What causes eczema?
If you or a family member has red, inflamed skin that’s, itchy, sore and weeping, it’s likely you are part of our sad national statistic, which reports that 20% of New Zealand children and a large number off Kiwi adults suffer from eczema.
Eczema and other irritating dry-skin conditions, such as psoriasis, are a real and miserable concern for people of all ages – the itching and irritation, the broken skin, the sores and the self-consciousness are all things that affect people who suffer from these conditions.
In many instances such conditions can be inherited, but let’s look at some of the causes and aggravators of an eczema outbreak:
1. Damaged skin barrier
Infection, lack of essential nutrients and fatty acids, environmental factors, stress and even those pesky hormones can cause dry, itchy skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. These conditions appear as a result of the immune system’s over-reaction to the irritant.
2. Loss of your natural skin microflora
Just like your digestive system, your skin has a natural skin microflora, made up of good bacteria (like probiotics), which prevent the build up of bad bacteria.
When the balance of good bacteria on your skin is lost, your immune system reacts with red, itchy inflamed skin.
Without the good bacteria, your skin is vulnerable to infection, which sets you up for a vicious cycle of sleep loss and itchy discomfort, scratching, infections and further inflammation.
3. Your genetics
Unfortunately, genetics can make our immune system oversensitive, causing our skin to react to even the slightest irritant. You’re more susceptible to outbreaks if you share a family history of suffering.
Treating your eczema
What you can do to reduce eczema symptoms:
- Steer clear of triggers, whether that's something like dairy, wool, soy, or dust
- Keep weeping sores covered with a light dressing if required, but air dry when you can to keep infections at bay
- Drink plenty of water
- Keep hot baths/showers and actual washing of the affected area to a minimum
- Keep your skin moisturised with an all-natural product such as Atopis Dry Itchy Skin Cream
In summer, Vitamin D from the sun and sea water swims in small doses can also help, but don't overdo it.
In winter, some people find relief from a tepid bath followed by cream liberally patted onto the skin. Remember to only sleep in 100 per cent cotton nightwear and sheets. Also make sure you are keeping the bedroom as cool and ventilated as possible.
We know eczema and dry skin conditions can ruin people’s quality of life, their confidence and, at times, can be very painful. This is what drove us to find a solution. We were also particularly worried about small children and babies and the stressful affect of their suffering on both parents and children. Our research found that Atopis soothes and calms the skin, leaving skin feeling hydrated, soft and smooth, no matter what age the user.
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Dr Iona Weir has created an all-natural cream, free from steroids and other chemicals, so that it is suitable for use by anyone, even on the new and hyper-sensitive skin of babies.
Atopis works in synergy with your immune system so you stop reacting to allergens and environmental triggers. It’s also so non-toxic and made from natural food-grade ingredients that it’s safe to use on small children and animals.
Within two weeks of use, this potent, all-natural therapy reverses the cell damage, and hydrates and restores the skin so the itching stops and the healing begins. Learn more about our clinically proven Dry Itchy Skin Cream by clicking on the product below.
Atopis - Released at last
Atopis has successfully launched in New Zealand in the first week of February 2017. From the first week of the Atopis website going live orders from across the country have been steadily coming in.
The Scientific Invention inside Atopis natural skin care
By Dr Iona Weir PhD
Chief Scientist and CEO
Atopis Skin Care
In my scientific research in YEAR I discovered that kiwifruit reduces cytokine IL6 in human cells.
Cytokine IL6 is the cellular transduction molecule responsible for the inflammation that causes eczema. (Weir et al., 2008).
Using the latest biochemistry technique called lipid fractionation technology, I then spent YEAR studying, testing and observing thousands of cells, and isolated and purified the component of kiwifruit pollen that reduces cytokine IL6.
I included this compound in Myriphytase, my US patented invention which goes inside all of my skin creams. (Weir US Patent No. ).
Myriphytase is scientifically proven to reduce this cytokine in the body and heal the cause of eczema from inside the cell.
After I invented Myriphytase, it was clinically trialed in both New Zealand and the USA and shown to help human skin including an increase in skin quality, a significant reduction in the severity of eczema symptoms, and a decrease in redness, itching, and scaling.
