Emuaid is a skin cream brand available in major retailers and online that sells homeopathic remedies. The brand claims their products can treat over 100 skin conditions, including eczema, nail fungus, hemorrhoids, athlete’s foot, cold sores and many more.
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in Emuaid and Emuaid Max based on medical research to give our take on whether the products are likely to be safe and effective for treating skin conditions. We’ll also share some concerns we have about homeopathic medicine, and explain why we consider the research study backing Emuaid to be questionable.
Does Homeopathy Work?
Homeopathy is a type of alternative medicine that’s rarely practiced in the U.S. It involves using extremely dilute amounts of natural ingredients to cure a wide range of diseases. As documented by the National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health (NCCIH), one of the core tenets of homeopathy is that the lower the dose of medication the more effective the treatment, which doesn't make logical sense.
A meta-study published in the Medical Journal of Australia analyzed data from six medical reviews on homeopathy. The study authors concluded that homeopathy is ineffective for all health conditions: "The findings of currently available Cochrane reviews of studies of homeopathy do not show that homeopathic medicines have effects beyond placebo."
Emuaid’s own website states this in the disclaimer section, which is somewhat comical: “Homeopathic claims are not backed by scientific evidence – they are based only on theories of homeopathy from the 1700s that are not accepted by most modern medical experts.”
We do not consider homeopathy to be effective, and we find it strange that Emuaid has a disclaimer on their website stating that homeopathy is not backed by any legitimate science, while the brand still makes health claims on their homeopathic product pages.
A popular animated YouTube video on homeopathy published by a channel called "Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell" has achieved over 10 million views and examines whether or not homeopathy is effective:
Emuaid Ingredient Review
The sole active ingredient in Emuaid is colloidal silver. This ingredient refers to silver nanoparticles diluted in a carrier liquid (typically water).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has banned oral use of this ingredient due to health concerns, and explicitly states this ingredient cannot be marketed for the prevention of any disease, which it appears is exactly what Emuaid is doing.
Another possible risk of applying colloidal silver to the skin is a condition that is very difficult to treat, known as argyria. While most known cases are from direct ingestion of colloidal silver, it is possible that over time the skin could absorb these silver metals and react with light. These particles could then cause the skin to become discolored as dark grey or blue.
Emuaid’s ingredients list states: “10x, 20x, 30x Colloidal Silver.” 10x in homeopathy actually means the active ingredient is diluted 10 times, and the potency is 10 to the power of negative 10, or 1 part colloidal silver per 10 million parts solution.
A homeopathic 30x dilution includes such a small amount of the original ingredient that no molecules of the original solution would even exist if diluted in water, as documented by Wikipedia’s homeopathy page.
We cannot locate any medical studies suggesting that topical colloidal silver at these incredibly low doses is effective for treating any skin condition, so we do not recommend Emuaid.
The inactive ingredients in Emuaid are safe and non-toxic, so we don’t believe the product is a health risk, just a waste of money.
Emuaid Max Ingredient Review
The active ingredient in Emuaid Max is exactly the same as the active ingredient in regular Emuaid, so we don’t understand why it’s more expensive. The inactive ingredients are similar as well.
Emuaid's website claims that this product provides "topical symptomatic relief" for "itchy, painful conditions."
Since the active ingredient is identical, we consider this product ineffective similar to our take on regular Emuaid.
Where to Buy Emuaid?
Emuaid is available at a variety of online retailers, so consumers are often curious where the best price can be found. While we don't recommend Emuaid overall, we will share the pricing breakdown across major retailers at the time of updating this article so consumers set on purchasing Emuaid can get the best price.
Emuaid website: $52.90 (link)
Walgreens: $52.90 (link)
Walmart: $52.90 (link)
Amazon: $52.90 (link)
The Emuaid price on all websites is exactly the same, so Amazon may be the best option because free shipping is often offered. Free shipping is not available on Emuaid's website unless the order is over $75.
Questionable Medical Study
Emuaid’s website links to a PDF document testing whether their products can kill harmful bacteria like E. Coli and Candida albicans.
The study was performed by a third-party, for-profit laboratory called Kappa Labs. As we’ve stated in previous Illuminate Health reviews, we recommend that consumers disregard results from clinical trials that are not published in peer-reviewed medical journals, because the risk of bias is too high otherwise.
It’s also unclear to us from the study if the lab even used an off-the-shelf Emuaid product, because there is only reference to a “Formula #DC-137, W/O Waxes” as the test substance, with no definition of what this formula is. We’re assuming this refers to one batch of Emuaid without the wax ingredient but this needs to be clarified.
We do not believe that this study proves Emuaid to be effective. If Emuaid wants to prove their products to be effective, we recommend that they fund a clinical trial that's published in a peer-reviewed medical journal like the ones we've cited in this article.
Research-Backed Skin Healing Product
There is a significant amount of medical research backing the effectiveness of unrefined coconut oil for treating a variety of skin conditions.
Coconut oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties thanks to its naturally high levels of lauric acid.
A medical review of virgin coconut oil for atopic dermatitis found that 47% of patients achieved moderate improvement and 46% achieved an excellent response.
An animal study found virgin coconut oil helped wounds heal much faster than expected due to its effect on collagen cross-linking.
Coconut oil has even been shown to have a skin-protective effect against UV radiation; the only whole food ingredient that we've seen proven to have a sunscreen effect in medical research.
Unrefined coconut oil certainly can’t heal all of the conditions that Emuaid claims it can heal, and we don't recommend using this product to treat any specific disease, but we do consider it to be a better option for skin health than Emuaid (and much cheaper).
The unrefined coconut oil product we recommend is Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. It only costs $10.88 for 14 ounces, versus Emuaid's $52.90 for 2 ounces. This coconut oil contains no questionable additive ingredients, and is sold in a glass jar which is better for the environment than plastic packaging.
Interested consumers can check out Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil at this link which directs to its Amazon listing.
