Lotions for Severe Eczema: All 39 Lotions (and Counting) I’ve Tried

I’m constantly covered in greasy things, and I hate them. I wish I could conduct my days (and nights) either from the bathtub or unclothed in a humid cloud of warm air, instead of covered in lotion. Strange, I know, but true. I’ve tried many lotions for severe eczema. Lotion, creams, ointments, and salves are just so cumbersome: stuff sticks to you when you have them on (e.g. your hair, your roommate’s hair, your dog’s hair). They make your hair greasy. If you’re in a particularly rough eczema spot and have a bunch of skin flakes these flakes rub off when you apply lotion and can literally cut your delicate skin with their sharp edges as you apply the lotion (this has happened to me. Ugh.)

But, lotion is a necessary evil for eczema sufferers.

I’ve spent at least $1,000++ on lotions for severe eczema. That’s probably a gross underestimation. So, you may ask, which lotion is going to cure my eczema?? The short answer is: there’s not that much differentiation among the lotions. Unfortunately I’ve not yet found the holy grail, but I have found some that are better than others.

Frankly anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to sell you something (and has never actually had severe eczema). That said, again, some lotions are better than others.

I present the list of my favorite lotions for eczema and my least favorite lotions for eczema, ranked from overall best (would recommend!) to overall worst (do not buy!):

My top 11 favorite Lotions and Creams for Severe Eczema:

1. Weleda Skin Food Original: I absolutely love this stuff. It is rich and creamy and I can put it on extremely angry, broken, cracked skin without any burning sensation. It also has a really pleasant scent without being irritating. Given I more or less can’t even use soap, I appreciate that this is scented but doesn’t seem to bother me. Does this sound too good to be true? Yes. That’s because it’s super expensive. I tend to not use this on my most problematic patches, certainly not all over my body, or I’d go bankrupt-by-lotion. It’s hands down one of the best lotions for severe eczema though.
2. CeraVe Moisturing cream: (The one with the blue triangle on the label). I’ve tried a lot of “the best” eczema creams according to popular opinion, and this one is by far the best for “maintenance”. When my skin is relatively under control, I apply it several times a day all over my body. When my flares are super bad in parts, I use #1 on the bad parts and CeraVe elsewhere.
3. Vanicream Moisturizing Ointment: I get the big tub. Don’t mess with the tiny tubes unless you’re traveling. This stuff is truly a lifesaver. As I’ve alluded to in other posts, there have been times where I literally cannot bend my elbows enough to complete activities of daily life (e.g. extending my arm enough to get a cup out of the cabinet, washing dishes, etc.). In times like those, I put a thick layer of this stuff on the cracking spot, normally my inner elbows. I’m talking like an eight of an inch of ointment. Lay it on thick. I let that soak in a bit and this gives me enough mobility to get a few chores in. This isn’t actually moisturing though, it’s more protecting, so I normally use this to be able to function, then use one of the above for moisture.
4. Vanicream Moisturizing skin cream: this one is essentially tied with CeraVe moisturizing cream. I’d try both and see which one your skin prefers.
5. Pipette Sunscreen: I won’t even discuss other sunscreens. This is the very best. It offers excellent sun protection and it doesn’t burn or sting when applied. It’s formulated for babies.
6. The Ocean Healed My Eczema: My sister got this for me because she saw it on TikTok; apparently it’s gone viral. I loved it at first, but I think they’ve changed the formula. That said, it has a great texture, virtually no fragrance, and best of all, it doesn’t burn when it goes on. Unfortunately, because this one is so popular, it can take a while to ship.
7. Gold Bond Eczema Relief Cream: For some reason, I was super skeptical of this cream. I just assumed it would burn because I didn’t yet trust the brand. But a family member had it when I was visiting them in Arizona (read: the desert. Terrible for my eczema), and I was pleasantly surprised with this cream. It’s pretty inexpensive, relatively thick, and it didn’t burn at all.
8. Bee Venom Mask: I really went through a phase with this. It works great and is certainly worth a shot if you can afford the price tag. I liked the way it felt on my skin, and it didn’t burn. DO NOT USE if you’re allergic to bee stings, of course! Note: this one’s reviews on Amazon are a bit lower than other products I’ve recommended here, largely because some people had allergic reactions to this (it does contain actual bee products, after all). So, spot test it, and again DO NOT USE if you’re allergic to bee stings! If you’re not though, this is one of my favorite lotions for severe eczema. I just wish it were cheaper.
9. This ayurvedic lotion: I realize the website is a bit sketchy, but this stuff was recommended by my Ayurvedic doctor (more on that here) and feels truly wonderful on very inflamed, hot, itchy skin.
10. Symbiome Oil: I always tell myself if my skin were normal, I’d use a few drops of this each day and be a little glowing goddess. Unfortunately, my thirsty skin requires a ton of this stuff because it’s so parched. I do see improvement after use, but unfortunately, it’s very expensive, so I only use it at special times (e.g. before my wedding). Again, if you can afford it, it’s 100% worth a shot.
11. Manuka Honey Lotion & Manuka Honey (raw): I really had a moment with Manuka honey (part of my broader bee-products phase I suppose – a note on Propolis here). It’s not practical to put really either of these honey-heavy products all over your body, but I love them for the really pesky, angry spots. The straight-up honey is great for eyelids, lips and above lips (this is a terrible patch for me lately), and raw patches on hands. I used the Manuka Honey lotion quite frequently when my inner elbows were extremely raw. You can put it on raw, broken skin and it doesn’t burn. I found it very exfoliating, which can be good and bad. Try it on flaky skin to (relatively) safely exfoliate, and try it, but be wary, on raw skin. I found myself exfoliating off skin with it on even raw patches. I’ve since replaced it with the top products on the list above, but it’s still worth a shot (and the raw honey definitely is). Raw honey is also just a way better thing to accidentally lick/ingest than any of the other lotions options (so again, it’s great for the lips/lip area).

