Scary Shower Syndrome: Tips and Tricks for a Better Shower

By Noreen Jesani

2 min read

Showering. The part about atopic dermatitis that we all LOVE and look forward to everyday. Said no one ever.

Over the years with my eczema flare-ups and topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) symptoms, I’ve learned some great tips to combat the scary shower. I’ve also discovered products that have helped make my showers a bit more bearable.

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Tips I still swear by:

Tip #1

NO body wash and/or soap. Avoid using body wash and/or soap in the shower, except to clean your groin and underarms. This is the technique that I adopted and still use. I use an extremely mild and unscented body wash made for babies – Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash. I love this product because it is not smelly, doesn’t sting, and feels like baby oil! The best thing you can do for your shower experience is to find and use products that are fragrance-free or unscented. This product is also a personal favorite because it does not contain lanolin, which is a wool-alcohol that I’m allergic to. Many products contain chemicals and ingredients that can be allergens or irritants, so make sure you read the label and google what you can to avoid reactions.

Tip #2

Lukewarm showers. Whatever you do, do not shower with scorching hot water! I STILL do this sometimes, because I love hot showers when it’s cold out. However, every time I make this mistake, my skin is very red, itchy, and burns like no other. Do your best to avoid this and your skin will thank you.

Tip #3

Soak and seal - pat dry and apply moisturizer. This is a tip that I still very much do. The trick is to pat dry after your shower and immediately apply your moisturizer while your skin is still damp to lock in the moisture. My moisturizer of choice is coconut oil, specifically Shea Moisture Coconut Oil.

Tip #4

Final personal tip of mine is an easy one to follow: Do not shower every day. I found that showering every day really dried my skin out. Because of this, I now shower every other day or as needed!

What else have I heard can help eczema?

I’ve never tried the tips below but have heard many reviews about:

Option #1

Bleach baths. These are baths in which you soak for about ten minutes in a bathtub full of water and a cap full of bleach. The purpose of this bath is to actually kill the bad bacteria on your skin. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never tried this because it sounds awfully painful, although every dermatologist I’ve had has recommended this to me. However, an alternative to a bleach bath that I think is comparable is soaking in a pool for a few minutes - the chlorine in the water can have the safe effects as the bleach in the bath.

Option #2

Dead Sea mud. This is mud from the literal Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is known for having ten times as much salt as the ocean. Mud from the dead sea can soothe inflammation, acne, eczema, and psoriasis by removing dead skin from the body, which uncovers healthy new skin that is sitting underneath.

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Chava Bayla Wald Moderator & Contributor
<inline-mention username="prodad5" user-id="8584927"/> that is so wonderful to read that you have found some things that have really been helpful to you for managing your eczema. As someone who has been living with AD my whole life, I too have been nervous and bit skeptical about bleach baths, but then I noticed that after being in pool, my skin would clear up from infection and swelling. At the same time, it would get super dry from the water so lathering up well after the pool is so important. As far as what to use, that coconut oil recipe sounds like it would smell wonderful, and that fantastic if it works for you! Using products like this is very personal, and what may work for you, may be aggravating to someone else. If you haven't yet found a container for your oil, Amazon often has lots of great products, and the review section can be very handy. Let us know how it goes, and enjoy your time in the water! Chava B. Wald Moderator & Contributor
PROFAMW5 Member
I am in the pool an average of five days weekly, so I'm glad to hear that your dermatologists have recommended bleach baths; although I honestly thought this was going to be one of "internet cures" that seem to pop up for every condition. With this much pool time, though, I wondered whether this was the reason why I've had more flares recently. After every visit, I've been using a plant-based, organic soap that removes chlorine from the skin, while soothing it, too. When I'm not at the pool, I've had excellent results with Cetaphil's "Flare-Up Relief Body Wash," "Eczema Restoraderm Flare-Up Relief Cream," and "Restoraderm Soothing Moisturizer for Eczema Prone Skin" to keep my need for topical steroids as minimal as possible. I used to use coconut oil that I infused with cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, cloves, ginger, and vanilla because I love the smell of Chai, but it became too difficult to find a suitable, leakproof container I could transport to/from the pool. Now that I've read this, I think I'll redouble my efforts to find the right container and apply the oil before these products and sunscreen!