Fundamental to the creation of 7 Fathoms is a responsibility to share the human benefit of seaweed. Every individual experience of newfound relief and skin barrier stability affirms the purpose inspiring our products. The SeaWise™ Extra-Strength Repair Cream has especially impressed our customers. Many testimonials we receive marvel at its gentle absorption, resilience, ability to reduce itch and inflammation, and overall versatility.
Whether for applications to eczema or psoriasis, as an alternative to irritating steroid creams, or part of a general moisturizing regimen, the SeaWise™ Extra-Strength Repair Cream has restored comfort to the lives of customers Diane and Cindy. Besides suffering from chronic skin barrier issues, they also had something else in common: a willingness “to give it a shot”, as Diane says. They discovered how the regenerative properties this natural ingredient has to survive the storms and tides of the wild North Atlantic also apply to the skin.
Trusting the Gentle Touch of Natural Ingredients
For Diane, whose battle with eczema was worsening in recent years, the Extra Strength Repair cream has given her the gentle hydration she needs. Her case of eczema was particularly sensitive, occurring near her hairline and on the thin, fragile skin of her eyelids. The sensitivity of the area affected was of great concern. Steroid based creams were too aggravating for such a delicate area, yet she had to resort to them out of desperation during flare-ups. She also had to approach new solutions with skepticism, carefully considering the ingredients before choosing to explore.
“There is no cure for eczema and some of the prescribed medications can make things worse. I find your products have helped control the redness and peeling skin. They have a very calming effect for me. It feels lovely on my skin and has really made a difference for me. I would definitely recommend!” - Diane
That’s exactly what she did the first time she took the Extra Strength Repair Cream in her hands after a glass artisan in the Newfoundland town of Rocky Harbour recommended it to her. When asked about the product being scent-free, she remarked how that was the first thing she noticed while inspecting the ingredients for the first time. It was the minimal and natural ingredients of the formula that she trusted before trying the cream. And she ascertained, “the formula is great. Don’t change it.”
Anyone struggling with skin barrier health knows the trial and error, the disappointment, how as Cindy describes, “if you read most products out there… anything that claims to be absorbent or reduce redness or inflammation, it's loaded with all kinds of chemicals… or the first ingredient is always 75% water.” Absorption and amount were also early indicators of the quality of the formula. According to Cindy, “you don't need a lot. A little bit goes a long way. I use a couple dabs and I can put it all over my face. I can put it on my spots and it has a density to it… that it goes farther, right?” There is a good reason for her claim. All 7 Fathoms’ products include over 40% active ingredient.
How Natural Ingredients and Minimal Composition Increase Effectiveness
Minimal and natural ingredients are essential to our gentle and green approach. Cindy has also been using the cream to calm her psoriasis for over a year now and also attributed the effectiveness of the formula to its ingredients. She had gone through the mill of available treatments: cortisone creams, UV through the dermatologist, tar shampoos, and the list goes on. The relief was counterproductive, as she realized “if you're not careful with those steroids, the surrounding area gets damaged… it actually thins your skin and makes it more susceptible to blisters.”
After discovering 7 Fathoms through Dragons’ Den, she relies on the SeaWise™ Extra-Strength Repair Cream to keep her eczema at bay. Since then, she hasn't suffered from massive breakouts. During a recent flare-up she applied the cream in the morning and at night, and before the week was over the inflammation and redness was “already beginning to settle down.” Her eczema “doesn't feel bumpy and crusty anymore. It's definitely smoothed it out.”
“This is my second purchase to refresh my supply. It’s my go to now for my psoriasis, keeping it at bay and minimizing inflammation, itchiness and redness. I use it every day on my face and neck. My skin is so soft and it stays moisturized all day. I highly recommend this product. It’s been awesome to leave stinky creams and steroids behind.” - Cindy
Absorption and UV Interaction
Cindy is also a competitive paddler, spending a lot of time on lakes exposed to additional UV from the reflection of the water. Time and again the SPF she used to wear couldn’t withstand the humid conditions and burnt her eyes as she began to sweat. It aggravated her ability to see, harmed her performance, to the point she simply applied the repair cream “as a moisturizer“. Within her first paddle the difference in absorption was incomparable. The burning vanished, there was no irritant distracting her from performing. She notes how “after getting off the water her skin was still conditioned… also in New Zealand where the conditions are harsher.“ Most remarkably she exclaims, after a 12 kilometer race, being on the water for over an hour and a half, “I didn’t burn.”
"After getting off of the water, [my] skin was still conditioned" – Cindy
Cindy's experience speaks to the barrier support she has found with our products when her skin is exposed to environmental stressors, including sun exposure. Separately, ongoing exploratory research at Holland College is examining the properties of our seaweed extracts. While our products are not sunscreens and do not carry an SPF claim, preliminary laboratory findings have shown UV absorption by our bladderwrack and Laminaria digitata extracts.
Stability, Support, and Paying It Forward
Diane also shares similar sentiments about the SeaWise™ Barrier Hydration Lotion and SeaWise™ Extra-Strength Repair Cream, known as the SeaWise™ Hydrate and Restore Duo. The results, above all the hydration to her skin barrier, came quickly. Within two days her eczema noticeably started “to calm down.” The Repair Cream has been “very effective against redness”, the duo also “feels good”, and requires a minimal amount per application, once in the morning and once at night. She reiterates how functionality and effectiveness from such a minimal amount of product rests in the natural ingredients.
With the Hydrate Restore Duo easing the redness and itch she “can sleep at night and carry on through the day.” The stability it brings to her skin barrier has been “a game changer.” The comfort and constancy she now feels while performing everyday tasks encourage her to “tell anyone she knows”. A friend took up her advice to try the duo for her dermatitis and “is very pleased with the results.”
Care for friends and family, for our customers, to help others by sharing stories and paying it forward, that is why 7 Fathoms exists. Reach out if you'd like to share your story.
