Monday Review: Softress

This Monday Review is brought to you by Softress body oils.

Nina Birnbaum was dissatisfied with the options available to treat her daughter's eczema. She developed a body oil made from whole, food-grade oils and a blend of antioxidant vitamin C and natural vitamin E. Her company, Softress, Inc., now manufactures a full line of vegan-certified, fragrance-free, preservative-free moisturizing oils for dry, sensitive skin.

I applaud Nina's efforts to create a safe alternative to treat her daughter's eczema. Over the years, doctors prescribed many steroid creams to treat my son's eczema. We used them as directed and he now has white patches on parts of his skin. The allergist said, "Oh that's just permanent loss of pigment due to the steroid creams." Huh??? We weren't told this in advance? Question every cream, oil, lotion you are given to treat your child's eczema. Find the safest product that works.

The Softress line includes:
E-Blend- for care of eczema and extremely dry skin
Deep Moisture- for sensitive skin and dry hair care
Love Your Hair- a natural conditioner/detangler for dry, damaged hair and curly hair
SoftBaby- for soothing baby dry skin and infant eczema
SoftHands- which contains macadamia oil. It is made/bottled separately from the other products.

All products (with the exception of SoftHands) are free of the top eight allergens, including nut oils.

Disclaimer from owner, Nina Birnbaum:
Some people's nut allergies cross-react with sunflower oil, and a latex allergy may cross-react with avocado oil. People with those allergies should patch-test before use. I do offer a full refund to people who find the products don't work for them.

I had the opportunity to sample the Deep Moisture product throughout this winter. When I purchase a moisturizer, I look for one that is fragrance-free and doesn't contain the almond oils, milk proteins and other common allergens found in many products. I also need something that works well.

I find, as perhaps many mothers of food allergic kids find, that I wash my hands- a lot. I worry about cross-contamination in my kitchen. Due to so much hand washing, the skin on my hands is often dry and cracked. Oils seem to work best, but finding one without nut oils has been difficult. The other problem with oils is how it leaves my hands slick and, well, oily. Not helpful for a multi-tasking mother.

Deep Moisture to the rescue. This product literally melts into your skin leaving no residue. I put a squirt or two of the oil on my freshly washed hands, rub them together and I'm off. My hands feel, and look, soft and smooth.

Some of Nina's customers report that her products, when applied to freshly shaven legs, inhibits hair growth, allowing more time between shaving. I love a time-saving product!

Softress products are available on their website at Softress, Inc.'s website

Enter code "FOODALY" for a 15% discount, good until Dec 31st 2009.

For some great information about eczema, check out Nina Birnbaum's personal story.

See the Food Allergy Assistant's site for more information about food allergies.