Soaps and Cleansers with Eczema
Tip: If you must use them, dilute cleansers with water 100:1

Remember, even running water is a cleansing action, and sometimes just a good rinse is all that is warranted--you only need something other than water under the arms, the groin and the soles of the feet.  To preserve natural oils, use warm (not hot) water and rinse with cool water.  Restoring the proper pH is important.  I use plain yogurt (pH of 4.2)  to cleanse the skin.  If there is an infection, an antibacterial cleanser may be needed, but restore the good bacteria on the skin with yogurt or probiotics. 

At one point, I liked using distilled water to rinse my hands when they were inflamed, because the water coming out of my tap had a pH of 9, and that was too high ... plus is chlorinated and kills the good bacteria.  See The Acid Mantle Web Page.

Here's a very interesting article on the pH of different soaps and their effects on the skin. They conclude that Dove, Aquaderm and Ceptaphil were good because they are acidic instead of alkaline. Although Cetaphil is supposed to be a gentle cleanser and is the right pH (slightly acidic), it burns my skin if my skin is irritated at all. When that happens, I'll just use mineral oil to clean my face from makeup ... remembering from my teenage years how I used to use baby oil to take the makeup off my face (baby oil is mineral oil except it's thinner and has fragrance).