you buy, if you want your skin and health to thank you for it.
TABLE SALT
Unless it states otherwise on the label, always assume that the salt in your peanuts is the crappy stuff, table salt. I was disturbed to find that 98% of salt mined from the salt deposits of the older remnants of seawater (left over when it washes away) is massively processed, losing anything that was good about it i.e. the minerals.
In other words, you’re not actually getting salt…you’re getting what is left after it has been through a chemical process. The salt solution is evaporated under a vacuum to form crystals. Its minerals are stripped away, and it is then made into the fine texture known as table salt.
SEA SALT
This is the deposits of more current sea water, and it has therefore retained more of its minerals. As it is less processed it therefore more expensive to produce. If you purchased unrefined over refined, then you have even more of its natural minerals. Refined sea salt is also darker in colour than refined but the chance of seeing this as an ingredient in your peanuts is pretty slim.
PINK HIMALAYAN SALT
This is mined from areas close to the Himalayas, often in Pakistan.
Lower in sodium than table salt, its pink colour is due to its minerals: iron, potassium, magnesium & calcium. As it has minimal processing this can make it more expensive than the other salts, but well worth the extra cost. Not only do I personally believe it to be 100% better than table salt, it also tastes better and you can use less of it in your cooking or on your plate as it has a more potent flavour. But again, at the moment, finding this ingredient in your standard packet of salted peanuts is rare.
When added to your bath water, the magnesium in pink Himalayan salt can help to reduce the inflammation caused by eczema. It might also help reduce the stinging from getting into the water during an eczema flare up.
PEANUT BUTTER– A HEALTHIER SNACK ALTERNATIVE
A healthier alternative to eating peanuts, if you can’t find organic peanuts with sea salt or pink Himalayan salt is organic peanut butter. It doesn’t matter if you prefer crunchy or smooth.
If made at home, peanut butter is simply peanuts that have been whizzed in a food processor…the longer you whizz it, the smoother it becomes.
If you purchase it from a shop, you need to be label savvy and make sure that the only ingredient is organic peanuts. Many manufacturers add sugar, palm oil, sunflower oil, preservatives, colour and other ingredients which are completely unnecessary.
If you do come across peanut butter that has added oil as an ingredient but nothing else, then choose palm oil that has been ethically sourced. If you don’t have access to organic peanut butter, then be vigilant and make sure no chemical pesticides are used. Before I try a new brand, I go online to their website and take a quick look.
If you like to pair your peanut butter with something, try it with slices of apple, carrot, celery or topped with banana slices. I even like it straight from the spoon, or in my porridge or smoothie.
Remember, you don’t have to give up on snacks when you want to eat healthy for your skin, you just need to become more label savvy and more aware.
Alison x
Check out Eczema: What Snacks Can I Eat? on our YouTube channel
For more information, check our YouTube channel to help with your skin journey! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE, like, comment & share!
@ Tigs and Moo Naturals
Also check out our Instagram and Facebook @tigsandmoonaturalskincare
by Alison Williams-Smith | May 11, 2022
What is hormonal adult acne?
Hormonal adult acne is acne that occurs after the age of 25. So just when you thought there was a time limit to suffering with a skin condition that is associated with puberty, we now simply have a different label for it in our later years.
When does it start?
So, although teenage acne can sometimes or primarily be triggered by an influx of hormones during puberty, which should then in theory calm down and stabilise after puberty. For adults…and by adults, I mean mainly but not always women, fluctuations in our female hormones can be the cause of our acne returning in our later life.
Your hormones can fluctuate or become imbalanced before and during your period, during pregnancy, when you are pre-menopausal & during your actual menopause. These imbalances can be the cause of your hormonal adult acne.
There is also polycystic ovary syndrome for which some women have a hormonal imbalance, metabolism problem and high levels of insulin.
Periods and the menopause are inevitable as a woman, but how you treat your body can make all the difference as to how much your hormones fluctuate during these times of our lives and pregnancy.
When it comes to men, a disruption in your testosterone levels can be the culprit for your hormonal adult acne.
But don’t despair…you don’t have to suffer!
How can we deal with acne naturally?
To prevent or reduce acne naturally, the food and drink you consume will make a massive difference to your skin. By making simple changes you can help prevent your hormonal/endocrine system from fluctuating during your period, pre-menopause and menopause. You will also help prevent causing changes to other parts of the body that could trigger your acne.
