Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Hazelwood Necklaces

I have mentioned several times that my little boy's skin is in constant revolt. Not only is it horribly dry, but he has scaly patches of eczema on his belly and forearms and has been breaking out in horrendously bumpy rashes for no apparent reason. We've been through what feels like every natural lotion, potion and cream. He's been to the naturopath and has had more probiotics and stinging nettles than any other two year old I know. I strongly suspect at this point he has a food allergy; to what, I don't know but we will soon start the process of narrowing things down.

Learning the manly art of grooming.
In the mean time, I have been desperate to keep him comfortable in his own skin. I think I've finally found a routine that keeps things under control, at least in terms of the dryness and eczema, and all of it is natural and chemical free.  We use a goat milk soap or fragrance free castile soap in the tub, followed by a good slathering in Natures Gate Collodial Oatmeal Lotion followed by this calendula salve on his scaly bits (i.e. belly, cheeks, knees and forearms). If one of those random rashes springs up, I have been treating it with homemade remedy consisting of almond oil, eucalyptus, chamomile and lavender.


Things are under control for now, but I continue to search for new ways to keep my son's skin happy. Whilst looking for natural remedies for his various epidermal issues, I came across a site that sold hazelwood jewelery. Apparently, hazelwood is the answer to skin issue suffering. According the the folks at http://www.hazelaid.com/, hazelnut trees have the unique property of absorbing excess acid produced in our bodies when they are in contact with our skin. This excess acid is thought to be the cause of various maladies including eczema, acid reflux, heartburn, headaches, acne, arthritis, ect.


Quite frankly, it sounded hokey. But a little more research turned up nothing but good reviews. Gleeful parents sent in the before and after pictures of their formerly afflicted children. Withing 48 hours of putting the necklace on, their symptoms were greatly reduced if not completely remedied. And at 20 bucks, I figured it was cheaper than all those naturopath appointments and jars and bottles of cream and salve. And if it didn't work, well, my son would have a cute man necklace to woo the ladies at the playground! I ordered myself an anklet too, in hopes that it would help with my acne issues.

The jewelery arrived promptly and is simple and beautiful. I fastened J's necklace over a week ago and we have yet to remove it. His skin looks....good. His scalies aren't scaly, and his skin doesn't look as ashy or dry. We have had two random rash flare ups though, but after a good rubbing with salve, they are gone by morning. I believe that once we figure out what he's allergic to, those bumpy rashes will disappear. And as for me....my face is clear. And it wasn't when I first put the anklet on. This could all be one giant coincidence but I'll take what I can get. 

Here's to beautiful skin! 

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2 comments:

  1. As a child/adolescent my skin was extremely reactive flaring up with rashes and eczema all the time. One of my biggest triggers was bromine, what some recreation centres use rather than chlorine in older public swimming pools. Very unfortunate for me as I was a competitive swimmer! One thing that I remember helping the most with any new skin flare ups were oatmeal baths. My mother/I/chaperone would simply fill an old sport sock with plain old oats tie it with a knot and plop it in the bath. Obviously it didn't 'cure' old dry thickened patches of eczema but it helped. I now do the same thing for my two young children that seem to have inherited my sensitive skin. They are highly reactive to any products with scent and almost all sunscreens.
    I hope you can figure out what it is irritating your son! Sometimes it is impossible. How old is he? Have you done any allergy testing? Poor little guy.

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  2. have you tried eliminating Milk and Gluten from his diet. Its not fun, because everything contains these ingredients. But they are the most common food allergies. Matt's checks had eczema and went away when he out grew his milk allergy. Best of luck. Hows the kitty?

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