Like our other 100% natural ingredients, Myriphytase is not made up of mere plant extracts - our scientifically enhanced food grade compounds are clinically shown to benefit human skin.
Myriphytase is also scientifically proven to slow down the aging process by encouraging cell renewal, and contains antioxidants to neutralize environmental toxins.
Myriphytase regulates skin pH, tones and reduces pore size, and has an anti-inflammatory and redness reducing effect on skin.
It is an anti-inflammatory with potent antimicrobial and moisturizing properties.
Also inside Myriphytase are bioactive flavanoids, minerals, nutrients, vitamins and bee enzymes. It has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties, and acts as a prebiotic for good bacteria on your skin as well as being an emollient. It has astringent and exfoliating properties as well as unclogging pores and reducing acne breakouts.
Myriphytase includes our patented potentiated bee pollen which is non-allergenic and contains phytosterols (a group of naturally occurring compounds found in plant cell membranes) that reduce itching and inflammation.
Phytohormones (naturally occurring small organic molecules that influence physiological processes in plants) are chemical messengers that coordinate cellular activities of plants and are inside Myriphytase to promote skin cell renewal and flavanoid antioxidants protect against environmental damage and skin dehydration.
Our patented pollen is anti-microbial and antiviral and a great source of vitamins, minerals and amino acids for your skin.
Myriphytase also contains Probiotic Peptilipids™
We create our unique patented ingredient Probiotic Peptilipids™ by growing bacteria which we have isolated from the New Zealand forest.
From these bacteria we harvest proteins and enzymes. The proteins are converted to peptides and bound to lipids which to create peptilipids.
There are no bacteria present in Atopis skin care, only the bacteria's enzymes and peptides which are scientifically shown to promote the growth of your skin's own beneficial microflora.
Treating Hormonal Skin: A Complex Journey
Hormonal skin affects most of us with nearly 85% of people getting acne at some point in their lives.
It is an up and down, tumultuous journey. Often spending money on what feels like a million products, finding that nothing has quite done the trick yet. We have all been there, while most of us are still there.
But achieving completely clear, healthy skin doesn’t happen overnight as much as we wish it did. It requires perseverance and a good skincare routine.
Our skin is actually the largest organ on the human body and is able to reflect internal matters such as gut problems, anxiety, periods and so on. Not so surprisingly, this means that skin complaints can be managed by addressing the internal issue.
For hormonal skin, breakouts are first caused by fluctuating hormones. One hormone in particular that causes bad skin is Androgen. This hormone is triggered when we experience stress and fatigue. It signals the sebaceous glands (they produce oil) to go into overdrive which results in too much oil in the pores that turn them into clogged pores (congestion).
In hormonal skin that is past the teenage years, the sebum gland wants to keep hydrating the skin because it thinks it is dry. To counteract this, choose skin care products we highly recommend natural and non-abrasive products – rather than harsh antibiotics or chemical cleaners. It is essential that after washing you apply a moisturiser to let the skin know it does not need to produce more oil.
If you use an exfoliator limit this to once a week if absolutely necessary. If practiced wrong, the skin is prone to drying out, and micro-tears from the exfoliator.
This leads us onto why exactly the way we clean the skin is so important for balancing the oil production.
There is a bacterial issue that keeps hormonal skin stuck on repeat.
What causes this is how the sebum gland works in harmony with our skin’s microflora (a mix of bacteria living on the skin’s surface).
As mentioned before, the sebum gland which is responsible for producing a reasonable level of oil is over-producing. When we cleanse the face it strips away dirt, oil and bacteria lifting it from the pores. But what we need is for the cleanser to gently and only remove the bad versions of oil and bacteria because there are good versions that live on the skin that are necessary to the microflora’s stability.
When the skin is over-producing oil, it is because it dried out too much, and this allows the bad bacteria to feed off the extra oil, increasing the chances of this nasty bacteria’s survival.
This key to avoiding this is to use a gentle natural cleanser and to moisturise morning and night. These are hormonal skin’s absolute survival essentials.
If you liked what you read and are ready to start your journey to clear skin then please learn more about our products designed specifically for balancing hormonal skin.
These 4 products create a skincare routine that cleanses, clears, moisturises, and tones the skin, so you can easily achieve healthy and glowing skin!