6 Lotions I Can Take or Leave for Severe Eczema

1. Wild Naturals Eczema & Psoriasis Cream: This product is beloved by some, and I get it: it doesn’t burn and the texture on the skin is really nice. It also has many of the same ingredients as The Ocean Healed my Eczema (above). But, it exfoliates my skin too much. I rub it in and if I keep rubbing it all peels off (along with my dead skin). I find if I apply it once, slough off all of the dead skin, then apply again, my skin is actually pretty happy. As noted above, this exfoliation issue (or non-issue?) tends to happen to me with any product containing manuka honey, too.
2. GladskinGladskin (or “Glad Skin” as it’s often spelled on the internet): I also had a moment with this. I recall using it in November when my skin is normally terrible (because the air has just gotten cold) and noticing some improvement. It didn’t last, but it’s likely worth a shot. It did burn sometimes, though.
3. Anything by skinfix: I splurged at Sephora and used this before my wedding. The lotion didn’t burn and it was nice and thick. My skin was clear at this time and relatively happy given I was using steroids so take this review with a grain of salt. I later used their balm on my face overnight and noticed less flaking in the morning. This stuff is pretty expensive though, unfortunately, or it might have made the above category. If this weren’t so difficult to get (it’s only at Sephora) or if it were cheaper, it would be one of my favorite lotions for severe eczema.
4. EMUAIDMAX ointment: I was traveling around Europe and a lady I met mentioned this lotion (after, unfortunately, noticing my skin). She said tons of people in the UK use it for eczema. I gave it a shot. It didn’t burn, but it didn’t help majorly, either.
5. So many homemade essential oil blends: from thyme, Andiroba oil, buriti fruit oil, vegetable glycerin, emu oil, kunzea oil, and more (see this post for more details), blended into almond oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, castor oil, etc….the list goes on!
6. So many homemade body butters: Before my eczema really spiraled, I was making homemade body butters from shea butter and cocoa butter primarily, and I loved the way my skin felt and looked. I’ve tried raw butters and butter blends, including with some heavy duty oils like castor oil, since having eczema, but for some reason they just can’t lock in as much moisture as a professionally blended product can (especially one that has all the good stuff like Aloe, Vitamin E, etc. AND one of these creamy butters). Again, I hope there will sometime be a day when I can make my own body butters again with minimal ingredients and have happy skin, but today is not that day.

