25.09.2024

Personal struggle with eczema results in innovative gloves

My Personal Journey and Why I Started DRYE

My mother used to say, "make big promises but keep them thin." This phrase summarizes my frustration with all the empty promises I have encountered in "skinadvice", pills, and treatments over the years. My name is Wilhelm, and I am the founder of DRYE. My story begins with my own experiences with atopic eczema, a condition I have lived with since childhood. The feeling of never being able to find a solution for the dry, itchy rashes drove me to desperately seek a product that actually works. I have spent thousands of hours on forums, chats, and blogs trying to find the right treatments, creams, products, pills, and lifestyle advice.

Frustration with Existing Solutions

When I was doing the dishes, I realized that the gloves on the market for over 100 years were just as ineffective as everything else I had tried. They quickly became warm and sweaty, exacerbating my problems. The same thing happened when I worked in construction; the work gloves made my hands even drier and more irritated.

From Personal Frustration to a Solution

This frustration led me to decide to develop an alternative to what is available on the market – a glove liner that not only protects the skin but also keeps hands dry. I started DRYE, not just because I was tired of working in corporate settings or to run my own business, but because it felt logical to develop something I myself needed and could relate to.

Short summary

For me, it was not about creating a product for the market but solving a problem that many, including myself, face daily. My journey with DRYE had just begun, and I reached out to people and organizations across Sweden to present my problem formulation. I hoped to collaborate with the right institutions, schools, experts, and resources to develop a new solution that could provide real relief to those suffering from similar issues.

But how?

Collaboration with Sweden's universities

To develop a glove liner that truly works, we collaborated with RISE, researchers and doctoral students from Uppsala University, and the School of Textiles in Borås. Through dialogues with doctors and hospitals, as well as incubators, and especially through extensive testing with the School of Textiles in Borås, we developed a new material combination that absorbs and transports moisture away from the hands.

According to research on what triggers skin issues, this would provide protection for the skin layer and thus reduce irritation.

Research-Based Results and Testing

Our research shows how materials that absorb and transport moisture have been used to create a glove that keeps hands dry, even with prolonged use. We will present our research results in another post, which will be as detailed as the one about electric vehicle mechanics.

Our glove liner has been tested not only in a lab environment with different people over time but also with 25 different occupational groups in demanding conditions over an extended period.

The results after 2-3 years of market testing show that it effectively transports moisture away from the skin layer, which has been proven to reduce skin irritation, eczema, redness, cracks, and dry skin while improving user comfort, efficiency, and overall performance.

Usage in Various Occupations

The product has proven to work well across different industries, from industrial workers to hairdressers and athletes. We have seen how our glove liners help users keep their hands healthy and dry, even under intense working conditions.

Reflection DRYE

Our collaboration with researchers and the thorough testing we have conducted has led to a product we are proud of – and one we will not shy away from discussing. DRYE is not just a solution for those with skin problems; it is an improvement for everyone who works in environments where hands are exposed to sweat and friction.