Review: Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

We were sent a selection of Surcare products for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Living through a pandemic is stressful and as a sensitive soul in many ways, my skin has been the most visible indicator of my internal stress levels. For the first time in my life I’ve had acne and my long standing battle with eczema has been raging harder than ever. The patches of eczema are multiplying and even slapping on my usual steroid cream isn’t making much of a difference. Lockdown has made me itchy and I’ve had enough.

Usually when I have a flare up, I know it’s time to up my personal skincare regime; perhaps it’s time to treat myself to a new duvet and pillows, and to look at the products I use just in case there is something lurking in my cleaning cupboard that’s agitating me.

Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

For years now I’ve used standard supermarket sensitive washing powder. Nothing exciting, no fancy scents or harsh ultra cleaning power. It’s been fine, but it’s not been outstanding, and it was time for a change.

I’ve heard about Surcare before, but I always looked at it as a specialist laundry product for people with seriously bad skin problems. I’ve never considered using it for my own washing before.

We tried the Surcare Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, which are little pillows of liquid which you just throw in the wash. I was a big fan of this as I don’t think I’ve ever not spilled laundry powder or dribble liquid everywhere. I’m a bit of an oaf really. The outside of the capsules just melts away in the wash and it’s very neat and tidy.

The capsules contain just the right dose (24.5mls) for your standard wash. It’s extra concentrated too, so that little does go a long way. They have no fragrance, acids, enzymes or dyes; which is ideal for those with sensitive skin.

I have to say, I am impressed. I’ve been using Surcare for a couple of weeks now. My clothes are clean and fresh smelling, it seems great on stains and I’ve washed my bedding and towels with it too. I am very happy with Surcare Non-Bio Laundry Capsules and I would absolutely buy them again.

Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

People often feel that changing to a brand designed for sensitive skin means they have to compromise on the effectiveness of the product; but Surcare is just as good, if not quite a bit better than what we have been using. I’ve been very impressed with how clean and fresh smelling my washing has been since we changed.

They’re currently available online and in-store from Sainsbury’s and it costs £5.25 for a pack of 20 of the capsules. The range is also available from Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Co-op. These Surcare products have got the Allergy UK Seal of Approval and are kind to even the most delicate skin.

Other sensitive products in the Surcare range are;
-Non-Bio Laundry Liquid – for colour protection and outstanding clean results
-Non-Bio Laundry Powder – for a deeper clean
-Fabric Softener – for softer fabrics against sensitive skin
-Washing Up Liquid – for sparkling dishes and protected hands

Surcare are currently running a competition to win a year’s supply of laundry capsules. The competition ends on 22nd March 2021, you can enter on their website. You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to keep up with their news, offers, skincare advice and giveaways there!

Skincare Review: DermaSalve Hand Cream

Winter is hell on your hands. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t struggle with dry hands over the winter months, it’s really uncomfortable. I have eczema on my hands, I always have done, so I’m forever moisturising them. I’m not sure how this is possible, but I find that some moisturisers make my skin feel even drier. It’s hard for me to find a brand I get on with, which won’t cause flare-ups and one which will deliver the level of moisturisation I need.

This month I’ve been trying DermaSalve Hand Cream for dry and sensitive hands. It’s formulated to help keep skin looking and feeling healthy and contains no known irritants. It’s been designed to be used for dry skin conditions including eczema and is gentle enough to be used every day.

Skincare Review: DermaSalve Hand Cream

I tried the 200ml hand pump version of the DermaSalve Hand Cream. I think moisturisers in hand pumps are so much easier to use than a tube that you’ve got to try and screw the lid back on with slippery fingers. The pump dispenses just enough for my hands and has a slight foaming action when you pump some out.

The hand cream is white and not too thick and cloying which some creams can be. It is smooth and is easy to rub into your skin, and for me it sinks in well leaving my skin feeling silky smooth to the touch.

There is no fragrance added to it, I think it has a smell which reminds me slightly of oats, but it’s only noticeable if you give your hand a good sniff.

