Hey girls
Today’s post is a little different than the usual makeup and beauty posts. Today I wanted to share my skin story and wanted to share some tips and tricks and would love to know if you have any for me. So Eczema is defined as a medical condition in which patches of skin become rough and inflamed with blisters which cause itching and bleeding. It is more common in infants but can occur at any stage. Usually people with a hereditary of Allergies are more prone to getting something like Eczema or specific allergies. It can occur on any part of the body but is more common at the joints where there is more friction. It is pretty much an incurable disease but can be controlled to some extent.
So I have had eczema since about 12 years now. When I was younger, I used to have it on the thighs. It just developed into a very annoying rash and was extremely itchy. As I grew older, the thigh rash got better and better and then completely healed. I haven’t had any rashes on my thighs since then. But since the healing of those rashes I noted that my upper lip area was always so dry and cracky. I remember going to school with a flaky upper lip and rashy lips. Due to that my chin area got a lot darker in my childhood and I am basically still fighting the pigmentation on that area.
Being very young, you tend to ignore such things and dont pay the proper attention. I saw so many different doctors all who tried different experiments but none of them used the word Eczema to describe my condition better. I have been prescribed Anti fungal, Anti Biotics and Topical steroids but everything that worked only did that for a short while after which the flare ups used to be same as always. Meanwhile, I started getting rashes on my eyelids as well. Some days they got so bad and a bit oozy too and I got folds on my lids. This kept on going off and on for a few years. Some years it was more controlled and some it wasnt.
Then when I was in college, I saw another dermatologist. She wanted to find out what triggered it, so she changed my complete skincare routine including my toothpaste and advised me to avoid any makeup for a few days to see what caused it to react that way. I did everything as she told but still got a breakout after a few days. I was utterly disappointed as I was so fed up of having rashy itchy skin all the time. The worst part is that it was on my face. I gave up for a few years again and let things be how they were. I used a steroid cream to control the flare ups. Suddenly my eczema got a whole lot worse. My eyelids were sore to the point it hurt to even open my eyes. Then I saw another doctor who for the first time clearly told me I had Eczema. He gave me some meds and topical steroid and got it under control for sometime. I was pretty happy and thought it may go away completely too.
Since then I kept on having flare ups every few days until the year 2014. That was when my eczema was completely the worst it had ever been. I stopped blogging for a while because I couldnt even do any looks or put up any eyelids or lips pictures. One time in 2014 it got so bad around the mouth that I couldnt even open it. Apparently it got infected and I had the worst flare up of all. I saw another doctor then who was a lot more patient and gave me some meds and got it under control. Since then I still get flare ups but now I am used to the fact that it is never going away and all I can do is try different things and keep it under control. I even got a complete allergy panel but didnt find any allergies to any of the known ingredients. What makes my skin react this way I have no idea.
This is one of the main reasons I never include the corners of my mouth in any lip swatches and why my eyelids are so hooded and have folds in them. Most of the times I have to wipe away foundation from the upper lip part because it enhances the look of every single flake and line there. Same with the corners of my mouth. It really gets frustrating at times. I know a lot of people have it much worse than me but being a person who loves to experiment with makeup it just makes it a whole lot worse.
Enough rant, I will share what skincare routine works best for me so if any of you have something like this it may help you.
I have a calendar on which I mark the days I use a steroid cream. I try to use it as little as possible so my skin does not get addicted to it. I mostly use it twice a week in very little quantities. If you have combination skin with dry patches, I would say dont try to use anything too drying on the face like any oil control lotion etc. Most of the times these things do not give enough moisturization to that dry area. Plum goodness Aloe lotion (Review here) is a very good moisturizer for sensitive skin. Currently I am using Aveeno moisturizing lotion which is specifically used for dry or eczema prone skin. I dont wash my face more than twice a day and always follow it with a moisturizer after. Before bed, I use something like Vaseline to keep the moisture in place along with a drop or two of coconut oil. Whenever it is itchy, try not to itch no matter how hard it is and keep a close look on whether using something makes the rashes worse than before. My eyes are a lot better than before hence I have been doing a few looks for you all.
