Review: Cetaphil Restoraderm body wash and moisturiser

Someone from the good folks at McGallen & Bolden sent me some samples from Cetaphil's eczema care range after she read my post on Physiogel AI. This is fairly new in the Singapore market but I've actually used this before on E1 when he was a babe.

When E1 was around 4 months old, he developed a horrible heat rash in the skin folds of his arms and legs. It was weepy and pruritic (i.e. wet and gross). Nothing worked, even low-dose topical steroids and anti-fungal creams. One of the test subjects was Cetaphil Restoraderm cream which I got my mother to source from Australia. But it didn't help and then I threw it away after the pump cap broke and it was way past its expiration date.

However his skin now has true eczema, which means its dry and flaky. So since the opportunity popped up, I thought why not give it another shot?

Anyway E1's skin was flaring up again after a pretty long hiatus. I know that when it starts to get red and bumpy, that's when the creams need to start piling on again.

So this is his skin 3 days ago:

Classic eczema: dry, reddish skin

Itchy back. Yes those are claw marks.

To give this product a fair chance, we stopped his usual organic body washes and all other creams. Then we used the Skin Restoring Body Wash during showers and the Moisturiser after (up to 3 times a day).

Body wash ingredients. Shea butter and sunflower seed oil are high up on the list.

The wash itself is a white creamy formula that lathers quite well, compared to the normal Cetaphil wash which doesn't lather much and, in my opinion, is reminiscent of a certain bodily fluid that is usually ejaculated. It does have a weird smell, like musty books kept in the cupboard too long. I don't use shampoo on E1 but usually double up his body washes, since his hair is short (honestly, most of the ingredient are the same anyway). When I did wash his hair with the Restoraderm body wash, GY noticed it and commented that the lingering smell was "funny".

Moisturiser ingredients. It does contain silicone.

The moisturiser is quite runny and thin. It takes a bit of massaging in before it gets fully absorbed and usually by that time E1 has already turned restless and whiny. For some reason that escapes me, he really hates getting stuff put on him. I strangely do like the smell even though it smells like - get this- buttery croissants!

Anyhoo, the main point is in the After photos:

Nope.

Nope! That actually is redder and drier than before. And it's starting to flake.

Uhh, it looks really bad here but it did become less irritated. 

Sadly, this range failed to rehydrate E1's dry skin like it promised. It did help to control the itch on his back though. I suspect it's because E1 either perspires too much that the moisturiser keeps sliding off, or his skin is too thick that it doesn't penetrate deep enough ha ha.

Verdict: 50% Rave for the Body wash ; 0% Rave for the Moisturiser
I did think the body wash was quite good and I have half a mind to persuade GY to switch his normal Cetaphil wash to this, nevermind the smell. The moisturiser on the other hand, while it didn't give me reason to dissuade others from trying it, simply didn't have enough magic for E1's skin. Don't worry Galderma, GY is still a fan of your regular wash.
The Restoraderm range is available at selected pharmacies, including SGH retail pharmacy.