I am in my late 40s, with oily skin with a dry surface. I have worked in the cosmetics and beauty industry a long time. Before I try any product, I research the ingredients. My skincare routine is simple- daytime, a gentle foaming cleanser, vitamin C serum, and ALWAYS sunscreen. My PM routine is cleansing, and then applying a night cream. I exfoliate three times a week, once with a physical exfoliant, and a lactic acid serum the other times. I am careful not to overexfoliate, as that will irritate my skin, dry out the surface, cause breakouts, and cause the skin to compensate by producing a ton of oil. So- I know my face very well, and I know what does and does not work for me.
Several years ago, I moved from the West Coast to the Midwest. There are many things I miss about the coast. By far, the one thing I miss most is- moisture. I miss the ocean, I miss rain, I miss fog. Here it is eternally sunny and the humidity rarely rises about 20%. Needless to say- my skin became VERY unhappy after the move. It started to feel like sandpaper.
I then spent literally hundreds of dollars over the years trying to find a cream that would adequately moisturize. I know some people would have just reached for the Vaseline, but I don't like putting that on my face. Every new cream I tried promised to "nourish" and "quench" and NOTHING worked.
I soon realized I would have to start looking at my skin in a different way. My skin category was now "dehydrated and damaged." My face simply could not hold on to moisture. Of course, increasing my water intake helped a little, but I desperately needed an effective moisturizer.
I tried Baby Dove Eczema Care Soothing Cream after researching its ingredients. It contains colloidal oatmeal, which is very soothing, and helps the skin hold on to moisture. Glycerine is a vegetable based moisturizer. Dimethicone is an occlusive which acts like a "shield" keeping moisture in the skin. Shea butter is a rich nut butter, very moisturizing. Carnauba wax is sourced from palm leaves, and is another occlusive and assists with barrier repair.
After reading this list, I could tell this was a rich, protective cream. Which is exactly what my skin needed. After I first tried this product, I literally let out a sigh of relief (as did my skin.) My face just drank in this stuff- I had to reapply it several times, as my skin was DRY. The next morning, my face no longer had that tight feeling, and the surface was less rough. The more I've used this cream, the better my skin is.
The nice thing about this cream is it melts into the skin, and doesn't just sit on top like Vaseline. I've only ever had eczema in tiny patches- mostly on my hands. I can see how this product would bring immense relief to the continuously irritated and dry skin of eczema. But I'm here to tell you- this stuff works for my face better than "fancy" creams I have spent a LOT of money on. I will never be without it.