Eating the wrong foods can influence and cause fluctuations or imbalances in your endocrine/hormonal system; can cause low level chronic inflammation in your gut which affects your whole body and skin; can cause sebum/oil production on the skin itself; and can cause a weakened immune system, affecting your overall health and skin WHICH affects whether you get cystic hormonal acne.
So, as you can see by now, those wrong foods cause a whole host of issues to your body and ultimately your skin.
FOOD JOURNAL AND EXCLUSION DIET
Doing a food journal of just monitoring what you eat and drink for 2 weeks, then doing an exclusion diet of removing known acne trigger foods will help to raise some red flags. But remember, exclusion diets should only ever be short term to ensure you are getting a good variety of foods for the vitamins and minerals they supply.
The idea behind a very temporary exclusion diet is to ONLY remove all suspected trigger foods for a few weeks and then add one of your trigger foods back into your diet to see how your health and skin reacts. If no reaction, then enjoy, but if you do react, then the choice is yours as to what you will do next.
Now personally when I gave up certain food groups like milk, I went out and searched online to make sure I was getting my calcium from a plant-based wholefood source and not from processed food. I did this because processed foods for me are also a massive trigger.
When you start to read the labels of some of your favourite packaged foods, you will start to see why you have acne breaks out. All those chemicals that you are unknowingly ingesting are an absolute joke and really don’t belong in our bodies.
FOOD
If your body is getting its sources of energy from ingredients that are unpronounceable, artificial flavourings, artificial colours, artificial sweeteners, and if your food has more than one source of sugar then you’re eating CRAP. The artificial foods are called artificial for a reason…its because they are artificial, and artificial stuff isn’t tolerated well by the body. The same goes for all those different types of sugars that are added to foods. Sugar is added to make it taste nice and to make it more addictive, but ultimately it is ruining our bodies and skin, slowly, so that you won’t notice until the changes are all too obvious.
In fact, if the item of food you have picked up doesn’t look as close to its original natural state as it was picked up from the tree or soil, assume that it is crap.
If the fish you have picked up in the supermarket is from farmed sources and not wild caught, then assume that the fish has been swimming in its own faeces and that antibiotics have been added to the water to prevent disease.
Same goes for our meat, unless you can afford to only eating organic or grass-fed meat, then again assume that the animal will have lived in confined conditions where they will have been given antibiotics and some sort of hormonal treatment for them to grow faster. The same goes for milk and eggs. Washing or cooking the food doesn’t prevent the consumption of all these added chemicals, so they end up in our bodies and cause havoc.
Why am I mentioning all this stuff?
I’m mentioning all these crappy foods, that shouldn’t really be labelled as food, because it doesn’t matter how well you wash your meat and fish, it doesn’t matter how well you cook any of your meat, fish, or heavily processed junk foods. All the bad stuff that is in those foods can’t be gotten rid of from the body anytime soon. Instead, it causes inflammation in your gut, disruption of your endocrine or hormonal system and toxin build up in the different parts of the body.
Although toxins should be eliminated via the liver, kidney, colon, skin and even the lungs they stay in the body way too long and cause chronic issues.
All these points that I have just mentioned then lead to chronic long term health conditions for which our skin conditions are merely the symptoms of the problems within our body.
It doesn’t matter how much the so-called experts tell you how the body is meant to self-clean and remove toxins, because ultimately your body is telling you via your skin issues, that something isn’t right in your body.
When your skin is the symptom of a bigger issue that could potentially be improved of fixed with what you eat or don’t eat, will you do something about it?
My best advice is to first do a food journal, documenting your meals and symptoms daily for 2 weeks and then do your elimination diet. Once you have established what you shouldn’t eat for your body, then do your best to include more plant-based meals.
The main thing is to cut out what you know you react to and get rid of processed crappy foods, as everyone reacts to it on some level, they just don’t realise it.
You will feel and see a change in a matter of weeks!
If you’d like access to a free food journal, simply scroll to the bottom of the home page on the TigsAndMoo website or go to the description on any of our YouTube videos.
Alison x
Check out Natural Ways To Help Acne on our YouTube channel!
For more information, check our YouTube channel to help with your skin journey! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE, like, comment & share!
@ Tigs and Moo Naturals
Also check out our Instagram and Facebook @tigsandmoonaturalskincare
