‘Severe eczema had my daughter screaming in pain and nothing worked’ – My London

As a child, Dionne Reid and her brother both suffered from severe eczema.

During the hotter months of summer, Dionne found herself in and out of hospital constantly, as her skin would crack and bleed.

It was terrible, she said.

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Dionnes mum, Veronica Brown, would take her to appointment after appointment in their area of Peckham, South East London and beyond, as well as specialist treatments, trying out Chinese herbal medicines and dietician appointments.

Veronica, 67, said: Dionne had the brunt of it. She spent most of her early life in sulfur bandages.

Bath times were especially painful.

The whole neighbourhood knew exactly when she was having a bath," Veronica added.

But my heart goes out to her. It must have been absolute agony.

Veronica describes it as alligator skin.

Dionne and her brothers eczema is genetic, so it cant be cured, but Veronica was desperate to find something that would ease her childs symptoms.

Suddenly, Veronica became ill, and had to retire on medical grounds, so was faced with a lot more free time then she was used to.

Thats when she started to look into making her own products for her children using natural ingredients.

I used them as my willing guinea pigs, she laughs. And they loved it.

One day, my son said, mum, this Mums Soap is the biz!, she said. And he doesnt give compliments freely.

The soap worked miracles for her childrens symptoms, who were grown up by this point, and Dionne began convincing her mum to turn the soaps into a fully fledged business - Mums Soaps.

And it wasnt a hard decision for Veronica, who is a mother through and through. Im one of those naturally caring people that wants to help the world - I come from that vein, she says.

The business side was the hard part. But luckily, her daughter Dionne runs her own business, and was able to teach Veronica the ropes.

She helped me with the techy stuff, says Veronica. Managing social media, marketing, business skills. Because I had none of them. For someone at my age, it was absolutely challenging.

Dionne adds: At one point it was just more of like, a hobby. And then when we saw the impact it was like, Ok. Cool. I think this is the real deal.

So we went through this whole back and forth - like mum, this is branding, this is social media, this is the language that people care about, these are hashtags, this is Instagram.

She laughs: It was a real testing process for both of us.

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But even with Dionnes expertise, turning her passion into a business wasnt a smooth transition. Dionne said the industry wasnt always welcoming to a 67-year-old woman starting a business.

There were moments where people could manipulate her, Dionne said. There are no communities or systems that support elders in learning.

It was just me. I was her only outlet.

Now, Mums Soaps is a thriving business. Veronica says: "I want it to be the go-to brand. And also to inspire other older generations to dream."

Check Mum's Soaps out here.

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'Severe eczema had my daughter screaming in pain and nothing worked' - My London