12 Lotions I Would Skip for Severe Eczema due to Cost or Severe Burning

Note: I haven’t linked to any of these given I’m recommending avoiding them.

1. Avène products: Avène is expensive. I tried Avène’s extra dry skin cream while in Spain and it worked wonders on my hands. They looked as if I’d used steroids. When I got back to the states, I ordered their hypersensitive skin solutions kit and one of their cicalfate creams, but they didn’t work well and burned quite a bit. Perhaps the European formulations are different from the U.S. formulations?
2. Eucerin and other big name brands that aren’t CeraVe: I’d skip. No major complaints, they just don’t work as well as CeraVe. I try other products every six months or so, but always come back to CeraVe as my “maintenance” lotion.
3. Numerous “farmer’s market” / local apothecary products including pine tar salve, various beeswax based salves and creams. The best one I’ve found contained matcha and CBD. Generally though, it seems these need a few more ingredients to provide any lasting hydration to special-skin folks like us. The flipside is these generally don’t burn though, because they don’t have any of the chemicals and formulation ingredients in them that make the typical big brands burn (in some cases). But again, I’ve unfortunately found these formulation ingredients are necessary, for me at least, for helping to retain moisture.
4. Bioderma intensive balm: this was meh.
5. CeraVe daily moisturizing lotion: I used this in Mexico when I thought my skin would be happy because it was humid. It apparently wasn’t humid enough because my skin was still super dry. This is a very light lotion and it didn’t do enough for me even in that humid environment. It’s super liquidy though, so it does feel good when your skin is just so, so parched, but you’d definitely need to follow up with something much thicker after giving your skin a little drink of moisture from this lotion.
6. CeraVe healing ointment: save your money and buy Vaseline if you don’t like the Vanicream ointment. I didn’t notice any difference between this and Vaseline.
7. AmLactin daily moisturizing body lotion: This burned. I did not buy again. Some people like it because it exfoliates, but I much prefer Wild Naturals Eczema & Psoriasis Cream for this, and broadly anything containing Manuka Honey or Noni (more on Noni here).
8. Glycolic Acid Toning Solution:  This isn’t really a lotion, but it belongs in this “probably not worth your time or money” list. I read an article suggesting this was good for eczema. Maybe it is for very minor cases. It really burned for me. It’s one of the products I hope to be able to use if/when my skin clears, but for now it’s in the back of my lotion graveyard.
9. InnaEssentials Eczema Chamomile water: A friend bought me this. Don’t waste your money. This didn’t do anything, and you could easily make it yourself for a fraction of the cost. It’s truly just chamomile water.
10. Calamine lotion: I loved this as a kid for bug bites, but it didn’t help my eczema itching. Not worth your money in this department.
11. La Roche Posay Lipikar Balm: I have a container of this I’ve been slowly working through because it really, really burns. I can only use it on patches of my skin that are relatively clear, which is annoying. Would avoid.
12. Aveeno Eczema therapy itch relief balm: I’m not sure how to explain the unpleasantness of this one – I remember putting it on before going to bed and waking up in the middle of the night and feeling like there was a humid layer of itchiness between the balm and my skin. It caused a weird humidity sensation on my skin that led to itching. Would really not recommend for severe cases!

I’m sure I’m forgetting 10s of lotions I’ve tried that aren’t top of mind enough right now to make this list.

You name it? I’ve probably tried it. I’d say stick with the top 10 here if you’re new to the eczema game.

If you liked this post, you might enjoy my post here on what lotion to use when. If your eczema looks like this, try this one. Like that? Try this. And so on.

As with all of my posts, please remember: I am not a doctor. None of the above should be considered medical advice. This blog consists purely of my opinions, based on my own experience.