Mustela’s Stelatopia: A game changer for skin irritation!

09/21/2022

Like many new mothers, I remember being caught off guard by the unsightly rash that both of my babies developed in those first few weeks of life. Their once rosy and soft skin instead became inflamed, irritated and painful looking.  I wondered what I was doing wrong, was the bath water too hot? Was I not being careful enough when wiping their faces after a feed? Was it the laundry detergent I was using? There was a lot of self doubt and self blame. While both my children dealt with skin irritation as newborns and infants, it is my now 2.5 year old son James who has had the worst experience dealing with chronically dry and irritated skin. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve tried EVERY cream, lotion, prescription creams, steroids and even natural home remedies like dabbing breast milk or melted coconut milk on his cracked and angry skin.

Trial and Error

With my daughter, she seemed to outgrow her irritated skin by about age 3. James is a different story though. I feel like I’m constantly at his paediatrician’s office, asking if we can try something else – as even prescription creams don’t seem to make much difference (and I worry about them damaging his skin). James had an irritated patch of skin on his face for his whole first year of life and up till recently he had similar patches on his arms, legs and torso. When you’re a mother, it’s heartbreaking to see your child’s little body and their delicate skin in such an angry state.

New: Mustela Stelatopia

When I was asked to try the new Stelatopia skincare range of products by Mustela, the first thing I did was take a look at the ingredients listed. This minimalist and biodegradable line of formulas is also fragrance-free and boasts 98% ingredients of natural origin. The line combines two patented, responsibly sourced active ingredients  – Organic sunflower oil distillate and Avocado Perseose.

The verdict

I like to really dive in and use a product for at least 30 days to see changes on the skin (either on my own or my kids). Though I practised this same timeline with Mustela’s Stelatopia products, I was blown away by the fast results. Those dry and irritated patches on James’ torso, arms and legs that I mentioned earlier – I was amazed to see them vanish within 2-3 days of using the products! In his two and a half years of life James has never been without dry patches somewhere on his body, this is quite literally the first time!

I gravitated towards the Cleansing Oil for James and it became an instant favourite. The oil itself is a truly luxurious experience, it has a melting texture that dilutes easily in the bath or can be used directly on the skin (which is what we did). The Emollient Cream (there’s one for body and one specifically for face) provides long-term hydration and helps restore a compromised skin barrier. They’re flowing, melting texture absorbs easily into the skin and soothes fragile skin.

What is Atopic Dermatitis?

Nearly one in five children are affected by atopic dermatitis (commonly referred to as eczema). It’s one of the most common reasons for paediatrician visits. The first signs usually appear at around two months, with most kids outgrowing it by 5-6 years old. It involves extremely dry skin on the face and the body, with the cycle of eczema flare ups leading to small red patches, itchiness, irritations caused by scratching and waking up during the night that can impair the child’s sleep and quality of life.

The condition is shown to be hereditary – the likelihood of children developing atopic dermatitis increases by 40-50% when one of their parents has it and 50-80% if both parents are affected. In our case, I suffered with eczema for my first few years of life and still get occasional flare ups now. My Dad also has a lifetime of skin flare ups, so I guess our genes are definitely in play with my sweet James’ skin!

With a full line of products from a cleansing oil, cleansing gel, foam shampoo, emollient cream and emollient face cream, Mustela’s Stelatopia is a truly amazing line of products for your little ones, especially those with chronically dry or irritated skin.

Written by Gillian Kuriyan, Mommy Connections Midtown Toronto Director

Gillian lives in Toronto, Ontario with her family. She is the mom of two children, ages 6 and 2. While on maternity leave from her job as an elementary teacher, she took over the Mommy Connections Midtown Toronto chapter. Covid may have changed her own mat leave, but she’s determined to help moms in the community ‘find their mom squad’ and enjoy their mat leave despite the challenges all of us have faced recently!  She has lived in Toronto for over 20 years and loves to share her experiences as a city mom and all the tips and tricks that she’s gathered along the way.