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Thick as butter, sinks like water, and it leaves zero greasy slug-trail. The barrier balm I’ve repurchased six instances over.
What’s good
- Genuinely thick and cushioning, but sinks in with no greasy movie, so no slug-trail on door handles, telephone or keyboard
- Rebuilds a compromised barrier and takes the itch out quick (ceramides NP/AP/EOP, ldl cholesterol, phytosphingosine, glycerin)
- Perfume-free and easy sufficient for offended, eczema-prone or dermatitis-flared pores and skin
- Works on face, fingers and physique, and a bit of goes a great distance
- The 500ml pump lasts for months and is straightforward worth from Escentual
What I’d change
- The pump bottle is genuinely ugly, no match for a loo you have styled round Aesop or Perfumer H
- So thick it will not decant right into a nicer dispenser, and there isn’t any refill pouch
- You are left scraping the final inch out of the pump (a number of wiggles of the nozzle will get it transferring)
In case your pores and skin will get so dry it itches, cracks or flakes, the sincere job of a balm is straightforward: seal it, calm it, and don’t go away you coated in grease for the subsequent hour. Bioderma’s Atoderm Intensive Baume is the one I’ve come again to 6 or seven instances, and the reason being that uncommon pairing of very thick and fully non-greasy. It’s a fragrance-free, ceramide-loaded balm constructed for atopic, eczema-prone and dermatitis-flared pores and skin, and after attempting what appears like each French pharmacy model going, it’s the one which caught. My verdict up entrance: 5/5, and a everlasting fixture by each sink in the home.
I take advantage of it to maintain hand dermatitis in examine. Mine is managed with methotrexate, however with out one thing topical the pores and skin on my fingers nonetheless flares, and that is what retains the barrier calm between washes. If you happen to’ve examine what CeraVe did for my eczema-prone pores and skin, that is the richer, extra occlusive step for when issues get correctly dry.
First impressions and texture
The feel is the entire story. It’s like chilly butter, dense sufficient to face up on the again of my hand, however it breaks down and sinks in inside a minute relatively than sitting there. That issues greater than it sounds. Most balms this wealthy, together with the emollients I get on prescription, can go away me strolling round like a slug, smearing grease onto door handles, my telephone and my keyboard for the subsequent half hour. This one doesn’t. It disappears into the pores and skin and leaves a tender, cushioned end, not a movie.
It’s genuinely fragrance-free, so there’s no fragrance and no “cream” odor to sting damaged or reactive pores and skin.
My solely actual gripe is the bottle itself. It’s purposeful however genuinely ugly, and should you’ve styled your toilet round smooth black Aesop or Perfumer H pumps, this factor stands proud. It bothered me sufficient that I 3D-printed a case for mine. It helps, however I nonetheless want Bioderma supplied a refill pouch, each so I might refill this pump and, ideally, decant it into one thing I truly like taking a look at.
What’s truly in it
Strip away the advertising and it is a well-built barrier balm. The half that earns the cash is the trio of skin-identical lipids: ceramides NP, AP and EOP, plus ldl cholesterol and phytosphingosine. These are the precise constructing blocks of a wholesome pores and skin barrier, and placing them again is strictly what dry, atopic pores and skin is lacking. Glycerin sits excessive up because the humectant that pulls in water, and the occlusive base (mineral oil, sunflower and canola oils, behenyl alcohol) is what seals that water in. Mineral oil will get an undeserved dangerous identify right here: it’s a secure, efficient, non-irritating occlusive, and it’s a giant a part of why this may be so wealthy but go away no greasy movie.
The remaining is supporting solid. Bioderma badges its mannitol, xylitol and rhamnose as “Pores and skin Barrier Remedy”, with zinc gluconate and Laminaria ochroleuca extract for soothing. They’re completely cheap inclusions, however be clear-eyed: the lipids, glycerin and occlusion are doing the heavy lifting, and the sugars are extra supporting story than hero. The complete INCI is within the specs under.
What Bioderma claims
Bioderma calls it “ultra-soothing”, anti-itching and lipid-replenishing, for pores and skin with an atopic tendency, and guarantees speedy and lasting consolation through its patented Pores and skin Barrier Remedy. Taken as a beauty declare, that’s truthful. Sealing and soothing a dry, itchy barrier genuinely does calm the urge to scratch, and I really feel that inside minutes. The place I’d add the caveat is the phrase “anti-itching”: it’s a moisturiser, not a drugs, so it soothes the dryness that drives the itch relatively than treating any underlying situation. For that, you want what your physician prescribes. Because the topical consolation layer, although, the claims maintain up.
