If you’ve ever had eczema, you understand how frustrating it can be. It seems to come out of nowhere. It stings, can be itchy, hot, painful and even bleed.
My eczema began in 2017 and decided to appear right on my face. I had no idea what was going on, or why I woke up with my face swollen, dry, red and puffy. I remember it itching so badly and my eyes were swelled up like a goldfish. Needless to say, I called into work that day. I thought I had an allergic reaction to something and figured it would calm down by the next morning. This was my hope, but in actuality I had a long road ahead of me because it was just the same the very next morning.
Not wanting to miss another day, I slathered on lotion and makeup to try and look as semi-normal as possible. I worked in an office setting at the time and was the first face people saw at the front desk when they walked in. It wasn’t like I could hide my face. And the mental toll that this would eventually put on me was heavy to say the least.
I went to an urgent care and saw a Dr. who at first thought the rash looked like lupus. I had bloodwork done but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Went back and this time he thought it could be my thyroid, more bloodwork and again nothing. Eventually, I got in to see a Dermatologist who stated it was eczema and prescribed me hydrocortisone for my face. This didn’t seem to help or get rid of the problem, so I didn’t use this long and looked for relief elsewhere.
At times I would have some good days, and the rash and swelling wouldn’t be so bad but there were days where I would cry from the pain and embarrassment of not being able to control my flare ups. I was desperate and tried everything I could. I made yogurt and oatmeal masks, honey masks, papaya masks, used baby soap, essential oils, and aloe vera (raw and gel). I used almond and coconut oils to remove makeup. I even did a parasite cleanse program, tried fasting, and a bone broth cleanse. I thought maybe it was fungal acne at one point and tried some remedies to target that, but it only made it worse. I tried anything that I thought might calm down the inflammation, and at times some things did help calm my skin. But eventually it would flare up again and I would do my best to try and hide it under makeup.
Months had past, still searching for answers and trying everything I could think of to get rid of this annoying face rash for good, I eventually made an appointment with an allergist. This would be just the beginning of my journey to actually heal my eczema.
1. Allergies
Years ago, my son had an allergic reaction that landed him in the emergency room when he was small. The Dr. on call suggested that I take him to see an allergist since I wasn’t sure what he came in contact with that caused him the reaction. At the allergists office, they performed a test on his back where they pricked him with tons of needles that contained common allergens. The ones that caused a reaction was what he had an allergy to. I knew when I had my appointment that this was the procedure I was going to request. I thought there had to be something that I was coming into contact with that was causing me to flare up.
The Allergist told me I had contact dermatitis and wanted to prescribe me hydrocortisone cream. I was not about to go down this road again. Luckily, I knew about the test because of what my son had gone through. I begged for that test to have done because I knew there was something causing this. There was no way in hell I was leaving without at least an appointment to have it done. The Dr. eventually agreed on a different type of test, and his assistants came in the room to prep my back for a 72-hour patch allergy test. I left the office with my entire upper back taped up, but it was finally the beginning to finding some answers.
It was the itchiest 72 hours without any sort of relief; since I couldn’t scratch or take anything for the discomfort. But the itchiness meant something was having a reaction. Reaching closer to an answer made waiting a bit more bearable. I returned to the office to have the patches removed and my results read. I had an allergy reaction to 3 things. Fragrance mix, which can be identified by different names (Cassia Aldehyde, Cinnamic Alcohol, Euginol, Geraniol, Geranyl Alcohol, etc.). Thimerosal, also identified by a few other names (Benzoic Acid, Ethylmercurithiosalicylic acid sodium salt, Merthiolate, Nosemack, etc.). And Disperse Orange 3 this also goes by other names and is a dye that can be found in fabric materials such as cotton, wool, silk, and nylon. I was so happy to finally know the names of what I was coming into contact with that was causing flare ups. I went home with 3 sheets of paper. One for each allergen, with information on what these ingredients are commonly used in and what other names they can be identified as. Now I just had to go home and read every single ingredient label that came in contact with my skin.
2. The Process of Elimination
If you didn’t already know this, fragrance is in almost everything. The majority of makeup products, facewashes, skin treatments, shampoos and soaps all contain some form of fragrance in their ingredients. Even the laundry soaps and softeners have loads of artificial fragrance in them. Coming home after seeing the allergist I had to look through every single piece of makeup and skincare item I owned. Sadly 90% of what I was using had fragrance in them. My skincare items were not any different. Pretty much everything I was using contained fragrance. My skin was having a reaction every time I put makeup on and washed it off. What was odd to me was that I had been using a lot of the same brands for years and all of a sudden in the past year I began to have a reaction towards it (more on this later).
