Eczema MM


When Natalie Balmond found herself frustrated at not being able to find a product that would help her daughter’s eczema, she found an innovative - and ultimately very successful - solution to the problem!


An award-winningmum


Eczema in childhood is becoming increasingly common, but this doesn’t diminish the distress and pain that it often causes both child and parent. As she watched her six-month-old baby Lula’s skin become increasingly dry, cracked and bleeding, Natalie found herself both upset and frustrated. ‘People tend to think that eczema is ‘itchy skin’,’ Natalie told MM, ‘but it’s


so much more than that. On top of the cracked and bleeding skin that Lula was experiencing, the itching prevented her from sleeping, and I was constantly having to wrap her in bandages. It was very distressing for both of us.’ As with so many other mums in a similar situation, Natalie searched for a


solution to Lula’s eczema; trying out every pharmaceutical emollient or steroid cream that GPs, pharmacists and dermatologists suggested, and altering Lula’s diet to see if dietary changes would make any difference. Unfortunately, nothing worked. ‘It was so frustrating,’ Natalie continued. ‘No matter which moisturisers I


used - conventional and alternative - they simply aggravated Lula’s eczema, and stung and irritated her. ‘I knew that what I wanted was an ointment that would protect Lula’s skin


from external irritants. I’d noticed, for example, that even sitting on the bus would make the eczema flare up on the back of her legs, and I wanted to protect her against these irritants. I wanted a cream that contained no preservatives, unnecessary fragrances, chemical emulsifiers or ingredients that were only there for the sake of appearance. In short, I wanted an ointment that was as totally natural and as mild as possible. ‘I looked into all of the traditional ointment making methods and started


blending them in my kitchen with natural ingredients as I knew that artificial ingredients made the condition worse.’ Natalie started experimenting by cooking up traditional ointments and


salves in her kitchen, using combinations of herbs and oils, such as hemp, calendula, nettle and olive – all of which had been used in skincare for centuries. Over the next few months, she began ‘fine tuning’ everything, ensuring that the combination of ingredients was the best it could be. To her great delight - and relief - she eventually came up with a salve that


was soft and gentle and worked really well as a natural moisturiser to hydrate and maintain the health of Lula’s sensitive skin. ‘As soon as I started using the lotions on Lula, there was an immediate


improvement. She started to sleep better and the itch dissipated. Also, her skin was less dry, which certainly helped. The eczema certainly wasn’t cured, but it was definitely much more manageable.’ Within a short period of time, other people began to notice the improvement in Lula’s skin and began asking Natalie for the name of the


cream she was using. As a result, Natalie began making up batches of what was to become her award-winning Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising Ointment for friends and family and, when a local newspaper took up the story, she was inundated with requests for the salve. Purepotions was born! ‘It was when people kept telling me about


improvements in their own and their children’s eczema that I realised I had created something very successful. I’d only initially intended to help Lula’s eczema, but I realised very quickly that my creams and ointments were helping so many others. Every day I receive positive feedback in the form of letters,


As soon as I started using the lotions on Lula, there was an immediate improvement


emails and testimonies and it’s so lovely to know that something that I did has helped so many others.’ Natalie’s Purepotions range has not only been


developed to include other natural skincare products, such as a Daily Moisturising Cream and some wonderful oils, but her initial product - the one she developed in her kitchen - is now an award winner! ‘Our Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising


Ointment recently won one of Green Parent’s prestigious awards,’ Natalie concludes, ‘and, in fact, it was the highest accolade possible - the Gold Award in the Bath and Body - Body Cream/Balm category, so I’m absolutely delighted. There are thousands of people out there who are always going to be susceptible to eczema, so it’s a case of good management of the condition on a daily basis. I’m glad that I’ve been able to play my part in helping people to manage their eczema.’


Modernmum 37


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