For years now I've had dermatitis on my hands, the slightest thing sets it off and flares it up such as washing up liquid, dry weather, drying my hands after washing them quickly and leaving some water on my skin, certain soaps and creams and sometimes stress so I usually have at least a few small patches at any given time. It doesn't bother me hugely, I have far bigger problems than my dermatitis, but recently with all the painting and wallpapering I've been doing I've developed a very painful patch on the side of the knuckle of my index finger. This patch splits repeatedly every time I bend my finger and now looks like I've had a tussle with Edward Scissorhands as it's turned into a line of cuts. I've tried numerous creams on this area and the only thing that worked was Germolene and a plaster to keep my finger straight but I wanted something I could apply through the day that would protect the skin from water so I started searching online for such a product. I came across Thovaline when I searched for zinc oxide cream and alot of people were rating it highly so I bought a 125g tub to try. It cost me £1.99 with £1.49 shipping from an Amazon seller so it isn't expensive either.

Thovaline is very much like Sudocrem except Sudocrem had already failed on my painful skin and I think the zinc oxide content is higher in Thovaline. At that price and with rave reviews it definitely seemed worth a try anyway.

The tub is very basic and just like the picture above with a blue label that tells us Thovaline is to "aid in the relief of minor skin conditions. The traditional ointment for the young...and not so young." The ingredients are very similar to Sudocrem; Petroleum Jelly, Zinc Oxide, Mineral Oil, Sunflower Oil, Lavender Oil, Lemon Oil and Aqua. I was a bit worried about the lemon oil as lemon is very drying and my skin certainly didn't need drying out but felt the other oils in there should negate that. Thovaline should be kept out of reach of children and used sparingly for best results. That's all that's on the label. There are both smaller and larger sizes available too.

Inside the tub the ointment is very white and thick, it smells of lavender but not too strongly. A tiny amount goes a long way and leaves my skin with a white oily coating on it, you can rub it in until it vanishes but as nobody is looking at my hands I don't, I like to keep it on as a layer as much as I can. It is waterproof but not soap proof so if I get my hands wet it stays put but can be washed off with soap and water. I reapply several times a day and at night if my cut patch is very bad I smother it in Thovaline then wrap it in a plaster to keep it still and prevent the ointment from rubbing off onto the sheets. It is oily so will stain if it gets on material.

I've been using this for a few weeks now and while I'm using it I can get my skin almost healed even with all the decorating I'm still doing. If I forget to apply this though my skin rapidly dries out and splits again so I really need to keep wearing this as long as I'm decorating even though I tend to wear rubber gloves as much as I can. I washed the dishes the other day without my Marigolds on which I never do because of the consequences and for a change it didn't flare up my skin so the protective layer helped even through washing up liquid. I wear it all day long and reapply every time I wash my hands or as I think it needs more and the section of skin that splits hasn't done so while I've been using this. I'm under no illusions though that it will split again the second I stop and do something that sets it off but as a temporary measure and to help the area heal in the process it's been brilliant.

One odd thing though is I keep finding granules in this, they are white powder when crushed and examined and do rub into the rest of the ointment if given time but I'm not sure which ingredient they are, the zinc oxide perhaps? They don't bother me much but if you were using this for nappy rash on a baby it probably wouldn't be the best plan to try and rub them in, probably better to just pick them out.

Thovaline can be used on dermatitis, eczema, nappy rash, dry skin, cuts and grazes, itchy patches, stings and bites, as long as you're not sensitive to any of the ingredients you can try it on lots of skin conditions. I've also used it on my dry elbows and it's got them back in good condition again and a while ago I licked my lips too much on a cold day and ended up with a sore patch at the corner of my mouth and applied this for a couple of days to help it heal, which it promptly did even though I didn't keep my mouth shut!

It's a really inexpensive ointment that helps heal the skin, it's been a godsend for my hands and has kept the cuts at bay for a while now. Like Sudocrem it will last ages as a tiny bit is all that's needed and I personally can find no fault with it. It helped my skin where most other things had failed, including the mighty Sudocrem, so it's a personal favourite of mine now. A full 5 star rating from me.