Often time when eczema is present, baths can become hard to figure out, either because the water hurts their skin, because they are itchy the whole time they are in the bath, or they are sensitive to so many products/soaps! There are many different kinds of baths to give, and we have found success trying out different things to help soothe their delicate skin.

Below is a list of different options/ tips and tricks for bath time and the health benefits they offer! There are many different baths to do, and every person is so different. For example, some people find relief through adding oats to their bath to soothe the skin. That never worked for us, as oat is a trigger and irritated their skin. We also tried goat milk in the past, so hopeful it would help, not understanding that it is still dairy and it completely broke my son out. So often with eczema or any rash/health condition for that matter, its lots of trial and error.

• Epsom Salt or Dead Sea Salt : We have had huge success with both of these. They are similar in the sense that salts help soothe and cleanse the skin. Epsom salt is more detoxifyng than dead sea salt. They both also contain bio-available magnesium but dead sea salt is higher in magnesium than epsom salt. Both of these salts also help fight bacteria on the skin which is great when you are trying to get rid of staph or candida. We add about 1 cup to the baths. I look for non-scented, just one ingredient on the bag- when buying epsom salt or dead sea salt.

  *all of my kids respond well to salts, but my youngest daughters eczema really responds well. We usually do an epsom salt or DSS bath before bed and it decreases itchiness and helps her sleep better!

• Apple Cider Vinegar: We used this for a period of time during TSW with my son to help fight the staph on his skin. It was the only way the water didnt feel like it was burning his skin. It is very antibacterial and antifungal and helps by changing the pH of the skin so it is less favorable to opportunistic bacteria. We added 2 cups to his bath. Just to warn you though- your bathroom will smell like kombucha!! (*also make sure to purchase apple cider vinegar with the mother! That way you know you are getting all that great bacteria.)

• May have to switch up how often you give baths : There have been some stages during our healing journey where minimal baths were best. Water seemed to aggravate everything and make it flare. Other times, we do baths every day or other day because it soothes. All of this to say that there is no one equation. Some doctors told us we needed to bathe every day no matter what, but that only aggravated it when we tried it. There are just different stages the skin may go through and to listen to what it wants at the time.

• Adding vitamin C : adding vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid is a great way to neutralize chlorine in the bathtub if you don’t have a water filter. For some the chlorine can be very irritating either externally or internally. Adding about 1 tsp of ascorbic acid powder will neutralize the chlorine.

• Use a water filter: To filter out the many contaminants and including chlorine we use a filter and have loved the this one we found on Amazon.

• No soap (unless cradle cap shampoo) : I still have to adjust my thinking on this. We have not used soap on my son for a while now. It is interesting because his hair never gets greasy. ever. So we are rolling with it. As of right now we just use water. Sometimes no matter how clean the soap is, it will irritate the skin. If you are in a place to use a soap- choose a non scented, allergen free soap. I think that we tend to be way too clean by constantly rubbing ourselves down with soap when we aren’t dirty which can disrupt our skin microbiome. I don’t know, just my own lil thought on that.

• Cradle Cap Shampoo: We love this clean shampoo that helps with cradle cap using zinc! It has worked so great with my youngest and has not irritated her skin at all. I highly recomend if youve got a little one with cradle cap!

• Might not need a moisturizer afterwards : If fighting staph or candida on the skin, applying a ton of moisturizer after the bath could be making it worse. Sometimes all that’s needed is targeted support for the bad patches. If the skin is very very dry, then applying something like an all purpose salve from Earthley could be helpful, or their soothing skin balm. These are especially helpful if you aren’t currently fighting staph. Here are my blog posts on identifying staph and healing candida. Sometimes the skin really is just dry. We have successfully rid some parts of their skin that had eczema with just these creams. **Other things that can be helpful that you may have on hand: shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil or zinc cream. Zinc doesn’t moisterize making it good for staph. Its hit or miss with eczema but could be worth a try!

• hand mittens : If you child is going through a very itchy stage and giving them a bath is hard because they go after their skin, try some of these mittens. They have lightweight ones with holes so the water doesn’t sit in them and it offers protection while they are in the bath.

• Magnesium lotion : After the bath we apply this Earthley Magnesium lotion on their feet or belly for added sleep support. This is an all time favorite product in our house. We all know that pretty much all of us are deficient in magnesium and putting some on topically is an affordable easy way to make sure they are getting that mineral.

• soft cotton pajamas & bamboo hand covers: cotton and bamboo pajamas often times are the best option for itchy skin. We found a bamboo buddy scratch sleeves that has been amazing for stopping the itch. (we also love these ones). It’s the only hand covers that my daughter hasn’t been able to rip off and its so soft. They can still rub if they are itchy but it wont break their skin. We also use Honest Baby organic cotton pajamas on her which come with hand covers all the way up to their 6-9 month size.

I hope that this list could be helpful in navigating bath time with your little ones! There are so many products now marketed for eczema, and while many of them are great, sometimes their skin just needs a little break from soaps and lotions in general. Soaps tend to mess with our skin microbiome and pH and kids with eczema are already struggling with that. In my experience it has worked great and has not affected their cleanliness, in fact I’ve seen it make their skin and hair more resilient.