As anyone who’s suffered from eczema knows, it can strike anytime, and the itchiness can be intolerable. It’s no fun for grown-ups, but it’s especially tough for kids. If you’re looking for a great eczema cream to soothe your kiddo’s hyper-sensitive skin, one of our top picks is Skinfix Gentle Eczema Balm. Made in Canada, this thick cream is formulated to soothe dry, irritated skin and reduce eczema flare-ups with the help of zinc oxide, colloidal oatmeal and allantoin (an EWG-approved skin conditioning agent). The balm also contains jojoba seed oil for bonus moisture.

Skinfix Gentle Eczema Balm has only nine ingredients in total and is free of fragrance, soy, gluten, parabens, phthalates, nuts and preservatives. Also of note: The balm has received the National Eczema Association’s seal of acceptance. Because it contains 15 percent zinc oxide, the rich, creamy balm leaves behind a semi-opaque white barrier (pretty standard with any zinc-based product), but it’s a small price to pay for soothing red skin right away.

Most of our parent testers felt that Skinfix Gentle Eczema Balm did a good job of soothing their children’s skin and they were happy with how quickly the eczema improved after using the balm. It comes out of the tube fairly thick and takes a little while to absorb, but it feels quite silky on the skin and doesn’t tug at all during application—which is really important when the skin is so sensitive. All but one parent tester was impressed with the effectiveness of the balm, and most felt that it not only calmed skin and cleared up rashes, but also helped prevent eczema outbreaks. The majority also felt it performed better than other eczema creams they’d tried.

Even though this eczema cream is quite rich, none of our parent testers found it difficult to wash off their hands after applying it to their little one’s skin. During our lab testing, we also discovered that the lid is easy to close securely with one hand, making it nearly impossible for this product to make a mess.

Price is always a consideration for families, and Skinfix Gentle Eczema Balm is on the higher end of price points for the eczema creams we tested. Yet we found that you don’t need to apply much of it to relieve itchy redness, and our parent testers agreed that the soothing properties of this eczema cream add to its value, making it worth the price.

FINAL WORD

We were particularly impressed with the consistency of Skinfix Gentle Eczema Balm, and the quality and ease of use earned it high marks among our parent testers. They like the high concentration of active natural ingredients and feel that it was effective in soothing their children’s eczema. Some were lukewarm on the price point, but the fact that you don’t need much to make a difference was a big plus.