The DermaSalve hand cream costs around £8.99 and does not contain alcohol, fragrances, parabens, lanolin, steroids or other harmful irritants. Instead it uses natural wheat germ, jojoba in combination with aloe vera and vitamins to moisturise your skin.

It’s not greasy and your hands feel like they’ve been well moisturised for a good while after. I know sometimes I moisturise my hands and I need to moisturise them again and again as the moisturiser I’m using doesn’t deliver.

My hands are working hard at the moment, looking after my family and cleaning up after the new puppy. I’m washing my hands more, going from a central heated house to the chill outside and back again. My hands get dry, the skin on my fingers split and they need a lot of TLC.

Skincare Review: DermaSalve Hand Cream

I’ve been using this for about a week now. I use it after my morning shower and again in the evening. I’m really pleased with how my hands feel after I’ve used the DermaSalve Hand Cream.

I think when it comes to moisturisers, and especially if you’ve got dry or sensitive skin, or eczema; you have to try a lot of moisturisers to find the ones which work for you. I thought that the DermaSalve Hand Cream delivered the extra moisturising boost my hands needed at a time when they needed it the most.

DermaSalve also make face cream, body cream, baby & infant cream and foot & heel cream. I’m especially interested in trying the foot cream as I have eczema there too. I wonder if DermaSalve can solve my eczema problem for good.

For more information about DermaSalve Hand Cream and other products, visit their website.

Note: I was sent the DermaSalve Hand Cream for review purposes. All images and opinions are my own.

Review: Hope’s Relief Intensive Rescue

I’ve had patches of eczema on my body since I was a toddler, and generally I’m very prone to dry skin, more so these days now I’m on the countdown to 40 (hard to believe I know *coughs*). When I was asked to try out some Hope’s Relief skincare products I jumped at the chance.

Hope’s Relief is Australia’s best selling hand cream, and they have a range of other products designed to relieve eczema prone, itchy, cracked or dry skin. The Hope’s Relief range includes intensive rescue cream, moisturising lotion, body wash and herbal haircare products, all of which are made with natural products and is free from parabens and other nasties.

I sampled the moisturising lotion, the intensive dry skin rescue and the goats milk body wash.

Hope's relief

The moisturising lotion is suitable for face and body, it’s a general lotion which sinks in quickly, leaves no smell on your skin and helps my skin to feel moisturised and soft. I slather it on all over after a shower and my skin very quickly started to feel softer, smoother and it had fewer dry patches on it.

The intensive dry skin rescue cream is altogether a much more intense product, it is thicker and better for rubbing into patches of eczema, psoriasis or just really dry bits. Like any cream of this nature it’s best to do a little patch test first to make sure your skin likes it, my skin did, it drank it up. I applied it to some of my drier patches and it did give them a boost and within a few days they started to look and feel better.

Probably my favourite product of the three I tried was the Hope’s Relief Goats milk, shea and cocoa butter body wash. I was almost expecting it to smell goaty, but it doesn’t, it’s got quite a neutral smell, it lathers up beautifully and really leaves my skin feeling great. I really love the body wash and have expressly forbidden anyone else from using it!

Hope’s Relief is made with a range of natural products including Hospital Grade Organic Manuka Honey NPA 10+, Gotu Kola, Aloe Vera, Organic Calendula and Licorice Root to soothe and repair damaged skin. Their range is suitable for all ages, even for newborn infants and is free from sodium laurel sulphates, parabens, coal tar, artificial colours and fragrances and contains no mineral oils or petrochemicals.

I found that using these Hope’s Relief products for a couple of weeks did make a difference to the feel of my skin and that the cracks and cuts on my hands in particular are looking much better.

For further information please visit http://www.hopesrelief.co.uk/

RawfullyGood Vegan Skincare Review

I am a sensitive soul. As a child I had eczema which I eventually grew out of, but then grew back into. I’ve got psoriasis on my feet and my skin in general is dry and sensitive.

