Childhood eczema:
A mother’s journey to Suppla
Before I had children, I thought eczema was just a skin rash. That is probably how most people see it. But if your child lives with chronic eczema, you know just how naive that view is.
Eczema doesn’t just affect the skin. It affects confidence, sleep, school, work and entire family dynamics. Eventually, every decision revolves around trying to manage your child’s skin.
When eczema takes over
For my children, it started as small patches of dry skin. We moisturised, followed medical advice and assumed it would settle down.
Instead, it gradually worsened.
Their skin became red, angry and intensely inflamed. The itching was relentless. They scratched until their skin broke, leaving raw, bleeding patches that were painful even to touch. I tried everything to make things better and felt utterly helpless watching my children suffer.
The nights that never ended
There were endless creams, appointments and attempts to identify their triggers. Everything I tried brought hope, followed by disappointment when things didn’t improve.
I’d lie awake listening to the unmistakable, almost sandpaper-like scratching sound, followed by tears. Even now, years later, I’d recognise it instantly. I spent countless sleepless nights holding their hands to stop them scratching, knowing that the moment I let go, they would start again.
After a while, those nights all merged into one. I worked full-time throughout those years, trying to carry on as normal while privately dealing with the exhaustion, worry and guilt of watching my children suffer.
Was there a better treatment? Could it be their diet? Was I overlooking something obvious? I started searching for answers from clinical papers, parent forums, and product reviews. I bought more things than I care to remember. Some helped. Some didn’t. Others made things worse.
I remember buying a cream that promised incredible results. Within minutes of applying it, my son’s skin was burning. I lifted him straight into a cold shower. I remember his tears, and mine. I’d bought something to help him, and instead I’d made his pain worse.
That experience changed how I viewed product promises. When you’re desperate for relief, it’s easy to believe them. But where was the evidence?
Looking beyond creams
I began questioning something I’d overlooked. Clothing. Our children spend almost every hour with fabric against their skin. Yet while I'd questioned almost everything else, I'd never questioned the clothes they wore.
Like many parents, I’d chosen clothing that felt soft or carried seemingly reassuring labels. But was that enough?
I came across research into performance textiles. If clothing could be engineered for athletic performance, why couldn’t we engineer it to help children with eczema?
Rethinking clothing’s role
I started exploring this further with textile experts and soon discovered that fibre selection was only one part of a much bigger picture. From the fibres, yarn, to the finished garment, every choice influences how textiles interact with skin.
Children with eczema have a compromised skin barrier, making what sits against their skin particularly important. What they wear, and what it contains, matters.
What if we could create clothing that actively supports eczema-prone skin? Can we go further?
This marked the start of research into functional textile technologies and how the properties of different fibres could support reactive skin.
Our research won multiple UK Government innovation grants, each supporting different stages of research, development and clinical evaluation. Each award required evidence of progress, findings, and societal impact of what was being created.
“I didn’t want another family to simply take our word for it. We needed independent evidence.”
From research to clinical evidence
Throughout it all, I never lost sight of why Suppla started: my own experience as a parent. I’d tried products that promised so much and delivered so little. I didn’t want another exhausted family to simply take our word for it.
That meant taking the next step: independent clinical testing.
Suppla garments underwent a 28-day clinical evaluation under dermatological and paediatric supervision.
I remember receiving the final 51-page report. After years of research and development, did Suppla make a meaningful difference to children with eczema? The results exceeded my expectations.
The evaluation showed measurable improvements in scratch-related skin damage, visible irritation and sleep quality. It also showed improvements in children’s confidence, everyday comfort, and overall quality of life for parents.
For me, the findings meant much more than the numbers in a clinical report. They represented something I'd been searching for since those sleepless nights with my own children: evidence that we could make a meaningful difference to other families managing eczema.
Why Suppla exists
I know how much eczema can impact a family. The skincare routines, sleepless nights, uncertainty and the constant search for answers.
Suppla began with two children struggling with eczema and a mother determined to find a better way.