I basically had to revamp my entire collection of makeup, facewash, serums, laundry and body care products. For a while, shopping would take me longer because I had to make sure to read each ingredient list. To make this easier, I would read the products ingredient description online beforehand. I took photos of the print outs the Dr. gave me on my phone to easily have at hand just in case.
A tool that came in handy for me was an acne safe list of products I found on simpleskincarescience.com. This list helped me narrow down products that didn’t have fragrance, wouldn’t cause irritation to my current breakouts and gave me a wide variety of options to choose from. This list was a lifesaver and timesaver for me. There are products that I began using, thanks to this list, that I still use to date and have become my “holy grail” products. Surprisingly, most of the items I was now switching to cost a lot less than the items I was using at the time. Which made me realize, just because it’s expensive, doesn’t necessarily mean it works better. Nowadays, there’s a lot more “clean” brands that don’t contain fragrance or many other irritating ingredients. At the time, it seemed like I was a lot more limited in the options I had to choose from.
I needed to eliminate what I was topically using, to avoid causing further irritation. But this was just the external factor, I needed to also work on the internal factors as well.
3. Diet
You are what you eat and what you put into your body is just as important as what you put on it. My diet while all this was happening was not the greatest. I ate a lot of carbs, refined sugars, unhealthy snacks, fast food and lots of coffee. Pretty much whatever I had on hand I ate. I never stopped to think if it would benefit my body at all. At the time, I wasn’t as health conscious as I am now. I just figured as long as I ate something I was ok. I didn’t realize I was causing harm to my digestive system and that would in turn show up on my skin.
Your skin is your largest organ, and it will show you when its struggling. My eczema was a sign that I had an imbalance within my body. I was not digesting my food properly, maintaining good gut health or staying hydrated enough. My body was running (more like struggling) on coffee and sugary caffeinated teas. Both were very dehydrating, but I depended on the caffeine to get through my days. I hardly drank water and would eat whenever I would get the chance, sometimes very late. I was definitely not nourishing or respecting my body at all. I hadn’t learned yet the drastic impact your diet makes on your health or the importance of nutrients in food and how it directly affects your skin. I was unaware at the time how the intolerances you can have to certain foods show up in various ways throughout your body. Looking into all this was so new to me and was overwhelming at times. I needed to change the way I ate. The way I fueled and nourished my body. It was no longer an option to start making better choices diet wise, it was a necessity.
I started taking probiotics, drank more water and less coffee. I cut back on the sugary drinks and juices. I was eating out less. No alcohol, no candy and less bread. These were all small changes I began with. I slowly stopped eating the things that were not serving me well and started eating more things that were healing. Broths, soups, veggies, salads, yogurts, fruits, lean meats and low carbs were what my meals were consisting of. I was cooking meals at home more and prepping them for the week so I wouldn’t be tempted to buy something quick and unhealthy. I found this helped me a lot at first to avoid the temptation of steering off course. I knew what my goal was, and I wanted so badly to heal my gut and help clear my skin. Little did I know, these small changes were the building blocks to a healthier future not just for myself but for my family. I started feeling better, was less bloated, less tired, and had less inflammation in my body and my skin. It wasn’t an immediate change. To notice a difference, it took time and loads of patience. Diet was just a steppingstone on my path toward clearing my eczema.
Changing old habits can be challenging and sometimes difficult to break but in the long run you will thank yourself for overcoming them. Small and consistent wins are always better than nothing. Your diet is an important part of who you are and who you want to be. Not just in terms of how you want to look but how you want to feel, now and for the future. The term health is wealth is absolutely true; your health truly impacts every aspect of your life. I started making these changes because of eczema. To this day I continue to educate myself more and keep making healthier changes for my entire well-being.
4. Stress & Sleep
We all know it’s impossible to avoid all stress. There are different levels, good and bad but it’s there. Looking back, I realized I was under a massive amount of stress when I had my very first flare up. I was studying for my real estate exam while working a full-time job and raising my son. My apartment was raising the rent again, my health wasn’t in the best place, family and friendships were strained and I was hardly exercising. Sleep was almost nonexistent, and I was physically, mentally and emotionally burning out. I never took time to breath or meditate or rest. I honestly think this is what triggered my eczema in the first place.
