Zanfel Poison Ivy Cream - 1 tube

by Zanfel

Product Description

Next time you tangle with poison ivy, oak or sumac, remember that there is a way to help improve your symptoms simply by washing them away.

Zanfel helps lift the toxin, urushiol, common to poison ivy, oak and sumac from the skin where it has come into contact and bound to the epidermis. This binding of plant toxin creates the allergic rash known as poison ivy. By washing the urushiol oil out of the skin cells, relief comes more quickly.

Zanfel is the only product known to remove urushiol from the skin after breakout while relieving itching in seconds. Other products may temporarily relieve itching but do not remove urushiol after symptoms have begun. Zanfel is effective at any stage of the reaction and often with only one wash. Most individuals experience relief from the itching within 30 seconds of application. The rash will begin to subside within hours is the reaction is mild to moderate.

Simply rub into areas of poison ivy (oak or sumac) rash, and rinse off after 1 minute. If itching remains after rinsing, repeat and allow cream to remain on skin for 3 minutes before rinsing. May be repeated 3 times a day for severe cases of poison ivy.

You may still use other poison ivy treatments with your Zanfel for additional relief if needed.Safe to use on face and groin; keep out of eyes.

**Due to individual manufacturer guidelines, we are unable to accept returns on Zanfel.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0000Y3GJS
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,119 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)
  • #16 in Health & Personal Care > Health Care > First Aid > Itching & Rash Treatments > Poison Ivy Relief

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PLEASE READ THIS AND CURE YOUR POISON IVY WHILE SAVING MONEY, June 19, 2011

By 

Jeffrey W. Hayes "Jeff" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zanfel Poison Ivy Cream - 1 tube (Health and Beauty)

Zanfel works. But you don't need to spend $40 for a 1oz tube. For the love of god, the EXACT same stuff is in Mean Green Hand Scrub and it'll cost you $20 for 60oz. Yes, you read that right. The guy who "invented" Zanfel used to work at the company that makes Mean Green. He simply realized that it worked on skin rashes like poison ivy and started his own company and now sells the EXACT same stuff for a huge markup to drugstores. I certainly don't begrudge him for his marketing savvy, but you don't have to pay through the nose for something that works. Mean Green (and Zanfel) are simply really good exfoliating soaps. They work on a simple principle: remove the oils that are generating the rash. Mean Green is just sold to car mechanics and other industrial workplaces that need a cleanser for greases and oils. The genius of Zanfel is that it's marketed to drugstores for a totally different use.

I get poison ivy basically throughout the entire summer because of my dogs. They tromp through forests and underbrush and get the poison ivy oils on their fur and then spread that to me. For the past many years, I've just suffered and waited for Fall to come. This year, it started to get pretty bad and so I began intensive research. I tried calomine, Tecnu, Ivy Block, and plenty of others. In desperation, I saw Zanfel at the drugstore and decided it was worth a shot. That 1oz tube got rid of almost all of my itching and cleared up my rashes in about 1.5 days. That's when I started looking around and found the story behind Zanfel and Mean Green. Now I use Mean Green virtually every time I shower. I still get occasional small rashes because the poison ivy oils stay on everything the dogs touch, but now it's a very very minor annoyance as I scrub the area with Mean Green once or twice and the problem is alleviated/gone. For all you Amazoners, this is the first review I've ever written. Please rate this review highly in order for other folks to both stop itching and save money!

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too expensive for what it does, November 22, 2005

By 

D Alcazar - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zanfel Poison Ivy Cream - 1 tube (Health and Beauty)

Those who have had one probably agree with me, a massive poison oak or ivy rash is probably one of the most hellish torments there is

Make no mistake about it, when you're desperate to get rid of that all encompasing poison oak or ivy rash you'll be ready to spend pretty much your entire life's savings in order to get some form of relief, so when you see something that claims to get rid of the itch within 30 seconds you think "Praise the lord and makers of zanfel, I am saved!!!"

Not so fast there campers... You might heed the voice of reason and first look it up to see if it's actually worth it to spend this kind of cash on a tiny 1 oz tube. The company's website speaks wonders of it with some before and after pictures of some pretty horrible cases, and those testimonials they have are probably quite exagerated.

I dropped the $39.99 to get this stuff when I had a rash so bad I could barely open my eyes (yes I was desperate).

PLEASE NOTE: I have to admit that this stuff DOES work to a certain extent, the itching will subside in a matter of seconds and you will have some relief for some time.

Sadly for me, and moreso for my bank account, it is far from the miracle cure it claims to be. Also, the ingredients seem to be unstable, I used the balance of what was left in the tube to try and treat a somewhat mild to heavy case I got not too long ago (around 8 months after I bought it) and it had no effect at all, no temporary relief from the itch whatsoever. This company takes advantage of you and the miserable desperate state you're in by charging you a huge markup and promising results you probably will not get.