How one can use it
Clean it onto clear pores and skin, ideally whereas it’s nonetheless barely damp after a bathe or a hand-wash, which traps extra water beneath. Use it as usually as your pores and skin wants, at minimal morning and evening on the dry areas. Slightly goes a great distance, so resist the urge to over-apply. It’s positive on the face if you need the richness, and it’s wonderful on fingers and elbows. My routine is straightforward: one by each sink, reapplied to my fingers after each wash, and a correct layer on fingers and elbows after each bathe. If in case you have energetic eczema or dermatitis, use it alongside, not as a substitute of, something you’ve been prescribed.
Does it truly work?
Sure, unreservedly, for me. On fingers and elbows after each bathe, and on fingers after each wash, it retains my dermatitis-prone pores and skin comfy and stops the itch and tightness taking maintain. Six or seven repurchases is the sincere measure of that. It gained’t treatment an atopic situation and it isn’t magic, however because the topical half of a routine (mine sits alongside methotrexate) it does precisely what a barrier balm ought to: rebuild, seal, soothe, after which get out of the best way with out coating every part you contact.
The way it compares
I’ve labored by way of the French pharmacy line-up on the lookout for this precise mixture of thick-but-not-greasy, and the one factor I’ve discovered that genuinely matches it’s Eucerin AtoControl Calming Balm, which is my back-up on the uncommon event Atoderm is out of inventory. In opposition to the opposite typical names: CeraVe Moisturising Cream is nice worth and ceramide-rich however lighter and fewer cushioning; La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP+M is the closest big-brand rival and genuinely wonderful, simply with a contact extra slip; E45 and primary emollients will seal however go away you greasy, which is the precise factor Atoderm avoids; and Aveeno is ok for delicate dryness however out of its depth on true atopic pores and skin. For very dry, itchy, barrier-compromised pores and skin, that is the one I preserve shopping for.
Key specs
| Measurement | 500ml (additionally bought in 200ml) |
|---|---|
| Format | Extremely-soothing balm / wealthy physique & face moisturiser (pump) |
| Greatest for | Very dry, irritated, itchy pores and skin with an atopic (eczema-prone) tendency |
| Key actives | Ceramides NP/AP/EOP + ldl cholesterol + phytosphingosine (barrier lipids), glycerin, mannitol/xylitol/rhamnose (Pores and skin Barrier Remedy sugars), zinc gluconate, Laminaria ochroleuca extract; fragrance-free |
| Components (INCI) | Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Behenyl Alcohol, Sucrose Stearate, Canola Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Pentylene Glycol, Beta-Sitosterol, Xylitol, Zinc Gluconate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Palmitamide MEA, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Citrate, Mannitol, Rhamnose, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tocopherol, Phytosphingosine, Ceramide NP, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ceramide AP, Ldl cholesterol, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Fructooligosaccharides, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Citric Acid, Ceramide EOP |
FAQ
Is Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume good for eczema?
Sure. It is constructed for atopic, eczema-prone pores and skin: ceramides, ldl cholesterol and phytosphingosine to rebuild the barrier, plus glycerin and soothing sugars, all fragrance-free. I take advantage of it to maintain hand dermatitis calm between flares. It is a beauty moisturiser relatively than a drugs, so use it alongside something your GP or dermatologist has prescribed, not as a substitute of it.
Can you utilize Atoderm Intensive Baume in your face?
Sure, it is positive on the face in addition to the physique. It is wealthy, so it fits dry or dehydrated pores and skin greatest. If you happen to’re oily or blemish-prone, preserve it to the drier areas relatively than slathering it in all places.
How is the Baume totally different from the Atoderm Creme?
The Baume is the thicker, extra occlusive balm geared toward very dry, itchy, atopic pores and skin. The Creme is a lighter on a regular basis moisturiser for pores and skin that is merely dry. If yours cracks, flakes or itches, the Baume is the one to achieve for.
How usually do you have to use it?
As usually as your pores and skin wants it, not less than morning and evening on dry areas, and after each bathe or hand-wash on barely damp pores and skin to entice the moisture. I preserve one by each sink and reapply to my fingers every time I wash them.
