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How to fix eczema: step by step guide!

March 23, 2021 by Christina

Did you ever wonder how to fix really bad eczema or what things make eczema worse? Eczema is a tricky skin issue but it is possible to get your skin back to being clear and free with a few simple steps.


Personally I struggled with eczema for years, and it wasn’t until I finally cleared my skin that I realized some of the things I thought were good for me turned out to actually be making it worse!

In this guide you will know how to properly take care of an eczema outbreak, as well as learn about some common eczema mistakes and how to fix them.

After reading this guide you will know exactly what things to do and what things to avoid when you have eczema.


Let’s get started!


Step 1: Use a gentle cleanser


When you’re dealing with an eczema breakouts you want to use proper skin care. This helps the skin heal faster and avoid eczema from spreading, becoming infected or getting more itchy.

In general, you want to be as gentle as possible as scratching or rubbing the skin tends to make the outbreak worse.

How to wash your body with eczema

I used to make the mistake of bathing or showering too long, or with water that is too hot. This can make the skin crack and dry out even more!

According to eczema studies, the ideal way to wash eczema is by taking at least one bath or shower per day to clean the skin, not longer than 10-15 minutes. If possible, use lukewarm water and avoid hot heated baths that can make eczema (especially weeping eczema) feel more itchy.

What soap should you use to wash eczema?

One eczema study, revealed that frequent hygiene practices that does not involve use of soaps and detergents, are protective for eczema symptoms.

A mistake I made with my eczema was using my regular hand soap to wash my skin. Regular soaps and detergents often have harsh chemicals that are well known to trigger allergic contact dermatitis in those with sensitive skin. Meanwhile, now there are so many types of soaps that are free of alcohol and toxic chemicals. They should have a pH level similar to that of human skin. For example, goat milk soap helps people suffering from eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis because it contains saturated and unsaturated fats. You can also use soaps with natural oils that clean and remove dead skin. Overall, the most important thing is to pay attention to the ingredients in your cleanser.

For eczema, you want to use gentle cleansers without alcohol, fragrance or sulfates. Cleansers that are alcohol and sulphate free can clean your skin without removing too much moisture.

If you have flare-ups that are more severe, you can also just use warm water and no cleansers, if you find your skin does better with that.

Can water cause eczema or make eczema worse?

If you still find yourself itchy even after switching to gentle cleansers, you might also want to check the quality of the water where you live to make sure it isn’t “hard”. For me, I noticed that if I shower with hard water, my skin feels really dry and rough afterwards.

“Hard water” is water that contains a large amount of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sulfates, chlorine, etc., which can greatly affect your skin by intense dryness.

Researchers from London discovered that exposing the skin to hard water disrupts the skin’s Ph balance and damages the outside skin barrier and increases the sensitivity to irritants outside.

According to the head researcher of the study “washing with hard water may contribute to the development of eczema”. Yikes!

To check if your water is “hard”, do a google search using your zip code and type “water condition or water quality”. Most cities publicly post their water quality and you should be able to quickly know the condition your water is in.

If your water is hard, no worries! One easy fix is to get a portable shower filter ( I use and recommend this one). A water filter softens the water, balances the Ph, and takes out any harsh chemicals that might irritate your skin.

Should you scrub off the eczema?

No. When I was younger I thought eczema would go away if I exfoliated it. Huge mistake! Using a loofa, hard scrubs with beads, or chemical peels on eczema will not take it away. Eczema is a reaction that starts from inside (more on that here), so scrubbing or rubbing it off doesn’t help. It will only make your skin more irritated and red.

Be as gentle as possible with your eczema. Use your hands or a soft sponge in the bath or shower.

If you follow the steps in the rest of this article, the eczema should go away on its own!

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Step 2: Soothe eczema with an emollient

Now that you’ve got your cleaning basics down, the next step is choosing the right type of emollient to use afterwards. Emollients are pretty much a fancy word for moisturizers, and they are often used to help soothe eczema.

Emollients are moisturizing treatments that you can apply directly to your skin to soothe and hydrate it. They also cover the skin with a protective film to keep things out and lock moisture in. Using an emollient can help to prevent dryness and cracks, lock in the moisture, and keep your skin hydrated.

To get the most moisture on your skin, you want to use an emollient immediately after a shower or bath, as this helps seal in the water and can replace the moisture on your skin.

Read on to know what kind of emollients work best for eczema.

What is the best emollient for eczema?

There are three types of emollient moisturizers that work best for eczema:

Ointments (for very dry skin): thick greasy ointments can help to hold water into the skin. These can also provide a protective barrier to keep irritants out. The downside is that they can feel greasy.

Creams (for moderately dry skin): also thick but less greasy than regular ointments. This is my preferred emollient when dealing with a breakout.

Lotions (for less dry skin) : these are thinner and contain a lot of water. Great for regular moisturizer. The downside is that when the water evaporates, your skin might feel dry again so you need to re-apply more often.

Try using one of these types of emollients on your eczema as soon as you come out of the shower or bath. You can also use a mix of these emollients depending on your skin.

For me, I like to use a lotion all over my body, and then a cream for the parts of my skin that are more prone to dryness. This helps my skin a lot!

How to use emollients

Even if you’re not experiencing eczema, you should use your emollient regularly on the places that are prone to eczema outbreaks. Also include the parts of your skin that have thinner skin or drier skin. Using an emollient on these places can help to prevent future eczema from occurring on your skin.

To use emollients:

– After a bath or shower, gently pat dry your skin and apply the emollient while your skin is still moist to lock in extra moisture.

– Rub the moisturizer in the same direction as your hair grows to avoid irritation

– If you have dry skin use it regularly, at least twice a day, preferably after washing your eczema

– During a flare-up, apply it more frequently

What is the best over the counter cream for eczema?