My face when dabbed with the wrong products turns into something dry, red and itchy. I’ve got to be careful. My little monkey does too; he gets dry patches which we have to keep an eye on. It’s safe to say all our beauty products are for dry, sensitive skins.

I was given the opportunity to try a selection of products from local company Rawfully Good. The products are vegan, a lot of the ingredients are fair-trade and Amy who mixes all the products up herself keeps the products as natural as can be.

I was sent these products to try – Super Healing body butter with arnica & calendula, African black soap, lavender & tea-tree deodorant, Green Tea Cleanser and Aqueous Cream. We’ve used them for a couple of weeks now, so here are our honest thoughts.

Super Healing Body Butter with arnica & calendula
This body butter says it is great for sore, inflamed and itchy skin conditions, also for burns, eczema and nappy rash. It can be used to treat thread and spider veins as well as varicose veins.

I’d wholeheartedly agree, this was one of my favourite products. I have various scars, I applied the cream to them twice a day for two weeks and there was a definite improvement in the look of the scars, they have shrunk in size and the redness had reduced. We’ve used it on dry patches, psoriasis, chicken pox scars, bites, anything and everything. If I could butter my toast with it I probably would.

Aqueous Cream
This cream is usually a fairly standard piece of kit in any house with a small child. Generally the over the chemists counter versions contain paraffin oil or jelly, this aqueous cream is made with pure shea butter.

It was very moisturising, easy to apply and I used it on some of his sore botty bits. I also used it on my hands which are starting to suffer in the cold weather. It was a good, general, all purpose cream and we gave it the thumbs up.

African Black Soap
Honestly I opened this tin and thought “what the hell?” it looks like the innards of a fig roll and has a similar consistency. To the conventional eye this just looks plain alien. But I am assured its not, this is an entirely natural soap made in Ghana and is entirely biodegradable and contains no synthetic ingredients, no preservatives, Parabens, SLS, or Detergents.

To use this you take a little scraping from the tin and rub it on a damp flannel or sponge, against all conventional wisdom it lathers up nicely. I used it instead of shower gel and I came out squeaky clean. I noticed that the shower took less cleaning too which is always a bonus. It is gentle and kind and it didn’t dry my skin out like normal soap does.

Green Tea Cleanser
As I’ve already mentioned I have a very sensitive face. I was cautious about trying this but I needn’t have worried, it was fine, no red face, no adverse reaction, just lovely soft, clean skin. It contains natural Vitamin E and Green Tea to help protect skin, restore moisture, and improve the tone and texture of skin. Obviously I didn’t try this on the boy, but I used it morning and night for a couple of weeks, my skin appeared brighter and my skin was softer. If you’re looking for a sensitive cleanser then I’d recommend this.

Lavender & Tea-tree Deodorant
Cards on the table, no one likes talking about their pits; but like my face they’re sensitive. I’ve only found one deodorant that doesn’t bring me out in an awful, itchy, painful rash, so I was understandably worried that this would cause me all kinds of problems.

I tried it on freshly shaven and not quite so freshly shaven pits, not a problem. It comes as a stick which I thought would be sticky but it wasn’t. It doesn’t smell too strongly, is easy to apply and I imagine one stick would last for ages. I know what you’re thinking, did I have stinky pits? Well my lucky husband was forced to sniff them (in the name of science) every night and declared me sweet smelling.

This deodorant gets a massive thumbs up from me and I will definitely by buying it again in the future. I love that it’s natural and the shea butter in it conditions the skin rather than dries it out like my old spray on deodorant.

RawfullyGood products do seem awfully good, there are lots of lotions and potions on the website and I will be buying and trying more products for my family to use on our tricky skin.

I’m really glad I tried these products. I think people who have problem skin are often really cautious about trying new things. I’m glad I got the opportunity to give these products a go and I’ll be adding them to my shopping list in the future.

Disclaimer: I was given these Rawfully Good products free of charge to try for review purposes. If anything when reviewing products I’m more discerning than usual.

