Skin irritant is an active ingredient. (Doublebase Emolient Cream)

Member Name: RU5H1NG

Product:	Doublebase Emolient Cream
Date:	05/11/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice pump action bottle.

Disadvantages: Contains irritants and is not effective.

Doublebase cream/gel is a fragrance-free emollient for dry, chapped and irritated skin conditions - such as dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. It is steroid-free, making it particularly suitable for babies and young children. Its active ingredients are Liquid Paraffin 15%w/w and Isopropyl Myristate 15%w/w. It comes in 100g tubes and 500g pump-action bottles.

I was prescribed this by my GP when pregnant as my eczema had flared up, had become very itchy and I wanted to avoid using so much steroid cream. I found that storing it in the fridge kept it nice and cold to soothe my inflamed skin. However, the relief would not last more than a few minutes and I would often resort to using hydrocortisone or "Lanacane" (a cream with local anaesthetic).

It also recommends using it on your skin before bathing to prevent further drying of the skin. This worked fairly well but made the water very greasy making hair washing harder work.

I looked up the ingredients to gain a better insight into why they were used and was quite shocked to see that Isopropyl Myristate is in fact a solvent and a known irritant to eyes, skin and respiratory systems. It is often used in medicinal and cosmetic applications to aid absorption. See http://www.greatvistachemicals.com . Natracare also say that it can cause acne so I would not advise it to be used on the face http://www.natracare.com/.

I am shocked and upset at the fact that this is available as a treatment for sensitive skin complaints. I will be sticking to more natural treatments such as olive oil when I next have a flare-up and will certainly not be using it on my children.

Summary: Will not recommend to anyone.