When you’re at the store looking for a cream for eczema, you want to look for creams that are clear of harsh chemicals, steroid-free, fragrance free and hypoallergenic.

Some of the best over-the-counter eczema creams will also have a Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Foundation.

If you see this seal on a product it means the ingredients are dermatologist approved and safe for sensitive skin. I always look for this seal when I’m looking for a cream or skin product as it’s a good way to tell if a product is safe to use for eczema.

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Step 3: Protect and cover your skin

Now that you know what to clean and moisturize eczema with, let’s talk about one more important aspect of taking care of eczema.

One thing a lot of people (including myself!) forget to do is protect and cover the eczema outbreak as soon as it happens.

When your skin has eczema it will be more prone to bacterial infections, and this can make the eczema breakout worsen or spread. This is especially the case if you have open or weeping eczema (more on how to get rid of weeping eczema here).

For me I often made the mistake of leaving my eczema “out in the open” and not covering it. However I noticed my breakouts would feel itchy or look bigger and worse at the end of the day!

Thankfully, there is an easy fix.

Using a wound dressing to cover your eczema can help to keep bacteria out and protect your skin.

This ensures your skin doesn’t come into contact with outside irritants such as bacteria, dust, pollen, air pollution, etc. and it also helps your skin absorb the moisturizers or creams you use more efficiently.

How to use a regular dressing on eczema

I used to make the mistake of using bandaids on my eczema, however bandaids aren’t very efficient as they contain sticky adhesives that might irritate your skin further.

The right way to protect and cover up eczema is with a gauze dressing. When you use a gauze dressing you create a protective “seal” around the area that locks in moisture and keeps irritants out.

Use cotton sterilized gauze and gentle gauze tape after cleaning and moisturizing the area. After applying the dressing, you may want to wear clothes over it to help keep the dressing in place.

For most people, this will help protect their skin and prevent the breakout from getting worse.

When to do wet-wrap dressings for eczema

You may have heard of using wet wraps for eczema flareups. Using wet wraps for eczema is a special type of dressing that is used to provide additional moisture to the skin, while protecting it from outside irritants.

Wet-wrapping is not necessary for all eczema, however some studies show it can be very efficient if you are dealing with severe eczema flare-ups.

Here is how to use a wet-wrap for eczema:

– First, moisten cotton gauze in warm water until it is slightly damp.

– Next, wrap the moist dressing around the eczema area. Then, take another layer of gauze (or cotton clothing or dressing) and layer it over the wet one to keep it in place. You can use tape or bandages to hold everything in place.

– Finally, wear clothing over the area as to not disturb the dressing in place. Leave the wet wrap on your eczema for several hours or overnight to see the best results.

For most people, the regular dressing will be enough to protect the eczema from getting worse, however you can definitely give wet-wrapping a try to see if that helps you too!

Conclusion: follow the steps above to take care of your eczema!

The steps above are what I did when I was dealing with eczema, and they have helped me so much.

For me, after learning about proper eczema care I changed the way I took care of my eczema and I started getting great results!

First I would wash my skin with a gentle cleanser and soft water from my water filter. I made sure I didn’t scratch or rub the area too hard… or stay too long in the shower.

Next I would moisturize with an emollient.
I always tried to do this as soon as I got out of the shower, in order to keep all the moisture locked in on my skin.

Once my skin absorbed all the moisturizer I would cover the area(s)
with cotton gauze and use non-adhesive gauze tape to hold everything in place.

The first time I started doing this, I already felt a lot more comfortable as I went about my day!

Instead of my eczema getting worse, being itchy, or spreading, my skin would actually feel much better and my eczema would go away after just a couple of days! It felt so good to get my skin back to being clear.

Of course, finding the root cause for your eczema (like I talk about in my free clear skin video series) will also help you make the most results and can stop the eczema from coming back. This is what helped me and a lot of my clients the most.

However, if you’re in a similar situation where you just want some quick relief for your skin, definitely try using these tips to take care of your eczema the right way. These are all simple steps but they can help your skin a lot!


Well, that’s it for today. I hope this article helped you know more about how to take care of eczema. Now tell me, what has your experience with eczema care been like?

Are you looking forward to trying any of these steps for your skin? Did anything in this article help you? Leave me a comment below I always love hearing from you! ๐Ÿ˜€

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PS: Don't know where to start? Sign up to my free series The Clear Skin Plan !

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Comments

  1. Dianne says

    March 25, 2021 at 10:48 am

    Christina thank you so much for sharing your experiences with eczema this is so helpful for anyone struggling with this. ?

    • Christina says

      March 25, 2021 at 10:49 am

      Hi Dianne, thanks for reading and your kind words! I hope it helps you with your skin ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Lynn says

    March 25, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    Thanks I really appreciate the help and will certainly use the tips, Linnie

    • Christina says

      March 26, 2021 at 9:03 am

      You’re so welcome, let me know how it goes! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Judy says

    March 29, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Thanks for all your information! I have found it very helpful! My eczema is slowly getting better!

    • Christina says

      March 30, 2021 at 8:15 am

      That’s great to hear!

  4. Brian Varney says

    April 10, 2021 at 11:37 am

    Christina, thanks for your suggestions! I have been following your advice for years, and I am grateful.

    • Christina says

      April 26, 2021 at 8:57 am

      Hi Brian! Thanks for leaving me a message, I’m so glad my suggestions could help you! Let us know how it goes with your skin ๐Ÿ™‚

Christina Reeves
Hi, I'm Christina!
Welcome to The Flawless Program: a website focused on clearing eczema from within!

I cleared my skin by making simple lifestyle changes, and am helping many others do the same.

Read my story!

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