The people who will be willing to plunk down this kind of money will not have a small localized rash, they will be miserable and if this includes you right now, then I'll tell you: this stuff is useless in your state, go to a doctor and get a cortisone shot and a prescription for prednisone, it cost me 120 bucks for the visit plus 15 bucks for the prednisone, but it actually worked and you will be on your way to sleeping at night under the same treatment.

So again, this stuff DOES work, it's much better than calamine lotion or any other hydrocortisone cream for instant soothing relief when brand new, but it sure isn't worth the $40 you spend on it each time you get poison oak or ivy, and it sure doesn't live up to it's claims of curing you. I felt horrible after using it because I still itched all over and felt stupid on top of it all for believing the hype.

Here is my rating in the 5 stars scale on this thing from a few different viewpoints

-Instant effectivity on soothing your itch (when new): 5 stars
-Overall effectivity on removing your itch: 2 stars
-Lives up to it's claims: 1½ stars
-Value for your money: 1 star

I hope you see what I mean about this stuff, you are welcome to try it but don't say I didn't warn you

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars My "expert" opinion, April 5, 2007

By 

H. Guger (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zanfel Poison Ivy Cream - 1 tube (Health and Beauty)

I contracted poison ivy three days ago. I've had it often enough to know that, once I identify the rash, I have at least four weeks of topical creams, oatmeal baths, and weeping blisters to look forward to. As I'm breastfeeding, I wanted something that wouldn't affect my baby. As I also have the flu, I have little tolerance for other discomfort. So, Zanfel claims safety for nursing moms and relief from itching in 15 seconds to three minutes. I figured it was worth a shot, even if it cost a lot.

In a nutshell:
Pros: decreased itching and oozing; it does what the big print on the box says it should
Cons: cost; didn't stop the rash from spreading; smoke and mirrors marketing and "research"; basically an exfoliating soap; as effective as a placebo, according to Zanfel's website

More specifics
Here's what I like about the product:
1. The itching stopped after about a minute and didn't return for another ten hours (when I rubbed the rash in my sleep).
2. The area that I cleaned with the Zanfel is already improving in looks. I have a line of blisters on my forearm about an inch long that I would classify as a "moderate" rash. The blisters are subsiding and the "weepiness" has decreased quite a bit. The rash is still spreading, but more slowly than normal.
3. Impressive Marketing--This product is on the shelves of major chains with no legitimate data supporting its efficacy or safety, and suckers like me are shelling out big bucks for what appears to be an exfoliating cleanser.

Here's what I don't like:
1. Cost, of course.
2. Zanfel did not stop the rash from spreading.
3. Ingredients are listed, but there is no specific information about active vs. inactive ingredients, ingredient concentration, FDA approval, etc. on the packaging or the Zanfel website. Although I get tired of overregulation, I've grown accustomed to knowing that the medications I use have been studied in clinical trials.
4. Safety/sensitivity concerns--Although the product makes claims of safety more readily than any other medication/ointment I've ever used (safe for the face, eyelid, genitals; okay for nursing moms), a couple of ingredients may cause an allergic reaction in people with "sensitive skin." (This warning is not on their packaging or their website; it's found elsewhere in pharmacology data for cosmetics, drugs, etc.) If you have poison ivy, I'm betting your skin is already sensitive, especially in the area you'll be scrubbing with the product. So, beware, even if they tell you you don't need to worry.
5. Bizarre directions--Directions for applying the product to the forearm (where my rash currently resides) suggest using "a soft rubber spatula or similar device that won't puncture the skin." First of all, I'm not a big fan of using kitchen utensils for body grooming and cleansing, especially where there are weeping wounds. (I had a hard enough time convincing my daughter that a fork is not a hairbrush.)Second of all, there is no need to use anything other than your hand to scrub your wound. If you scrub too hard, you create new lesions and open yourself up to other infections.
6. Lack of data--no legitimate, independent studies that I could find have proven the efficacy of Zanfel. Two studies are cited on their website. One sounds reasonable enough (although why anyone would volunteer to have the toxic urushiol oil rubbed on their skin is beyond me and seems like it would require some kind of oversight) and showed a decrease in the discomfort level and the size of the rash after a few hours. The other study, by the Zanfel website's own account, "demonstrated that an objective score combining erythema, induration, and vesiculation was reduced ... in patients who washed with the soap or placebo." Hmmm, if even the placebo improved the patient's state, maybe I paid too much....
Additionally, the pyramid graph that's displayed on the Q&A page included in the product box has nothing to do with Zanfel, but it's pretty.
7. Shaky or irrelevant "expert" testimony--The dermatologist quoted on the Q&A page makes no mention of Zanfel, but I guess they thought his name in their literature gave them credibility.
Many of the experts who testify to the efficacy of Zanfel on the website are pharmacists, nurses, and doctors, and their names and contact information are included. Of course, most of them are not experts in dermatology. One is an Ob-Gyn, one is an optometrist, and one is a veterinarian. Other experts cited include a teacher and a judge. Not exactly convincing evidence, in my "expert" opinion.