Recommended Eczema Sleepwear & Clothing: What are the Best Fabrics for Eczema Babies?

If you have a child with moderate to severe eczema we don’t need to tell you that the clothes they wear during an eczema flare can make a big difference, especially their pajamas. Eczema kids have super sensitive skin that feels like it is burning and there is an insatiable need to scratch the itch. What is even ironic is that the height of itchiness is often right after they have been given a therapeutic bath, maybe with apple cider vinegar, colloidal oatmeal or even a bleach bath (only when dermatologist recommended) and as they are getting ready for bed with topical moisturizers and medications lathered on the red rash areas. Clinical research at the Center for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine; Division of Dermatology) indicates that this can be what is called the start of the itch/scratch cycle, a time when eczema suffering infants and children cannot sleep because of the relentless urge to scratch their itch, and the more they scratch the more it itches. Itching and scratching can cause many other complications including sleep disruption and increased stress levels. Research studies have shown that stress from sleep disruption can actually prolong an eczema flareup. And when a child does not sleep due to the irritation of eczema and the itch/scratch cycle, the entire family suffers if deprived of a decent night's rest so it's vital that every possible measure is taken to help all babies, toddlers and children suffering from eczema or sensitive skin enjoy the cool relaxing comfort of appropriate sensitive skin friendly, therapeutic eczema clothing and sleepwear.

What Fibers & Fabrics are Best for Eczema Sleepwear and Psoriasis Clothing?

Textiles & Skin:

• The skin is the largest human organ and protects the body from the environment
• When skin is healthy, these parameters are balanced:
• moisture
• barrier function
• elasticity
• smoothness
• Human skin spends most of its time in close contact with textiles
• Textiles can influence skin functions in both - positive and negative - ways

It is important for eczema and psoriasis caregivers to understand the fundamental properties of different fibers and fabrics and what the potential ramifications of wearing them next to sensitive skin could be.

What is the Best Fabric for Treating Eczema & Psoriasis?

TEWLTect®: protect your sensitive, itchy skin with form-fitting, soft eczema sleepwear by Soothems. These incredibly lightweight, soothing Eczema Clothes are made with eco-friendly, sustainable, and breathable TENCEL™  embedded chitosan to promote a stronger skin barrier and speed healing, and with anti-inflammatory zinc oxide. As a hypoallergenic, natural mineral, zinc is known to help combat the urge to scratch while inhibiting bacterial growth in fabrics to support healing.

Best Eczema Sleepwear & Psoriasis Clothing fabric is TEWLTect®, FDA Class 1 Medical Device, Exempt Status: 

TEWLTect skin smart fabric is a 60% blend of TENCEL™ with the biopolymer Chitosan and viscose made from organic bamboo that is encapsulated in Zinc Oxide. TEWLTect has been independently lab tested for sensitive skin safety, no harmful chemicals were used in processing the fabric, it is certified REACH compliant, and uses only OEKO-TEX certified raw materials. 

According to Dr. Peter Lio, MD, Board Certified Dermatologist, and a member of the National Eczema Association Scientific Advisory Committee "the TEWLTect® fabric used to make Soothems eczema clothing is highly effective at controlling bacteria on the skin of atopic dermatitis patients and helps calm itching, inflammation and works great for wet wrapping. The overall benefits are incredible and even help reduce patient stress and improve sleep patterns."  

Why is TENCEL™ such a good fiber for moderate to severe Eczema, Psoriasis, Contact dermatitis, and other sensitive skin conditions?

• TENCEL fibers are symmetrically round, soft and virtually friction-free.
• TENCEL is smoother than cotton or silk.
• TENCEL fibers are cool to the touch because they hollow and are therefore thermoregulating (temperature controlling) which is very important for hot burning eczema and psoriasis skin.
• TENCEL absorbs 50% more than cotton and the moisture is evenly absorbed due to the controlled and regular fiber structure.
• TENCEL holds 50% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet. By comparison, cotton tends to get soggy and wets everything it comes into contact with. This makes cotton very uncomfortable for psoriasis and eczema wet wrapping treatments.

