Emuaid is a homeopathic skin cream brand. Its manufacturer claims this product line can treat over 100 skin conditions, including eczema, nail fungus, hemorrhoids, athlete’s foot, cold sores and many more.
But what's actually in Emuaid, and does it have ingredients that are clinically shown to treat skin conditions? Does Emuaid have any unhealthy ingredients? What is homeopathy, and is it proven to be effective? And is Emuaid better or worse than popular skin healing ointments like Aquaphor?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we evaluate whether or not homeopathy works based on clinical studies.
We'll also analyze the ingredients in Emuaid and Emuaid Max to give our take on whether or not they're effectively formulated, share our concerns about the clinical trial on Emuaid, and compare the brand to other popular skin creams to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Homeopathy is clinically proven to be entirely ineffective
- Free from unhealthy additives
- We do not currently recommend Emuaid
Does Homeopathy Work?
Homeopathy is a type of alternative medicine that’s rarely practiced in the US. It involves using extremely dilute amounts of natural ingredients to cure a wide range of diseases, as we documented in our review of another homeopathic remedy called Bliss Skin Tag Remover.
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 publishes this somewhat comical disclaimer in the footer of their website at the time of updating this article:
“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 over 10 million views and examines whether or not homeopathy is effective:
Emuaid Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Emuaid are shown below:
Colloidal silver is the only active ingredient in Emuaid.
This ingredient refers to silver nanoparticles diluted in a carrier liquid (typically water).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 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.
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 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 clinical studies suggesting that topical colloidal silver at these incredibly low doses is effective for treating any skin condition, so we do not currently recommend Emuaid.
The inactive ingredients in Emuaid are likely safe and non-toxic.
Is Emuaid Proven to Work?
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 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 journals, because the risk of bias is too high for the results to have any value to consumers in our opinion.
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 that should be clarified.
We do not believe that this study proves Emuaid to be effective, especially given that the Emuaid website has various health claims about skin ailments, and is not solely marketed for antibacterial effect.
If Emuaid wants to prove that their products are effective, we recommend that the brand funds a clinical trial that's published in a peer-reviewed journal like the ones we've cited throughout this article.
Emuaid Max Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Emuaid Max are shown below:
Colloidal silver is the active ingredient in Emuaid Max, at the same concentration as exists in standard Emuaid, so we don't understand why this product is 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 do not consider Emuaid Max likely to treat any skin conditions effectively.
Emuaid vs. Popular Skin Healers
Here's how Emuaid compares to other popular skin healing treatments in terms of formulation quality:
Vaseline
White petrolatum is the only active ingredient in Vaseline, and it's clinically shown to have a potent skin-hydrating effect.
More likely to be effective than Emuaid.
Winner: Vaseline
Aquaphor
Aquaphor is clinically proven to heal damaged skin, and is free of any unhealthy additives.
The brand is the clear winner in terms of potential efficacy.
Winner: Aquaphor
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
Contains a preservative combination we consider unhealthy.
Although we don't currently recommend Emuaid, we consider it a healthier choice than CeraVe Moisturizing Cream.
Winner: Emuaid
Our Clean Body Lotion Pick
MBG Postbiotic Body Lotion is our top body lotion pick.
Squalene is an active ingredient in this lotion, and is clinically shown to hydrate the skin.
Shea butter was described as having moisturizing effects in a medical review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
This lotion is entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Emuaid Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Contains inactive ingredients that may benefit skin quality
- May have antibacterial effect
Cons:
- Homeopathic remedies
- Colloidal silver is questionable from a health perspective
- We can't find any evidence this cream will treat skin conditions
- Questionable clinical trial
- Less likely to be effective than competitors
