The Best Cream for Eczema--Finally!

So, okay, sometimes the doctors are right. Really. My almost one year old has had bright red half dollar sized patches on her torso, the backs of her legs, and shoulders for months. When I took her to the pediatrician, they said to use hydrocortisone cream on her (which is a skin thinning steroid cream-- sounds great and harmless!) and Eucerin. I thought, ha! I'll find some natural, botanical, no chemical brand that will work even better.

Not so much.

First I tried California Baby's Calendula cream. This was a nice, think cream that looked like it would really work. I used it up in about a week, and it didn't clear up the rash. I think this cream would work well for kids with extreme dry skin, but not for full eczema. Next I tried Jason Natural Cosmetics- Earth's Best Baby Therapy Cream. This was also thick and worked a bit better, but also went very fast and didn't clear it up, even when I used it right after her bath like everyone told me to.

So, I researched the chemical load the trusted and recommended Eucerin. Turns out the Original formula was rated quite well (with a 2 on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database) which means low hazard. It was only 1 point higher than the California Baby and the Jason Earth's Best creams. But if you are buying Eucerin products be sure you get the original formula, because I noticed that many of their other creams had higher ratings for chemicals, even as high as 8 which means high hazard.

I bought a huge jar of Eucerin for 13 bucks, and used half percent hydrocortisone cream (I know, I didn't want to use it--) and it cleared up beautifully. Now I can usually keep it at bay with the Eucerin alone. Yes, I suppose I should have listened to the hundred or so people who told me it worked. Maybe this will save you a stubborn streak and an itchy, uncomfortable baby, if you have a tendency for either.
(and maybe something totally different worked for your baby- comment and tell us about it!)