Dry Skin: The Past

Dry skin and eczema have affected me from time to time throughout my life. As a young child, I had eczema behind my knees and in the crooks of my elbows. I grew out of it, but I vividly recall my mum dotting and dabbing me with calamine lotion. As a young teenager, I had dry and very unsightly chapped skin all around my mouth and when I was pregnant with my son, I had terrible eczema in my hairline. These flare-ups lasted for months and caused a lot of distress. Like many young teenage girls, I was self-conscious at the best of times, so having raw, skin all around my mouth, such that I resembled a clown, (truly), did nothing for my self-esteem. And I was so embarrassed of my inflamed, itchy flaky scalp during my pregnancy, that I went to the hairdresser just once in over a year.

Dry Skin: The Present

It all settled down though and eczema and dry skin felt like they belonged in the past. In fact, I attributed it to hormones. (They get blamed for everything don’t they!) But, out of the blue, at the start of the year, I noticed small, discrete patches of dry skin at the tops of my arms and on the inner side of my knees, right and left limbs in perfect symmetry. It wasn’t bad enough to make me want to cover-up, nor did I do anything by way of treatment. It wasn’t itchy and to be honest, I had other health issues on my mind. I simply carried on the daily post-shower moisturising with my usual body lotion.

But, throughout the heatwave which began at the start of May and was still ongoing at the end of July, the combination of high temperatures and skin-tight gym leggings made the dry patches on my knees itch. And itch. And itch. It was beginning to drive me to distraction. I go to the gym or to yoga three or four times a week. It was a lot of itching. It got to the stage where I contemplated either buying a pair of above-the-knee cycling shorts, or not going at all.

But then, unexpectedly, I got an email asking if I would like to try Dermalex Repair + Restore and then take part in a video shoot along with four other bloggers to discuss my experience of dry skin and Dermalex.

What Is Dermalex Repair + Restore?

The Dermalex range helps to relieve the symptoms of skin conditions and to strengthen the skin barrier.  There are specific products formulated for rosacea, psoriasis, eczema and acne. The Dermalex Repair + Restore however, is a new every-day product, formulated to relieve the symptoms of dry skin and to reduce the incidence of flare-ups of skin conditions including eczema. It’s suitable to use as a daily moisturiser to treat dryness, itching and flaking. It is also recommended for those with moderate to mild eczema to use between flare-ups, as a daily emollient, to help prevent it returning.

How Does It Work?

Dermalex Restore & Repair is an oil-in-water emulsion cream, free from steroids, fragrance and colouring. Lipids, together with other non‐volatile ingredients, create a semi‐occlusive layer on the skin surface, which hampers excessive water evaporation and locks in moisture.
This effect, in combination with humectants present in the product as urea causes the increase of water content.
The Restore + Repair therefore has a dual mode of action. First, it locks in moisture on application. Second, it helps to rehydrate underlying skin cells and strengthens the skin barrier.
Dermalex Repair + Restore is supported by over 20 years of research and over 20 scientific publications and is clinically proven to increase days without eczema by 50%.

My Thoughts On Dermalex Repair +Restore.

I tried the cream ahead of the video shoot. My immediate thoughts were that it sinks in easily and quickly without leaving residue. It felt smooth and comforting. A little goes a long way too. I used it on my upper arms and on my knees in exactly the same way as I use my habitual moisturiser, that is once a day immediately after my shower. I did this to enable a fairer comparison.  (Dermalex can be used more frequently if required though).

Within four days, the rough, dry patches on my upper arms had disappeared completely. This amazed me and pleased me no end. It took a little longer for the dry patches on my knees to disappear. The itching, (in gym leggings), stopped, after about five days and the dry patches disappeared after eight. This too delighted me, not least because I didn’t fancy wearing cycling shorts.

I like this cream so much that I’ve carried on using it. It’s an excellent moisturiser and a brilliant hand-cream too. I had some fine scratches on the backs of my hands after gardening and the Dermalex soothed them and seemed to repair them quicker than a normal “cosmetic” hand cream would. I recommend Dermalex Repair +Restore wholeheartedly. It worked for me and I will buy it myself, once I’ve used my sample up.

The Dermalex Video Shoot: Behind The Scenes.

The video shoot took place in a beautiful apartment in North London. The four other bloggers and myself were filmed in the seating area sharing our experiences of dry skin and eczema. It took about two hours and we had to retake and reshoot various parts but it was very relaxed. Everyone from the camera crew, the sound man, the makeup artist, the PR team and the brand representatives were absolutely brilliant.

We were treated to a divine, healthy lunch and a glass or two of prosecco, after which we had some still shots taken.

Finally, we each did an individual piece to camera and it was a wrap!

The Final Dermalex Repair + Restore Video

Dermalex Video

And Finally…

I had a brilliant day and feel privileged to have been part of it. I would like to thank the lovely Hayley Hall for putting my name forward for this collaboration and to Brass, the marketing agency. Also to the Dermalex team, the film and sound crew and to Ellie Tobin, makeup artist. And, if you like my outfit, you can see full details of it in this post.

Dermalex Stockists

Dermalex is stocked at Boots, Superdrug and leading pharmacies. Repair+Restore  £9.99 100g, £14.99 200g. And for more details, do visit the Dermalex website.