The eczema tax is real

Scott Hampton, 14 June, 2026

Have you noticed that no matter what you buy for eczema, there is a big price premium?

TL;dr – We did price comparisons last week and discovered that products labeled specifically for eczema usually cost two to four times as much per ounce. 

Aveeno - shame on you

Using Aveeno® as an example – here are three of the eczema products at my local Walgreens last week (11 June, 2026). Each of those costs at least two bucks an ounce. 

Meanwhile, their regular lotion costs just under seventy CENTS an ounce.

$2.00 >> $0.70

That’s the eczema tax.

You might cry, “Scott, stop it. You know that the eczema products are made with more expensive ingredients! You cannot compare them.” To which I must reply: oatmeal is damn cheap, so to put 1% in your eczema formulation instead of the fraction that is in the regular stuff doesn’t move the cost needle at all. Also, oats are problematic for eczema sufferers. 

And the other helpful ingredient that is unique – the ceramide – is down there at the end of the ingredient list with the other stuff that is less than one percent. Ceramide was very expensive fifteen years ago, but these days it certainly is not going to triple the cost of the formulation.

I know this stuff, I develop and advise on formulations in the industry.

This is an eczema tax – a much higher priced version of a basic formulation that is justified with one or three ‘magic’ ingredients (usually less than 1% of the product) – but the realilty is that the price bump is because they can charge that to desperate people who are looking for something specific to their condition. This is how the industry works.

This industry thrives on our suffering

I’m not writing this just to bust Aveeno’s chops. CeraVe®, the other brand so often suggested for eczema, is also guilty. Hell, most brands do the same thing. That’s how the industry works.

The most helpful ingredient in the Aveeno products is petroleum – aka “Vaseline®”. The oat stuff does show as helpful for many people with eczema, but is not good for infants or young children, and problematic as an allergan for a lot of adults. Everything else is a meh emoliant that is very common, stuff to stabilize the formulation around all the water which is a huge fraction of the product, plus something as a preservative.

Does lotion burn when you apply it to your eczema? Does for me. That’s the water, and then those other ingredients, and some of them do real damage to my skin health if I use them repeatedly (we’re all learning as we live with eczema).

XZ.care® Skin Relief is different

We don’t sell you 85% water and label claims. Our Skin Relief™ has exactly ZERO water, preservatives, dilutants, stabilizers, or anything else. It is 100% active hero ingredients: emoliant oils and essential oil that are combined to help your skin heal naturally.