TENCEL™ is a sustainable branded lyocell fiber made by Lenzing AG that comes from the renewable pulp of trees which is dissolved in a non-toxic organic solvent. The solution is extruded through fine holes to produce soft, smooth hollow fiber and the solvent is recycled in a closed-loop process – more than 99% of the solvent is recovered and reused.

Figure 1: TENCEL™ Fiber Production Infographic 

Soothems process the fiber by spinning it with high tech air-jet spinning to increase softness, prevent pilling (only 1% of TENCEL fibers are air-jet spun yarns, our competitors use ring spun yarns which are inferior in performance and comfort), and to guarantee that the yarns are as strong and still as durable as possible while maintaining the smoothness and delicacy that TENCEL™ is famous for in sportswear and lingerie. We knit the yarns into TEWLTect a special blend of TENCEL™ and viscose made from organic bamboo. We also ensure that the fabric processing of TENCEL™ 's lyocell fibers does not use any harmful chemicals (like formaldehyde) sometimes used to finish this type of fabric.

Figure 2: Microscopic Fiber Surfaces – TENCEL™ is the only symmetrical, smooth, hollow fiber that is virtually friction-free against the human skin.

What is Chitosan and is it so good for eczema and psoriasis?

Chitosan or Chitin is a very common, the second most abundant renewable resource and a sustainable bioproduct produced naturally in the exoskeleton of crustaceans like shrimp, crabs, and lobster. FDA approved for human consumption, Chitosan is a form of polysaccharide that is completely safe even for people with shellfish allergies. The US military uses Chitosan infused bandages in battlefield situations to stop bleeding and control the spread of infections. Chitosan has many useful chemical and physical properties:

• Non-toxic, bio-balancing, anti-inflammatory
• Biodegradable – absorbs and removes radioactive substances
• Acceleration of skin tissue regeneration (e.g. after burns and dermatitis rashes) – accelerates wound healing
• Antimicrobial activity – inhibits bacterial growth
• Hemostatic action – bleeding is easily stopped
• Cell activation – promotes lysozyme secretion
• Oil absorption inhibition – helps the body getting rid of excess fat
• Lowering of cholesterol – catch cholesterol and lower its level
• Salt absorption – lowers high blood pressure

Chitosan harvesting, processing, and use are completely safe for both the environment and humans. 

Zinc Oxide Benefits for Eczema and Psoriasis: Why use Zinc Oxide Fabric for Eczema Clothing? 

You might think of zinc oxide as a highly effective active ingredient in sunscreens but zinc oxide has many other benefits and applications. Much research shows that zinc oxide helps to aid in new tissue growth, skin healing, repair wounds, and the prevention of inflammation. Zinc oxide can be used to naturally help heal diaper rash, acme, Mouth cold sores, skin ulcers, scrapes or abrasions, burns and even irritation from chemical products. Zinc oxide has been found to have the following benefits:

• Helping to lower skin inflammation associated with eczema and psoriasis rashes, contact dermatitis and allergies and other irritations (including diaper rash)
• Relieve itching and urge to scratch (Zinc oxide is the main ingredient in calamine lotion commonly recommended by medical professionals for chickenpox and poison ivy.
• Improving wound healing and preventing bacterial infections
• Aiding in recovery of burns, eczema lesions, scales, and damaged tissue
• Keeping moisture locked into dry skin
• Reducing dandruff
• Lowering inflammatory dermatoses (including red skin rashes and rosacea)
• Treating pigmentary disorders (melasma)
• Improving synthesis of collagen and forming of new connective tissue

Soothems Performance: TEWLTect® fabric has been proven to treat eczema and psoriasis in less than 48 hours. The benefits are visible and audible (less crying eczema suffering babies) and toddlers and kids happier with a better nights sleep from wearing Soothems® eczema sleepwear to bed.