That being said, if you have or had eczema ever tell me what worked best for you and how you got rid of it/control it. Here is to hoping one day it goes away completely and I never get it again 🙂 Sorry for a long post but I really wanted to share this with you all.
Love-
Harman
December 24, 2015 at 8:19 am
i feel u girl…take care!
December 28, 2015 at 6:38 am
Thank you for the advise :*
December 24, 2015 at 11:10 am
Take care girl <3 Hugs…
December 28, 2015 at 6:37 am
Thank you so much :*
December 24, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Aww baby you are so beautiful. Got connected to you through insta and i can’t believe your words. After reading your post, i thought i encountered similar problem in past but they only occur in winters..May be its just dryness specifically on my lids. I m sure with passing time it will go away…Lotttsss of lOvee..
December 28, 2015 at 6:37 am
Thank you so much babe :* You’re so kind always 🙂
December 24, 2015 at 2:13 pm
btw tell me you lipshades colour ..oops
December 28, 2015 at 6:37 am
It’s Stila’s all day stay matte ones. I cant remember the exact shade though 🙁
December 24, 2015 at 10:05 pm
Aww.. it hurts to have skin issues when you love makeup.. 🙁 but girll u are gonna fight it all <3 <3
December 28, 2015 at 6:36 am
I know 🙁 Thank you so much for the kind words :*
December 26, 2015 at 5:01 pm
I can totally feel you and understand what you have gone through Harman!! You are really a strong girl and beautiful inside out!! Take good care of yourself..lotsa love to you <3
December 28, 2015 at 6:36 am
Thank you so much :* Lots of loveee <3
January 2, 2016 at 1:03 pm
You look pretty with the head piece. Just make sure to eat healthy fats and take vitaminD these strengthen skin barrier and helps in case of eczema.
January 4, 2016 at 5:19 am
Oh thank you for the advise. I will try to get lots of Vit D 🙂
April 16, 2016 at 11:09 am
I have suffered with the same condition on my lips for the past 9-10 years. I still have not found the cause of it and have tried multiple things to control it ranging from steroids and anti-biotics from the doctor to home remedies including honey, aloe vera and many other things. I will list the products I am currently using for skincare and my lips.
Products from The Body Shop (UK):
Aloe Cleanser, Aloe Toner, Aloe moisturiser cream, Aloe eye serum, vitamin E oil.
And for my lips I use:
A honey based lip balm (NIVEA)
The listed products do help maintain my skin however, when I have a flare-up I have to stop applying make-up as it irritates the skin even more.
Please could you share the products you are currently using for your skin and lips.
Also, do you have any make-up applying tips as my make-up base also tends to gather at the corners of my mouth where the cracks are and on a small patch on my upper lip emphasising the cracked skin. I also have pigmentation around my lips due to the steroid creams I have used in the past so I have to apply concealer which also creases and emphasises the cracked skin.
Please share some make-up tips for eczema prone skin. ThankYou
P.S. I know your pain xx
April 17, 2016 at 7:35 am
Hey Sidra
Seems like we have the same eczema issues 🙁 I keep on trying different skincare products to see what works best for me. So far Aveeno lotions and Cetaphil moisturizing creams have worked on moisturizing my skin nicely. For day time I like using Plum goodness Sea Buckthorn cream as it has sunscreen as well. For lips I like lip savles or any colourless lip balm for the night. Recently my skin doc gave me a new ointment and that seems to have clared it up for a few days. It’s just a bit of hit snd trial really. I guess it never goes away, we can just control it.
Before applying makeup I moisturize the eczema areas nicely and sometimes just use a regular moisturizer on the rest of the face as its pretty oily. On my bad eczema days, I just dont put makeup on the cracks of the skin 🙁 Better than having flakey skin I guess. Thanks for taking the time out to comment, its very nice of you 🙂