Diabetic skin is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage from excess glucose, the sun and the environment. Skin barrier breakage is also the most dangerous side effect of diabetes and excessive glycation. TrueLipids® products were specifically designed with the diabetic in mind. Our technology helps the skin to overcome its vulnerabilities:

• Deficient lipid production
• Abnormal pH
• Susceptibility to infection
• Susceptibility to free-radical oxidative damage
• Inflammation
• Chemical sensitivities

Our founder, Cheryl Lee Eberting, M.D. trained under the past president of the American Wound Healing Society and has extensive experience in the care of diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, and venous stasis disease. These three conditions are all very common amongst diabetics and can be greatly minimized with the proper dedication and care for your skin.

Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Diabetic foot ulcers begin as a small crack in the skin or with a minor wound. To minimize cracking and peeling of the feet, and to restore healthy skin to the toes and heels, apply the TrueLipids ointment under a small piece of saran wrap followed by a sock at night time for a few weeks. Once your cracks have resolved and you can see your skin lines again (yes, you will be able to have normal skin lines—the little lines that make our finger prints unique), then switch to the TrueLipids Ceramide+ Cream twice a day. This product not only helps to optimize the skin barrier and to maintain NORMAL skin on the feet, but it also helps to keep the skin on the feet and legs cycling normally too. This can help to prevent build up of old dead skin that cracks and ends up infected.

Minor Cuts, Scrapes and Burns
For even the most minor cuts, scrapes and burns, be sure to wash the area very well with soap and water and keep a thick layer of TrueLipids Boo Boo balm on the area at all times. Never allow the area to dry out or scab as this often leads to prolonged healing time, higher rates of infection and more scarring. Pay very close attention to the skin and watch for any signs of infection (redness, exudate, increasing pain). If you are concerned for infection, contact your physician immediately for treatment. Early treatment can make the world of difference between a minor wound and a years-long diabetic foot ulcer or chronic venous stasis ulcer on the legs. To learn more about diabetic skin care and the effects of glycation and carbamylation, please visit our blog.

Pressure Ulcers
While pressure ulcers may not be extremely common in diabetics, when they do happen, they can be particularly vexing due to the impaired wound healing capabilities of diabetic skin. The most important things you can do to prevent pressure ulcers is to avoid sitting or lying in one position for very long. The skin barrier loses circulation and dies when it has too much pressure on it and must be allowed to heal by the offset of any pressure. Watch for signs of pink, slightly scaly skin in areas that get a lot of pressure. Be sure to avoid putting pressure on this skin until it has returned to normal. Consider applying a thick layer of TrueLipids Boo Boo Balm to this skin as an effective skin protectant. Keep the area covered with the balm at all times until the skin barrier looks normal. If you do develop a pressure ulcer, visit your doctor immediately and begin treatment to avoid long term problems.

Prevention is Key: Compression Stockings
Always, always, always wear protective shoes. And always wear at least knee-high compression stockings if your physician has cleared you to do so (some people should not wear compression stocking if they have severe arterial disease that would not tolerate compression). Compression is one of the most effective and cheap ways to prevent the onset of ulcerations on the lower legs and feet. If you think of how much pressure there is inside a column of fluid that is as tall as you are (your venous system), at the bottom of the column, there is an extraordinary amount of outward pressure that leads to extravasation of blood and lymph into the soft tissue of the lower legs. This excess fluid leads to a traffic jam of sorts; the good cells that need to come and go end up getting trapped and cannot go where they need to go or do what they are supposed to do. This is what leads to the break down of the skin on the ankles and lower legs and causes stasis ulcers and stasis dermatitis. Usually about 21mmHg (21 millimeters of mercury) pressure is sufficient for most people; however, higher levels of compression are appropriate for some cases.

Consider Treating Your Toenail Fungus Infection to Minimize Breakdown of Your Skin Barrier
Many diabetics have pretty significant onychomycosis (toe nail fungus infection). This is often associated with a fungal infection of the feet as well and leads to a break down in the skin barrier. Treatment options for onychomycosis have improved drastically with the introduction of laser treatment for onychomycosis. In some studies, this modality has shown close to 90% clearance of onychomycosis. In the diabetic foot, treatment with laser may be limited by neuropathy. Neuropathy is the loss of or diminished perception of sensation of hot, cold and pain in the lower legs. Treatment with the laser for onychomycosis involves heating the toe nail itself up to a temperature that kills the fungus, but doesn't scar the toe nail. It is best to have this treatment done only if you have intact sensation in your feet so you can give the laser operator feedback as to whether or not the laser light is too hot.

Proper Laundering of Compression Socks is Important When Treating Toenail Fungus
Don’t be afraid to wash and dry your compression socks in the washer and in a high heat dryer. Many diabetics have fungal infections in their toe nails and these infections can be spread by your stockings if they are not laundered correctly. Hand washing is NOT sufficient for killing fungus that lives in the socks that come in contact with infected toenails. A recent study however, showed that a high heat drying can kill up to 94% of fungus that is trapped in dirty socks.

Doctors traditionally recommend lotions and creams that layer on oils to treat the side effects, but don’t do anything for the underlying condition. They tell patients that they need to moisturize their dry skin and the problem will go away—even though the results almost always show this isn’t true.

