Clinical study backs Lush’s Dream Cream in soothing eczema symptoms for kids

A clinical study from Lush has found that its Dream Cream Self-Preserving body lotion is safe for children with eczema-prone skin. Compared to the cream’s original formula, the self-preserving version is free from parabens. 

Lush assessed the effects of regular use of the cream on 50 children ages 3 –12 diagnosed with mild to moderate eczema. The participants reported reduced scratching and improved sleep quality upon using the best-selling “cult classic.”

The moisturizer soothes dry, itchy skin, and relieves redness. The cruelty-free brand says customers have been using the Dream Cream body lotion to soothe symptoms of eczema in children.

Lush’s co-founder and product inventor Helen Ambrosen — who made Dream Cream self-preserving after 90 trials — says the lotion’s hero ingredient is oat milk. It makes up over 30% of the self-preserving version.

“We make an infusion of oats and water that creates a very thin ‘porridge.’ This enables us to get the best out of the oats and onto the skin,” she explains.

“The olive oil in the product is also lovely, but it’s a surface emollient that keeps the skin soft and from losing moisture.”

Performance after four weeks

For four weeks, parents applied the lotion to the children, focusing on the areas where eczema was visible, most commonly the inner elbows, inner thighs, and back of the knees. Skin color was an essential consideration within the study, as conditions like eczema can present differently on different skin tones.

The lab performing this study used a well-known measurement of skin color, the Fitzpatrick Grade, to examine the participants’ skin tones. All skin tones were represented from Fitzpatrick Grade 1 and 6, but a majority of children had pale skin (Fitzpatrick Grade 2).

The evaluation showed significant improvements in all examined body sites, indicating a reduction in eczema-affected areas with regular use of Dream Cream Self-Preserving over four weeks. Assessment scores for dryness, redness, scratch marks, and skin thickening all demonstrated notable improvements throughout the study.

Regular applications of Dream Cream were found to reduce eczema-affected areas of the skin over four weeks.Dermatologists observed that skin redness reduced on the thighs, while a visible reduction was also observed on the elbows. 

There was also a notable reduction in scaling and dryness across all body sites.

Meanwhile, the parents’ assessment of subjective parameters, such as itching and sleeplessness, showed improvement consistently across all evaluation points. Lush says this indicates that parents perceived an immediate improvement in their children’s behavior after one application and continued use maintained these benefits.

Questionnaire results

Results from the questionnaires revealed that 85% of parents believed the product was effective after four weeks of use, and 85% of children found the product enjoyable to use.

In a separate clinical trial, Lush also tested its preserved formula (the “original” Dream Cream) to compare the effectiveness of both versions. The original formula uses added synthetic preservatives to keep the product fresh, while the self-preserving formula is formulated to stay fresh and effective without these.

While both products achieved clinical benefits, the self-preserving version of Dream Cream slightly outperformed the preserved version.

Lush found that 78% of parents felt the preserved product was effective after four weeks of use, and 70% of the children enjoyed using it.

“Although the study authors suggested that the time of year may have influenced these findings, the findings reassure us that the self-preserving version of this product is just as good as the preserved version, if not better,” says the brand.