Review: QV Skincare for Eczema & Psoriasis

I have psoriasis on my feet. It’s horrible and can flare up to the point where I can barely walk and the soles of my feet bleed. I’ve been prescribed some ointments from my GP; a standard emollient and Betnovate which is used to treat inflammatory skin conditions. They work to some extent but it never really goes away.

Psoriasis is the rapid acceleration of skin cell production. Skin cells are normally made and replaced every three to four months, but with psoriasis this process only lasts about three to seven days. The resulting build-up of skin cells is what creates the patches associated with psoriasis.

Frankly, my feet have been so bad recently, if it worked I’d happily rub dog poo on them (rest assured, I won’t). So when QV Skincare asked me to try something new, I jumped at the chance. I gauged my skin on their website as being level 4 which was the very worst imaginable and they sent me a range of samples to try.

Review: QV Skincare for Eczema & Psoriasis

The QV skincare range is from Australia, an Australian friend spotted them in my house and was pleased they’d made the journey over, QV is a well recognised and trusted brand in Australia. I do rate Australian Skincare products too so knowing this I was excited to try them.

Unlike a lot of skincare products which tend to be petroleum jelly based, QV Skincare use Glycerol. Glycerol isn’t greasy and won’t block pores, and leaves skin feeling smooth and soft. This is important; we’ll come back to this point later.

I tried the following QV Skincare products:

QV Gentle Wash This is a mild, foaming cleanser which you could use as a hand soap or facial wash. As I have dry skin on my body. I used it like I would a shower gel and I have to say I was impressed. It was developed for sensitive skins and there are few as sensitive as me. I noticed a visible difference to the dryness on my skin within a few days and some of my bad rashy patches had massively improved. I will be buying this again.

QV Bath Oil I hardly ever have a bath because it dries the skin out on my feet and usually within minutes of getting in. my psoriasis is insanely itchy and I scratch all my skin off. Not so with this. I ran myself a lovely bath, put the recommended amount in and had a good soak. There was no in bath itching and when I got out my skin felt soft and lovely and my feet weren’t horribly dry and hating me. I have in the past used oilatum but this seems much, much better, maybe it’s the glycerol base. This is another product I’d have as a skincare staple.

QV Skin Lotion When I opened this I thought it was like a baby lotion for sensitive skin. I actually loved this and it would be perfect for babies and children with dry skin. I used it on all my dry bits but not my feet. My dry, rashy bits showed quite incredible improvement after just a few days. My skin felt happier and just looked less angry. I think this will be a staple skincare product for me. You can also use it to remove make-up which is a real boon for sensitive types.

QV Cream When I opened this it reminded me of E45 cream, I have to say this was my least favourite product by a long way. I think it’s great for dry skin and eczema but I made the mistake of putting it on my feet and within minutes I was scratching the skin off. I did use it on my legs and it worked perfectly well on them, I think maybe it just wasn’t right for my condition. Everyone’s skin is different so what works for one won’t necessarily work for another. I was sad that I’d loved everything else but not this.

QV Intensive Ointment This is probably my very favourite product in the range. When I opened it I thought it’d be just like the emollient I get on prescription. Not so, again my standard emollient is petroleum based and this being glycerol based seemed lighter and better suited to treat my psoriasis. Within 24 hours I noticed a change on my feet. By the end of the week they were looking fantastic. Honestly the best they’ve been in years. I was delighted and will be sticking to this product in future and foregoing my prescription emollient.

Review: QV Skincare for Eczema & Psoriasis

I was delighted with this range, like I said earlier the glycerol really does seem to make the difference, certainly with my skin.

The QV skincare range is suitable for all ages but is great for kids; they have a character called Qool Vince who explains all about eczema and itchy skin. I suffered (really suffered) as a child with my skin and explaining things to children in a really accessible way can only be a good thing.

Few things are more miserable than itchy, cracked, dry, bleeding skin. I think it’s excellent that more products are being developed to treat and ease the symptoms. Once you find something that works for you you’ve got to stick with it. I’ll be sticking with QV Skincare.

For more information about QV Skincare, visit their website.