Aveeno – Ellie and Eddie are Back!

Happy Skin Holidays is the latest book in Aveeno’s Ellie and Eddie stories, written by author Penelope Harper. Dry skin doesn’t go away when the weather gets warmer – and sometimes your child might need a bit of persuading to apply the cream too…

Happy Skin Holidays

Happy Skin Holidays is the second book in the Aveeno range featuring Ellie and Eddie. The first book has been a big hit, and quite often I find H reading it  – and she is getting much better at making sure she has cream on her dry skin areas – we’ve been using Aveeno a lot this winter.

So now Spring is here – but both H and I have a problem; we’re both suffering from itchy skin. For me it’s across my tummy area and my arms, and for H it’s her arms and lower back – it has been a pain – and it’s kind of awkward scratching my tum when I’m at work. See, Aveeno isn’t just for dry skin when it’s cold – it’s for warm weather too. Being someone who had bad eczema on my legs for a couple of years I know I don’t moisturise as often as I should – even if I’m drinking a lot more water than I did back then!

Aveeno

But the good thing about this is H and I moisturise together so she sees it as a normal thing that we do, rather than an inconvenience. She still hates cream being put on her, but will do it if I am, so our morning routine now includes putting cream on ourselves – and Aveeno makes a massive difference. She knows it’s important as it is really well worded in Happy Skin Holidays – and Ellie and Eddie are both good at putting the cream on.

So our morning routine is something like this – I wake up, Shaun goes for a shower, H comes in for a cuddle with me and we both scratch and tell each other not to. I have my shower, and H gets an extra nap for 5 minutes. After that she goes to get ready and we both put on our Aveeno together.

The cream is really soothing and stops the itching – there’s nothing worse than seeing your child scratching themselves in the night as their skin is so dry and itchy. I like the Ellie and Eddie books as it encourages H to get on with it, and how normal it is to use it – she doesn’t feel like she’s the only child in the world with dry skin (as it’s not exactly what they’d chat about at school, is it!). The bath oil is really good too at bathtime and has become one of our essentials!

You can download both books over here – and I’d recommend if your child is anything like H, needing a bit of gentle persuasion!

Aveeno oil

We were sent the Eddie and Ellie book plus some Aveeno samples – all opinions are our own. 

Aveeno and Dry Skin

I’m prone to dry skin and H inherited it from an early age. Aveeno has always been our cream of choice – mainly for the varieties available and that it works. I like to steal a bit of H’s too as it’s so gentle!

aveeno

Aveeno have asked for some hints and tips with dry skin, and what to do. So here’s a few bits from us.

I seem to be prone to dry skin on my legs, which develops into a painful rash. I’ve found that drinking plenty of water and applying cream at least three times a day on the painful areas seem to help. Oil-based treatments have helped a lot, as well as not shaving my legs. I had to make sure I didn’t let my legs get too dry, as that provoked the rash and made it itchy.

H seems to get dry skin on her arms and legs, as well as very small patches on her face. Now she’s five I can squirt the right amount of cream onto her hands, and she applies it to her face so she can be ‘just like mummy’ – though I am able to rub my own cream in, she’s still working on that one*!  Aveeno’s Dry Skin lotion is soft enough for the face and light enough your five year old won’t pull too many faces as they rub it in.

aveeno book

H does understand the importance of moisturising, mainly thanks to the book Aveeno have produced, featuring the cartoon characters Ellie and Eddie, which is available as a free download from their site. Anything that helps spell it out is a good thing, as you can guarantee she’ll listen to a book more than she will me! Also, she feels more in control of her skin – she understand why she needs cream on there.

There’s always the chance your strong-minded child will refuse to put cream on; but a bit like blending onion into a pasta sauce so they can’t see it; Aveeno’s Bath Oil does the trick. Add it to the bath and there’s a nice gentle moisturising going on – and it doesn’t make the bath slippery afterwards, thank goodness!

aveeno ellie and eddie

But what is eczema? I know when I have an outbreak of spots it’s usually classed as that. 1 in 5 children and 1 in 2 adults have eczema. It is a dry skin condition which can vary in severity from person to person, and is triggered by different things. Aveeno’s range of products feature Colloidal Oatmeal which is clinically proven to restore the top layer of skin, keeping it feeling soft and comfortable. Having oats in the lotion is beneficial for dry skin – it moisturises, soothes, protects, buffers and cleanses. When H has had bad outbreaks, we’ve even been given Aveeno on prescription.

* stop press – tonight H got in from school, rubbed some Aveeno on her face and did a marvellous job – I think she’s got it!

Aveeno’s website is here

We were sent a selection of Aveeno products to use.