The reason I believe this, is because I had been using the same type of makeup for years without reactions. I had been eating like crap for years and always had “stomach issues” but never had eczema. It wasn’t until I had drained my battery so low that my body triggered a response to force me to listen. To require me to make a change and to keep me from continuing on the deteriorating path I was on. I wasn’t listening to my body, treating it with respect, or giving it a break. And it literally screamed in my face to listen. This was an added stress on top of everything else. I had no choice but to make changes. If I wanted any sort of relief, I needed to figure out what was causing this and what steps I needed to do to fix it. I had already figure out what I was allergic to and removed it. I made small changes in my diet for the better. I no longer had a daily flare which I was so grateful for, but I would still get random patches or inflammation from time to time.
My stress levels remained the same and I wasn’t doing anything to change them in the first place. I didn’t realize the effects stress actually has on the body. I started with deep breathing. After another frustrating flare up, I would be so upset by it and start crying. But what worked wonders was not just crying and freeing those pent-up emotions but deep breathing afterwards. Those deep breaths after an emotional cry works wonders, let me tell you. Deep breathing in general is such a simple way to calm your nervous system and clear your mind. It can be done anywhere and anytime. I began to do this on my lunch, driving in the car, after crying, before going to sleep. Anytime I felt like I needed it, I would. Another helpful tool I used was the Calm app and another app called Headspace. These were my first introductions to meditation and managing my stress. Adding these items into my daily life definitely helped improve my mood but also calmed my body when I desperately needed it.
When I was sick as a child, I remember I always felt a little better after I slept. It’s no secret that sleep and rest heals. During this time, I was definitely lacking in the sleep department. Anytime my son became sick, I literally told him the same thing. But for some reason, I wasn’t taking my own advice. I would go to bed so late every night. My classes wouldn’t end until 10pm and I sometimes wouldn’t be in bed until 12 or 1 sometimes 2 in the morning. I would then wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning to get ready and have my son fed and ready for school. My lunches sometimes consisted of eating and a quick power nap before clocking back in.
At home, I would at times fall asleep studying and wake up to see the clock showing 2am. Weekends were busy with all the tasks I couldn’t get done during the week like laundry, grocery shopping, and meal prepping. My body didn’t get time to heal. I was running my body and mind ragged. My son had a routine sleeping schedule so why didn’t I? I slowly started bringing more hours back into my sleep to provide myself more rest than what I was previously getting. This not only gave my system a much-needed break, but it also gave it the required time it needed to actually heal and repair itself.
5. Simplicity
In a current world where social media pages are flooded with things you “absolutely need”, it’s hard to imagine a simple routine that actually works just fine. I had to find this out the hard way, unfortunately. I realized I was using too many products and actives and in reality, I had no idea what I was using or mixing. I would walk into a Sephora or Ulta and purchase items based on their recommendations. Or I would find someone on social media who would swear by a product, and how it healed their skin condition. The problem with that is no two people are the same.
The majority of salespeople are there to do just that, sell. Reviews are sometimes biased or fake. I spent money on some “high end” expensive products that just ended up making my face worse, much worse. I made the decision to stop listening to people who were wanting me to spend money on their products without actual concern for my skin and seek a professional who was actually knowledgeable about skin. So, I made an appointment with a local Esthetician. Now my first visit was a terrible experience. The girl I went to was not gentle at all, didn’t address my skin concerns and my face was left worse than when I walked in. I left the office almost in tears, face red and stinging in pain. Upon leaving, the front office staff noticed and recommended someone else for another appointment; someone who had more experience and was gentle with sensitive skin. Now my second visit was a world of a difference. She actually listened without judgement, was gentle and was willing to work with me on bringing my skin back to health.
By this point, I was now a few months away from getting married. Knowing my face and skin was going to be on display I was obviously concerned with having a flare up right before the big day. Each month, I would visit my Esthetician and daily I would follow a very simple routine at home. My routine didn’t require 10 steps or had me spend hundreds of dollars on name brand or popular items. The main goal was hydration, repair and protection.
It was around 4 months before my wedding and my skin was finally clear from eczema. I was amazed and grateful for how far I had come with healing my eczema. Nearing my wedding date, I had received a call from a makeup artist that worked with the bridal company I purchased my wedding dress from. I had actually won the raffle for a free bridal makeover for my big day with a test trial the week before to pick my desired look. I couldn’t believe I had actually won something! Unfortunately, I had to kindly request to give up my spot, so she could bless someone else on their big day. It had taken me so long to finally get my skin clear I didn’t want to risk something setting off my skin, especially before the big day. I ended up doing my own makeup for our wedding and I absolutely don’t regret it. My skin was healthy; I looked like myself and it was definitely a journey to get there.
