Collection: Creams for Skin Prone to Contact Dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is caused by something touching your skin, so the most important step is finding out what that is. Our water-free creams are free from preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial fragrance, which are some of the most common triggers. They can help you look after your skin while you work out the cause. For the full picture, including the two types of contact dermatitis and how people become sensitised, read our Contact Dermatitis Treatment guide.

The Lyonsleaf Approach

1. Find and remove the trigger. No cream, ours included, can make up for ongoing contact with whatever is causing the reaction. A diary of what you touch, use and eat over a few weeks can reveal patterns. Our Skin Irritants page lists the usual suspects.
2. Cleanse gently. Soaps, detergents and frequent hand washing are among the most common causes of irritant contact dermatitis. For your face, the Oil Cleansing Method with Unfragranced Beauty Balm cleanses without stripping your skin. On your hands, use lukewarm water, keep soap to when you really need it, and pat dry.
3. Protect before exposure. If your hands are often in water or chemicals, for example in cleaning, hairdressing, healthcare or gardening, apply Zinc and Calendula Cream before you start. It's water-repellent, so it acts as a barrier. Wear gloves where you can, with cotton liners underneath if the gloves themselves irritate.
4. Soothe irritated patches. Calendula and Marshmallow Balm is deeply hydrating and calming for irritated, dry or cracked skin. Zinc and Calendula Cream is cooling on hot patches, but zinc oxide can be drying, so layer a balm over it using the sandwich technique on our zinc page.
5. Moisturise to rebuild the barrier. Pure Baby Balm is our simplest unfragranced moisturiser, suitable for sensitive skin from 4 weeks old. Reapply after washing your hands. For your face, follow our Natural Skincare Routine for Dry & Sensitive Skin.

Why our original Calendula Cream isn't here

Our Calendula Cream (Natural Emollient) is fragranced with essential oils, which naturally contain fragrance allergens. Many people use it happily, but if you have allergic contact dermatitis we suggest starting with our unfragranced products.

Not sure where to start?

• The Baby Skin Care and Eczema Sample Set is fragrance-free and suits sensitive skin at any age.
• The Calendula Skin Rescue Sample Set lets you try all three calendula products. It includes the fragranced Calendula Cream, so patch test each one.
• Individual sample tins are available on most product pages.

Patch testing and broken skin

Allergic contact dermatitis can develop to anything, including natural ingredients and products you've used for years. Patch test anything new, following our Patch Testing and Potential Reactions guide. Calendula belongs to the daisy family, so take extra care if you know you react to plants such as chamomile, arnica or chrysanthemums.

A home patch test only tells you whether a product suits you. It's no substitute for formal patch testing with a dermatologist, which is the most reliable way to identify an allergy. Our products are unpreserved, so use clean fingers or a spatula, and read Using Unpreserved Skincare on Broken Skin before using them on cracked skin.