Medical professionals prescribe medications loaded with steroids that work for a while, but come with serious side effects, like thinner skin, folliculitis, and even addiction. We realized we needed a long-term solution. We approached the problem from a different angle. We took a step back and compared the pH of healthy skin to the pH of skin with eczema, psoriasis, and atopical skin conditions. What we found changed everything we thought we knew about skin care. And it all starts with the naturally occurring acids on your skin.

We discovered that healthy skin has a pH that is moderately acidic— between 4.6 - 5.6. This moderately acidic pH naturally protects your skin against harmful bacteria and viruses and supports a healthy skin barrier that keeps moisture in and other harmful elements out.

However, when you wash your skin with traditional soaps, you scrub away the skin’s natural acidity and make it alkaline. Even using pure water washes away your skin’s natural acids. Most lotions and moisture replacement therapies are very alkaline too, which makes the problem worse.

Our research showed that helping the skin regain its natural acidic pH was critical to treating the worst skin condition.

Healthy skin has a delicate balance of ceramides, very long chain fatty acids, cholesterol and cholesterol esters. Too much of one or the other is what leads to multiple skin diseases. Too little of these important lipids and your skin dries out and cracks.

Many of the treatments recommended by doctors today are made with just one of these critical ingredients, like cholesterol. But if you put cholesterol on your skin without the balance of other lipids, the result is eczema, increased wrinkles, and dried-out, rashy skin.

Our research made it clear that replacing the right lipids in the right combination is a vital step toward healthier skin.

Certain anti-inflammatory agents play a significant role in restoring a healthy skin barrier. The ingredient that is most helpful is called 18 ß-glycyrrhetinic acid. Despite its scientific sounding name, this compound is derived from licorice and has significant anti- inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and DNA reparative qualities.

Scientists who have worked with 18 ß-glycyrrhetinic acid have noted that it fights staphylococcal and MRSA infections as well as viral infections like RSV and Candida. All three of these healthy skin secrets play an important role in relieving painful, dry, itchy red skin conditions. When you combine them together in the right concentrations, what you get is a powerful skin care product that helps support and restore healthy skin.

With countless research studies showing effectiveness in eczema, acne and rosacea, niacinamide also packs an amazing anti-inflammatory punch. Niacinamide also has DNA-reparative functionalities that are perfect for damaged, inflamed and infected skin. The TrueLipids combination of niacinamide and 18 ß-glycyrrhetinic acid is incredibly soothing to your skin.

TrueLipids restores the skin’s natural acidic pH balance with a patent-pending mix of healthy skin supporting nutrients called pH-Protect™. Made with Polyhydroxy Acid which doesn’t crystalize and irritate skin like citric or lactic acid, it locks moisture deep into the skin so it stays naturally hydrated. It is also an anti-oxidant which improves the skin’s appearance and prevents irritation.

Your skin barrier is made up of an exact combination of skin barrier lipids: 47% ceramides, 11% free fatty acids, 24% cholesterol and 18% cholesterol esters. TrueLipids is the only product to address the exact natural skin barrier lipid balance that research has shown keeps skin healthy. Isostearyl isostearate, another powerful lipid that has been shown to protect your skin’s natural moisture levels, is also included. TrueLipids is made with LipidRelease™ technology that uses polyglyceryl fatty acid esters to moisturize and deliver lipids into skin over time—without surfactants like ammonium salt, which can crystalize and irritate skin.

We tested the TrueLipids products with 25 children aged 6 months to 18 years, applying the products twice daily for two weeks. The results were excellent. Physicians who participated in the test noted an:

• 87% improvement in desquamation (a measure of the skin’s scaliness)
• 86% improvement in dryness and redness
• 85% improvement in irritation

To make sure that TrueLipids delivered on its promise, we conducted repeat insult patch testing on 200 people to ensure that these formulas are as gentle on the skin as expected. We saw zero allergic reactions and zero irritant reactions.

Perhaps most important of all, TrueLipids is made without any of the 88 top allergens commonly found in other skincare products—things like bees wax, parabens, PEGs, fragrances, dyes and 83 other potentially allergenic ingredients. TrueLipids is truly allergen free.

What’s more we also conducted a TEWL inhibition analysis (that’s a measure of how well TrueLipids prevents skin from drying out) and found it performed with flying colors!

In a double blinded patient preference study, patients preferred TrueLipids to Aquaphor®. TrueLipids was also less greasy and leaves the skin feeling more natural than Aquaphor®.

With a 98% success rate our patients couldn’t be happier, but the real proof of TrueLipids is in the pictures. Take a look at our testimonials from our customers. In mild and moderate cases of atopic dermatitis, TrueLipids alone delivered amazing results in as little as 7 days.

Inventor of the TrueLipids® Technology.
Board-Certified Dermatologist America’s Number One Eczema Expert

I have spent my entire career focused upon the treatment of eczema. While working as a clinical research scientist at the National Institutes of Health, I treated patients from all over the world with the worst cases of eczema. I found that there were no effective solutions for my patients and so I set out to create a REAL solution for the treatment of eczema. After almost FIVE years of trial and error, TrueLipids was born! We found a solution that works in almost every case. Our team is the most highly-trained group of experts in the treatment of eczema. You can be rest assured that we can help you or your child find calm, soft, smooth skin.