With so many trends online promising amazing skin, I continue to choose to keep it simple and use what works for me. Sure, some products have beautiful packaging, smell nice and everyone seems to be using it. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that because it works for them it will work for me. Drugstore brands can work just as well and sometimes better than expensive, brand named products. I don’t need to have an extensive multiple step routine to have healthy eczema free skin. Simplifying my routine has made a big difference in the way I now care for my skin.
6. Current Routine
I’m someone who now rarely changes my look when it comes to my makeup. I could never make money doing makeup videos because my look is literally the same almost every day. I rarely try new trends or brands, and I am completely okay with this. For me, if my routine is already working so well, why change it. I have used the same brands for years now because they are my tried and true, holy grail products. If I do add something new (which is rare), I don’t add more than one new item at the same time. This way it’s not a guessing game to figure out what didn’t agree with my skin. Occasionally, I’ll be forced to change or swap out an item because of a product reformulation, causing me to no longer be able to use it. Again, this doesn’t usually happen often.
As for my diet, I’m happy to say it’s constantly improving. Now that I have become a stay-at-home mom, I home cook all our meals. We eat out once a week, usually on the weekend as a treat. We try to buy organic when we can and stay away from overly processed foods & snacks. I’ve cut back on the bread and will have it occasionally but only buy the ones with the least and best ingredients possible. I’m also in the process of learning how to make my own sourdough to help with this (a journey within itself lol). I don’t drink alcohol (last beer I had was at my wedding), rarely have a juice or soda (usually at a birthday party or wedding) and avoid having candy in my home. I will say, I still do have a cup of coffee in the mornings but have switched over to a “healthier” brand that doesn’t cause me negative effects. It may not taste the greatest, as I use oat milk instead of creamer but it’s a daily joy that I have become accustomed to (and I don’t overdo it). For supplements, I still take probiotics daily, sea moss pills, and some chlorophyll in water. I’ve dabbled in different variations of supplements to see which I felt the greatest with and currently this routine fits me best. *Always consult a physician when adding or changing supplements/vitamins.
My stress now is a different type of stress than before. Becoming a stay-at-home mom was no easy transition and the mental load that parents already carry is heavy. Luckily, now I have tools to help me manage and get through my stressful days. Meditation still plays a huge part in that. I do miss days (I’m not perfect), but my goal is to practice this daily. Journaling also helps me as I enjoy writing and gives me an outlet to dump my thoughts and feelings. Reading and listening to music are also enjoyable ways for me to disconnect when my mental load is at its peak. But my all-time favorite activity is exercising. The benefits that exercise has provided for me, not only physically, but mentally is indescribable. No matter what kind of day I’ve had, it instantly boosts my mood & mental state. This is not to say I have everything under control. There are definitely days when I struggle (I am human). But I have learned and continue to learn, how to manage my stress better.
Sleeping patterns have varied since having another child. Now that our little one is 4 1/2 and sleeping in her own bed, my sleep has very much improved. I try to go to sleep at around the same time every night (doesn’t always happen but still, I try). I aim for at least 6-8 hours of sleep. When I become ill or feel like I’m running into burnout, I will take a nap if I’m tired during the day or try to go to bed earlier that night. I prioritize sleep and rest now because I know how my body functions when I don’t get enough of it. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve had to cancel plans because of needing rest. My health has become my priority because I not only need to take care of myself but my family as well. And for myself and them, I want to be my very best.
Progress Over Perfection
A couple months before my wedding on December 21,2019 to today, I can proudly say that my face has been eczema free! No medications, prescriptions or crazy routines. Just natural and easy to incorporate habits that benefit more than just skin.
By no means is my skin absolutely perfect. I still get some acne here and there and have a few small scars. But overall, I am very happy with how far I’ve come. I appreciate my skin and body so much more now. It has made me change different aspects of my life for the better. These changes not only benefit me but allow me to pass down better habits to my family as well. Although my journey was painful, frustrating and depressing at times, I am appreciative of the lessons it taught me.
Patience is key when healing. My eczema was a buildup of many things that over time manifested itself as a stubborn reaction on my face. It obviously wasn’t going to be an overnight fix. Progress was slow but every change led to a better outcome for the next flare up. Like I mentioned earlier, my skin may not be classified as “perfect” in today’s standards but its healthy. It’s eczema free, feels great and most importantly is healthy. Compared to where it was at, to where it is now, that’s perfect enough for me.
