small things

Da Balm!

20140205-DSC_7274About a month ago I wrote about Job’s eczema and my efforts to try to get to the root of his flare ups.  I can’t tell you that I have figured things out yet.  Dairy and eggs don’t seem to be triggers, so that is a good thing.  I’ve switched my laundry detergent (I’m using Charlie’s Soap now) and I keep humidifiers running.  Job’s skin will look perfect one day, and terrible the next.  It’s frustrating.  One thing that I have figured out though is that my friend Rachel’s new eczema balm, hilariously named “Da Balm,” is incredibly effective at calming and clearing Job’s flare ups.  I realized this because during the time I was applying it to Job’s face several times daily, the angry red patches on his face healed and disappeared completely.  He might still have a flare up, but his skin would heal with a few days of diligent application of Da Balm.  Then one day I went to grab it from the shelf and it was gone.  I searched and searched but couldn’t find it.  Over the next week or so I used LuSa’s Booty Balm, my standard choice for chapped faces in the winter, on Job’s face.  It seemed to help a little, but not nearly as well as Da Balm had.  Job’s face was looking bad again when I discovered my little tin of Da Balm under the bed.  Within two days of using it again, his skin looked great.  I don’t know what caused that last flare up, but I know that Da Balm calmed and soothed it.

When I purchased that little tin of Da Balm, it was still in the testing phase and I didn’t know whether or not it would end up becoming a permanent LuSa product.  I emailed Rachel wanting to know what her plan was, because my tin was nearly empty and my own attempts at making an eczema balm failed (my older son Seth claimed that my homemade stuff made his eczema worse!)  I was thrilled when Rachel wrote back that Da Balm would actually be available for purchase on the LuSa Organics website in a few days!  She suggested a little giveaway to properly introduce Da Balm to my readers and I gave an enthusiastic, “Yes!”  I’m so happy to be able to share Da Balm with all of you!

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I asked Rachel to share a little background with you, the story of how Da Balm came to be:

I designed Da Balm after dozens upon dozens of customer requests for a safe, effective balm for eczema care. Our Booty Balm was helping these customers, but there were other herbs that I knew would be incredible for eczema and other red, itchy rashes.Finally my own family began to struggle with eczema and I had the perfect opportunity to test and perfect at home! Two years (and many product testers later), Da Balm was born.

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Da Balm begins with an organic infusion of seven different herbs. Each time I work with a new herb I’m humbled by how gentle and effective plants are at helping our bodies heal. These roots, leaves, and flowers are combined with several soothing oils and essential oils to make a rich, gentle, non-irritating rash balm.

Da Balm is a comfort – not a cure. Any topical treatment alone will not heal eczema. That is an inside job and requires the deep work of figuring out what is causing your or your little one’s outbreak. But Da Balm is designed to help quiet and soothe the itch and irritation.

It’s also soothing for chicken pox, garden rashes, and insect bites. Anything itchy!

(You can learn more about healing eczema from the inside out in a series that Rachel wrote on her blog.)

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Rachel is offering three Small Things readers a regular sized tin of Da Balm.   The winners will also receive free shipping on anything else they would like to order at the same time, too.

In addition,  receive a free 1 oz travel bar of Calendula Baby Soap with every Da Balm you order. Just enter the code “SmallThings” in the comments field of your next order. The LuSa team will see the comment and add the bar of travel soap when they pack your order.  (Valid through February 18, 2014).

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post.  Comments are now closed.  The winners are:

Katie B, who wrote, “This sounds awesome! Wonderful for a new baby!”

Christina, who wrote, “Just visited the dermatologist for my daughter’s eczema. Would love to find something less, well, medicinal than a prescription.”

and Alisa Joy, who wrote, “what a lovely and timely give away.  thank you, both!”

Thanks, Rachel and LuSa Organics!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. I do hope you get to the bottom of the eczema but nice to see you found something to relieve it. Would love to try it.

  7. My son had horrible eczema when he was about 2-9 months old so I’d like to have this on hand for the next one due in August!

  8. I’m about to give birth to my second child, and I had a terrible flare-up of eczema shortly after my first was born. Would love to see if this balm can help me this time around!

  9. Yes, I would love to try Da Balm! I want to try the calendula soap and the lotion bars as well. Crossing my fingers that I win!

  11. What a wonderful giveaway. Thank you for introducing me to this product too! I make homemade calendula salve but am always looking for the right combination for eczema.

  12. This would be a fantastic win. I’d love to send this along to a friend who’s son suffers from horrible eczema. They can’t seem to find anything that helps.

  20. My oldest son has bad eczema right now, my husband and youngest child get it from time to time too. An oatmeal cream helps a little but not enough when it is bad. We would love to try this rub out.

  23. I love that there are great alternatives to conventional lotions and salves out there for purchase. I went crazy a few years ago trying to learn to make all my own things but I have given up already. I will check out her site for purchasing some things I don’t have time to make. Thanks for the tip!

  24. We would be thrilled to try a tin! After a few years without much eczema trouble, it has flared up with a vengeance this winter on my 11-yr-old. Thanks for sharing!

  28. My daughter has terrible eczema and conventional lotions make her cry, we would love to give this a try! Thanks for the info!!

  29. Really would love to try this new product!!!! Ginny, so many of your recommendations have worked great for us! Thanks!

  30. This sounds wonderful for my kid’s dry, itchy skin!
    When our eczema flares up it’s good to know we have an
    ointment to use!

  33. I would love to try Da Balm on Amberly’s dry patches. The doctor prescribed some cream last week, but I just don’t want to go the Rx route if we don’t have too!

  35. I would love to give this natural product a try! During the winter months, I suffer from an awfully unpleasant and itchy rash on my back and hands. I have high hopes this product might just provide relief. Thanks for the chance!

  38. Oh I want to join in! Sadly Da Balm was not available yet when I made me purchase. Will have to wait ntil next time, if I don´t get lucky here!

  39. Thanks so much for hosting Ginny! My little ones struggle with skin issues and the air is extra dry in Texas. I’m so glad you found something that works for Job!

  40. I’d love to try it out, both for myself and my 5yo. We wear hazelwood necklaces, and those help quite a bit, but it’s still nice to have something on hand for the occasional flare-ups. We really struggled with the 5yo’s eczema until a friend recommended the necklaces. She was already gluten- and egg-free, and we cut out corn, which helped, but didn’t solve it completely. Good luck with your little one. I know it can be a difficult and frustrating process!

  42. We have eczema sufferers in our household and struggle with finding products that work well!! This would be such a blessing for our family!! Thank you!!

  43. My oldest son had eczema as a baby and I was at my word end trying to find the cause. It turned out that he was allergic to the dogs. Once we moved the dogs outside and deep cleaned the house it disappeared.
    This looks like a lovely product, I love soothing, natural treatments. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

  44. Thank you for this information. It has been quite a winter leaving us all a bit red and itchy. Looks like a wonderful product – headed to her site now. Thanks.

  45. My two boys both inherited my skin, and we have tried so many different things to deal with eczema. I would love to try this out!

  47. I would love to try this. I struggle with a small excema patch and would like to try this out on it!

  48. This sounds like a wonderful product to have on hand, even if we don’t deal with eczema. Thanks!

  50. Want! Ella has flare ups from time to time as well. Her skin is so sensitive. 🙁 We have a calendula cream but it really doesn’t help the itch much.