What Fabrics to Avoid for Eczema Sleepwear and Psoriasis Clothing?

Fabrics of man-made fibers such as nylon, polyester, modacrylic fleece (a common material for commercially available children's sleepwear) and naturally coarse wool fibers irritate the skin and can make eczema and psoriasis rashes incredibly hot and itchy. Similarly, although the anti-bacterial properties of Nano-silver coated or infused fibers would seem ideal for eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis sufferers given their inherent antimicrobial properties, fabrics made from these high tech fibers also tends to be very hot, as the silver minimizes heat loss and reflects energy back to the skin and for some sensitive skin people that suffer from contact dermatitis and metal allergies (also known as metal hypersensitivity) there can be also an allergic reaction to silver. 

Cotton (it doesn’t matter whether it is organic or not, the functional properties are the same and purity is higher in non-organic cotton) is soft and comfortable next to the skin if you have eczema, psoriasis or dry or sensitive skin but cotton tends to stick to open sores and rashes and will breed bacteria. Cotton is an absorbent fiber and can inadvertently wick away the skin’s natural moisture levels leaving it unnaturally dry and itchy and also reduce the efficacy of topical moisturizers and medications. And cotton is terrible for wet wrapping therapy a common moderate to severe eczema treatment because it gets soggy, heavy and sags out of shape. Don’t be fooled - Organic Cotton only references the type of fertilizer and pesticides used in growing the cotton, not how the organic cotton was processed into yarns and how the constructed fabric was finished with chemicals.

Silk clothing and undergarments offer no medical benefits for eczema or psoriasis according to several recent studies by dermatological researchers in England. For many years silk had been highly touted in the UK medical community and by the National Health Society as a beneficial effective fiber for treating eczema and psoriasis patients but a 2017 study by the University of Nottingham revealed that silk clothing offers no benefit for children with eczema, nor did it reduce the quantity of creams and ointments used for their eczema, or the number of skin infections experienced. Professor Kim Thomas, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Dermatology in the University's School of Medicine, led the study. She said: "The silk garments that we looked at as part of this trial did not appear to provide additional clinical or economic benefits over standard care for the management of children with eczema."

Eczema Tips: Our recommendations

Buy Soothems baby eczema onesie sleepsuits, and toddler and children’s eczema pajamas with satin covered mittens to protect fingernails from damaging delicate skin and footies to protect ankles and eczema feet. Look for tear-off labels and seamless soft fabric that can be washed in hot water  (110° F / 40° C) so stains from creams and ointments can be removed and surface dust mites allergen eliminated.

Laundry and Easy Care:

Many laundry detergents have harsh ingredients that can leave residual soap on fibers. We suggest using a non-bio mild, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, liquid detergent (Attitude Sensitive Skin Natural Baby Laundry, or Better Life Laundry Detergent, Unscented or Persil Pro Clean Power, or All Free Clear liquid laundry detergent: Awarded the NEA Seal of Acceptance and the #1 Recommended detergent brand by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians. These hypoallergenic products rinse clean and are clinically proven to be gentle on the skin while removing 99% of top every day and seasonal allergens†. So your family can live a life free from worry, without so much as a scratch. Or tryTide Free & Gentle is powerful hypoallergenic laundry detergent that is free of dyes and perfumes. We recommend when laundering Soothems and all your eczema clothing rinse twice to remove all remaining residual soap, dust mites and pollen before allowing to dry.

More Eczema Tips:

In the US, Canada, the UK and elsewhere, if not a snug fit, children's sleepwear are, by law, treated with flameproofing chemicals. Most of these chemicals contain formaldehyde which cannot be washed out. Children with eczema should not be exposed to these chemicals, especially at night when body heat encourages fumes to be given off. This can lead to allergic reactions in asthmatics too. All raw materials used in Soothems have been tested in an independent, internationally recognized labs and carry the OEKO-TEX® 100 Standard  – safe for infants. This is an international standard of textile purity and guarantees that the fabric from which the garment is made does not contain any harmful chemicals.