Say 'moo!' to dry skin

As you may know, for the past few years I have suffered with a skin condition called psoriasis, which causes red patches to develop on your skin which can then turn white as skin cells reproduce too quickly (within 2-3 days).

It started on my head, then went to my ears. I then had a patch appear on my tummy when I was pregnant and within six months of Ethan's birth, my psoriasis spread to my chest and legs, with my arms to follow not long after. You can read with how I have stuggled in the past here.

This time last year, I began my first course of light therapy having tried various lotions and potions (none very pleasant) prescribed by the dematologist to help treat the symptoms for ages with minimal success. 

There's no miracle cure. Doctors don't fully understand the causes of the condition and sufferers can struggle to see any patterns in their own flare ups, with over the counter treatments basically relying on steroids to help reduce the build of skin so patches are less itchy and unsightly.

The light therapy really helped and after 30 sessions, three a week, my skin was pretty clear.

It didn't last much more than a couple of months.

With a wedding coming up and increasing patches developing in some of the old places and in a few new ones too, I asked to be recommended again for phototherapy and a few weeks ago, I began the treatment cycle again. Picture a giant sunbed and you're not far off.

So far, I have had 19 treatments and my arms are clear and my legs have improved, but they are a particularly stubborn area to treat. I am waiting for sign off for a further 10 sessions, which they will probably give me due to the results not yet achieving what they could.

To help keep my skin soft and nourished, even more important with my phototherapy treatment in mind, I have been putting a specially developed, natural cream to the test.

The nice people at MooGoo got in touch a few weeks ago to say that their natural creams, which feature natural dairy cream modified for human use, might be able to help my skin.

I started using them straight away, to compliment my treatment.

I've been using Moo Goo's Irritable Skin Balm daily, particularly after treatments. I've also used this on Ethan, as it's good for eczema and dermatitis as well as psoriasis and Ethan's had some bumpy skin on his arms for a while now. It's nothing to worry about but I'm keeping an eye on it.

After a good few weeks of continuous use, I can report back that both this and the Soothing MSM cream is nice to apply and has really helped me to moisturise my skin with ease. It's not too rich but it's also not too slippery, it absorbs well and my skin feels well moisturised after.

And how cute is the packaging, mimicking milk cartons?

Here's a small peak at my legs, after two weeks of phototherapy and using Moo Goo - the biggest difference seen this time around...

With light therapy, my skin needs more moisturiser than ever and I've kept one of these in my handbag at all times. I've enjoyed using Moo Goo and have plenty left to keep going for a while yet. Whether you have problem skin like me or you're just looking to try something new, give this a go and say 'moo!' to dry skin.

* Thank you again to the Moo Goo team - I really appreciate your help and advice!