In case you're curious, here are some general notes about Vaniply and a brief comparison of Vaniply vs. Vanicream, Aquaphor and CeraVe skin products. All of these products were recommended to us for using on our son's infant eczema, but we saw the best improvement with Vaniply.
The active ingredient in Vaniply is listed as 1% dimethicone. (Note that the manufacturer website lists 2% dimethicone, but the label says 1%.) This is the same ingredient that can be found in silicone caulk (like you would use around your bathtub, for example), and our pediatric dermatologist explained that it acts as a sealant to keep the skin’s moisture in. Unlike caulk though, it has a very mild smell – I think most people would say Vaniply doesn’t really have a smell at all.
Also, Vaniply has a relatively short ingredient list and says it’s free of dyes, fragrances and preservatives, which I haven’t seen in other dimethicone ointments. Most other dimethicone protectants I found seem to be for diaper rash and contain natural ingredients that might irritate eczema more than help. Most of the time I’m all for natural ingredients, and the long chemical names of Vaniply’s ingredients do make me wonder how safe it is for long-term use, but for now it seems worth it. Other ointments like contain natural components, like Remedy lotion contains aloe juice and Secura diaper cream contains clove oil.
At first we were shocked at how greasy Vaniply is. You can wash your hands with Dawn dish soap and hot water and they will still be greasy if it’s on your hands. It really does seem like something that should come in a Mystik grease gun cartridge. Sometimes we even use a nitrile glove to apply it if we don’t want to deal with greasy hands the rest of the evening. We have noticed that sometimes our son’s pajamas retain some of the greasy feeling, but it always seems to come out in the wash ok. (We use Tide Free & Gentle in a front-loading washer.)
The company that makes Vaniply also makes a product called Vanicream, which we have used sometimes on our son’s face where we didn’t want the ultra-greasy feel of Vaniply. Vaniply is much more greasy than Vanicream. Vanicream is a lighter cream that seems to soak into skin fairly fast, while Vaniply leaves a greasy layer on top the skin for a long time. Vaniply has a texture that resembles petroleum jelly, while Vanicream is closer to yogurt or a normal hand lotion texture. Vaniply is translucent similar to Vaseline or petroleum jelly. Vanicream is opaque white and we’ve noticed the white color of Vanicream stays visible in skin cracks and around fingernails for some time after application. Neither Vaniply or Vanicream have a fragrance-y smell to them, I think they just seem to smell like their component chemicals.
Other creams like the Aveeno Baby Eczema lotion and Cerave lotion definitely have a distinct smell to them. The Aveeno lotion was similar in consistency to Vanicream but seem to soak in more quickly. The colloidal oatmeal that is supposed to soothe skin didn’t seem to make any difference in our case. Cerave lotion is another one that we’ve tried on the recommendation of another doctor. Cerave has a thick, yogurt-like texture and feels very moist when applied to skin. It seems like Cerave almost separates out like yogurt in the tub size as well, with water pooling in scooped-out areas of the cream. For our son Cerave seemed to cause a burning sensation and made him cry when initially applied to his worst areas of eczema, so now we only use it when his skin is already in good condition. We didn’t notice any discomfort when applying Vaniply, Vanicream or Aveeno.
