How We Healed Baby Eczema: A 3-Year Story

Our baby eczema journey began when our son was just 3 months old in November 2022. It started a few days after our midwife showed us how to give him a baby massage using olive oil. His skin was becoming incredibly dry. I switched to almond oil as I suspected the olive oil was the culprit, but the dryness persisted.

A Note Before We Begin: I am a mother sharing our personal 3-year baby eczema journey, not a medical professional. The information in this post is for educational purposes and reflects our own experience. Please always consult with your pediatrician or dermatologist before starting new treatments. This post also contains affiliate links; if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products we truly love and use.

The midwife suggested changing our laundry detergent. She recommended Frosch Baby Sensitiv Waschmittel. However, I was already using Sonett Sensitiv Waschmittel, which is a very clean, fragrance-free product. I checked the ingredients on the Frosch bottle and found perfume (parfum). Perfume is known to be a major trigger for baby eczema. Despite using the purest detergent I could find, the rash continued to spread from his shoulders down to his legs. It was then that our paediatrician officially diagnosed him with baby eczema.

The Struggle with Conventional Baby Eczema Treatments

The first doctor prescribed a strong topical corticosteroid (Prednitop). My husband and I were hesitant; I felt it was a “quick fix” that addressed the surface rather than the root cause of his baby eczema. A second doctor suggested another approach. The doctor prescribed a lower-strength cortisone along with a moisturising and hydrating cream. He told us to apply them alternately.

I am a firm believer in natural products, but I agreed to try the pharmaceutical route first. As I feared, it didn’t solve the problem. In February 2023, I decided to follow my intuition. I swapped the prescriptions for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Baby Balm and Weleda White Mallow Body Lotion. For a while, it worked! The baby eczema began to fade, and we ended up throwing away the rest of the doctor’s prescription.

The Stubborn “Coin” Spot and the Battle of the Creams

March 2023, my husband wanted to try a pharmaceutical approach again and bought Linola Baby & Kind (formerly Little Lino).

We ended up using both: when my husband changed our son’s nappy, he would apply the Linola, but when I changed him, I stuck to my natural products. I also added Weleda White Mallow Face Cream, thinking he might need something lighter. Since I handled most of the nappy changes, I applied my natural products far more often than my husband applied the Linola. The baby eczema had cleared from most of his body, but it wouldn’t leave his right thigh. It remained as a stubborn, round patch about the size of a coin for a long time.

Recurring Flare-Ups and Seasonal Changes

However, 2024 brought a new challenge. With the change of seasons, the patch grew worse. The doctor prescribed InfectoPyoderm (an anti-bacterial) and Multilind (an anti-fungal) alongside the Prednitop. While these cleared the skin for a week, the now diagnosed Nummular Eczema reappeared in the same spot as soon as we stopped applying the Prednitop. It felt like we were treating the symptoms, but not the cause of the baby eczema.

Seeking Specialist Help & The Allergy Question

In March 2024, I tried Mustela BIO Stelatopia+ soothing cream, hoping a new organic option would help. Unfortunately, it seemed to make the irritation worse. I tried going back to my original Weleda and Dr. Bronner’s routine, but even they weren’t working this time.

By January 2025, we were exhausted. Our paediatrician finally agreed to a blood test to see if an allergy was triggering the baby eczema flare-ups. To our surprise, the results showed no allergies at all. He then referred us as an emergency case to the specialists at Freiburg Hospital. We were sent home with Neuroderm Basispflege and a custom-mixed zinc cream. Still searching for a holistic path, we also visited a homoeopath, but the products suggested, like Dr. Hauschka Ice Plant and EP-Derm, only seemed to aggravate his skin further. We felt like we were back at square one in our baby eczema journey.

The Turning Point: Finding boep for Baby Eczema

In April 2025, while my husband was trying Eucerin AtopiControl, I discovered a German brand called boep through the Instagram account @annisbuntewelt. It checked all my boxes: cruelty-free, vegan, and natural.

After researching with AI, I learned a new approach to dealing with baby eczema. I learnt that following the doctors’ advice to use products alternatively, as baby eczema care works best by matching the product to the skin’s current state, rather than alternating them randomly.

How to Apply Baby Eczema Products Correctly

I discovered this “Golden Rule” for treating baby eczema:

• Light Dryness: Use a Basiscreme (Hydrating Cream) to maintain moisture.
  
• Redness or Weeping Sores: Use a Zinc Cream to calm inflammation and help close open wounds.
  
• Flaky, Very Dry Skin: Use a Rich Balm to provide a deep moisture barrier and protect the skin.

Final Thoughts on Our Baby Eczema Recovery

Since May 2025, we have stayed consistent with the boep routine, with the occasional Weleda Dermatodoron balm during those rare times when the standard routine isn’t enough. Through the summer and winter of 2025, the periods that used to trigger massive baby eczema flare-ups, his skin remained calm.

Today, eight months later, that stubborn “coin spot” is virtually gone. You can feel where it was, but you can only see it on the rarest days of irritation. Recent small spots on his back and arms disappeared within weeks of our routine. After three years of stress and heartache, I am finally relieved to have found a solution for my son’s baby eczema that aligns with my values.

Disclaimer: I am sharing my personal experience as a mother, not as a medical professional. This post contains affiliate links for products I personally use and trust; I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to purchase through them.