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I have only recently developed eczema as an adult and finding reasonably priced lotions is surprisingly hard. For face creams I can rationalize the price because it is going on a smaller surface area and will take longer to go through the bottle, but for body lotion the price needs to be reasonable.
I will preface all of this by saying, if you believe you have eczema symptoms and that diagnosis has not been confirmed by a doctor, please see your doctor or dermatologist as skin rashes can be so many different things and could indicate something more serious.
I went to Target to get an assortment of eczema lotions that they offered to find the “best” one. None of these lotions will heal your skin, but they can help treat the symptoms.
My husband has sensitive skin that isn’t consistently allergic to any specific ingredient, but will break out in hives for certain products, so I had him test these all out as well and he agrees with my consensus.
Unfortunately, none of these have a great smell. They all smell like medicated lotion that has oatmeal in it. This is probably good for people with sensitive skin and for people who can’t handle a scent in a lotion, but I like at least an option of a lotion with a scent and didn’t find one for eczema at Target.
These are the ones that I tried in order of how much I liked them:
Vaseline Clinical Care Eczema Calming
This one has a great texture, soaks into skin fast, and is my favorite. It has a medium viscosity and doesn’t leave residue on your skin. I would recommend this lotion even for someone who doesn’t have eczema, but just has dry winter skin and wants relief.
Gold Bond Ultimate Eczema Relief
We had been using this one for a few months before I bought all the options at Target, and this is a tried-and-true favorite in our house. It feels a bit more like body butter than the Vaseline one and is a great universal lotion.
Cetaphil Eczema Pro Eczema Soothing
My husband has been using Cetaphil products since he was a teenager (probably 15 years now) and is a die-hard fan. He won’t use anything else on his face and was pretty sure that only regular Cetaphil products would work on his skin.
Based on this, I was sure that this one would be his favorite, but it just doesn’t work as well as the other ones. It is fine, but doesn’t have as much moisture as the first two. It smells like the classic Cetaphil scent and we’ll still use it up since we bought it, but we won’t buy it again.
Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream
This is by far both of our least favorite option. It has an unpleasant texture that is slimy and sticky. I would put it on in the morning, and I would still feel sticky when I changed my clothes after work. I’m too frugal to not use it since I paid for it, but I definitely will not purchase it again.