From being a baby, little Nola would scratch her painful eczema until her skin bled. Her mum had to place mitten over her hands to stop the little girl riving at the flaking, itchy skin across her face and body.
After trying many lotions and moisturisers, her despairing mum Emily Harris decided to give a £7.99 cream a try. Within days it practically cleared up Nola's eczema, she said, and her skin is now just as it should be - baby soft.
Nola Harris-Rodrigues was born an otherwise happy and healthy baby on December 15, 2021. But first-time mum Emily noticed her daughter did not have the super smooth skin babies are known for.
Nola’s dry skin only seemed to worsen until her face, scalp and body were covered in red, flaky skin and weeping sores. With no prescribed lotion or recommended cream making a difference, it was only when Emily stumbled on an advert for Balmond’s Skin Salvation cream she says things changed.
The admin assistant, who is single and lives in Bristol with nine-month-old Nola, said: “I was scared she would have that skin for the rest of her life but her skin is completely smooth and clear now. She finally has baby soft skin, like she should have.”
From the moment Nola was born last December, Emily noticed her daughter’s skin appeared dry.
She said: “I never thought too much of it at first because health visitors and midwives said it was quite common for babies to have dry skin. At one month old, Emily started using different moisturisers and creams to try and soothe her daughter’s skin – with no success.
By three months old, Nola’s skin was completely covered in angry red, dry eczema. Emily said: “It was so bad she had open sores which wept onto her clothes and we had to get antibiotics prescribed.
"I would try to make sure she had some time with her hands to play every day but she would only ever play for a few minutes and then immediately start scratching. We couldn’t even go to the baby sensory classes because she wouldn’t play with the toys, she was only interested in scratching.”
Just as Emily started to think there may be nothing to help Nola, she stumbled on Balmond’s Skin Salvation cream online in June.
She said: “I saw an advert pop up for their cream on Instagram and had a look at their account. I saw lots of before and after pictures of babies and children whose skin had improved using the cream and thought I would give it a go.”
Buying a 30ml pot of the cream for £7.99, Emily carefully applied a small amount to Nola’s cheeks. Emily, 25, said: “I was so cautious so I just applied a small amount to her cheeks and the next day, it already looked clearer.
“It felt like every morning she woke up that week, it was clearer. For the first time, it stopped looking red.”
Starting to apply the cream all over Nola’s body, Emily said she was brought to tears by the rapid improvement to her daughter’s skin.
“Within a few weeks, her skin had completely cleared,” she said. “I remember a few weeks later seeing Nola sat playing and I genuinely cried because I had never seen her do that before without scratching.”
Emily said: “She is like a completely different baby. She used to be so fed up and grouchy, constantly scratching, but now it’s like she is finally able to be a normal baby. It has made the world of difference.”
For more information about the cream go to www.balmonds.co.uk
