Eczema and Me

Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Here is a post about my experience with facial eczema, the products that help control it and tips to cope with the physical and emotional effects of eczema and also the product that reduced my eczema like nothing else!
Product images from Google


How did my eczema start?
















My eczema story started when I was 14/15 years of age and eczema must be an awful and annoying skin condition at any age but during high school it was particularly difficult. My eczema started as very small mild patches of slightly drier skin and no matter how much moisturiser I applied, the dryness didn't go away. I kept talking and complaining about it to my parents and we went to see our GP who is a deramtologist and he said that I had eczema. My eczema started around my eyes and the dermatologist gave me hydrocortisone, a mild version, and I have used that for years (although I haven't for about two or three years now). Unfortunately my eczema did start to spread and the hydrocortisone, which is a steroid cream, did not work as well - and hydrocortisone shouldn't really be used around the eyes for long periods of time as I used it because it can causes thinning of the skin. 

Eczema Progression & Products 

By the age of 16/17 the eczema had spread to the tops of my cheeks, all around my eyes (especially my eye lids) and it was just awful and quite depressing at times. Eczema, the version I had, looked really red, inflamed and super flaky so it wasn't nice at all! Which is especially horrible if you are a teenage girl at high school/college. When I get small eczema flare ups now I still get redness, extreme dryness and my eye lids tend to get inflamed and swollen. I found some products that did not irritate my skin during this time, I found the Simple Rich Moisturiser which does not irritate my skin at all so I would recommend it if you have sensitive skin (although everyone is different). I also found the Avene gentle cleanser, the no rinse version, also didn't irritate my skin. However, sometimes my eczema was so bad and painful that I was literally scratching at my face and scrubbing at my skin in tears because the eczema was stinging/burning/itching almost constantly! But I found that calamine lotion worked wonders, it stopped the itching and burning almost instantly and even though it made my skin even paler and dry than it already was, it allowed me to feel like I had normal skin for the time when I was at home and not at school. I love the Care+ calamine lotion. 

At the age of 18, when I started college, my eczema now came in flares, so I didn't have it all of the time and I have been trying about four different creams for my eczema, mainly steroid creams from my GP/Doctors. I wanted to try and cover up the redness, blotching and the other disgusting effects that come with eczema but it wasn't easy because it was on my face so you can't really hide that! However, the Revlon Colorstay foundation (for dry skin, shade Buff) was a lifesaver as it helped cover the redness and gave me some confidence. Also the Cosmopolitan foundation sponge that I adore, also helped a lot because it didn't exmphasises the dryness of my skin and it somehow makes foundation press onto the skin and not look dry or flaky. One main tip that I would say if you have facial eczema is not to scratch the skin because it does make it worse and also try using basic products and go to see your doctor or a dermatologist if possible (however try and stay away from steroid creams).

The Miracle Cream?

After a few years of on and off eczema with no real end in sight I went back to the Doctors and they gave me a non steroid cream called Protopic 0.1% which is an absolute miracle worker! Since using Protopic on my face my eczema has been virtually non existent and for the past year or so I have only had to use it when I had an odd flare up - once a month. I would definitely recommend that you look out for or ask about Protopic if you have eczema. I also found that when I had a little flare up, the Clinique 7 day facial scrub was fantastic, it doesn't irritate my skin and it is quite gentle but it still exfoliates well and gets rid of the excess flakiness that my eczema caused. Another tip for facial eczema, when you get a flare up, try and figure out your personal eczema triggers/causes - eczema can be triggered by so many factors and I have gone through months of eliminating things from my diet to see if that causes my eczema but I still haven't found the cause fully. I find that stress is a factor for me and also some skin products trigger my eczema, such as the I Love Strawberries Face Mask and the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish to an extent. Also the Eve Lom Cleanser really irritates my skin. 

There is my eczema story, I hope it helps some of you who also suffer from Eczema as I know how horrible and painful (physically and emotionally) it can be particularly as a teenager and young adult.


Hoping for a few good skin days as I am going to the T.G.I Fridays event in Manchester on thursday, has anyone else been invited? I will see you there, be sure to say hi! x

16 comments

  1. This is a wonderful post my dear. I don't have eczema but my skin does tend to get very dry around my cheeks and eye are. No amount of moisturizer helps. I will need to go to my derm dr soon to see what's up and what might be causing this. I wish you the best!
    Thank you so much for your comment!!

    http://fashionqueen294.blogspot.com/

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  2. great post!! :)

    http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4602025

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  3. This was really interesting to read - I get eczema although I've luckily never had it on my face, which I'm so grateful for as like you, it's flakey and red and swollen and would be awful on my face - I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for you, especially at that age!
    The thing I've found that helped the most (I've not had a flare-up in about five or six months, now) is cutting out SLS and SLES from shampoo and shower gel - my skin hasn't been this good in literally decades! I did a post a couple of months ago, too, if you want to read it - http://just-jesss.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-i-manage-my-eczema.html
    Great post, thank you for sharing your experience (and sorry for the essay!)

    Jess xo
    (PS - in response to your comment on my blog today - I've not heard about the TGI's event, sorry!! xx)

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  4. Thnak you for writing this post I will definitely be asking about Protopic!
    I too suffer from eczema patches around my eyes/on my cheeks as well as constant infected eczema on my hands. Fingers crossed Protopic might help me out :) xx

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  5. What a great post! I'm sure your tips will help so many people who have eczema!
    xxx

    www.salted-roses.blogspot.com

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  6. I never had eczema but I have a friend who had it and now I can share this with her<3 Thanks for this post!
    xoxo
    -B ♡ MsBerryStylish 

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  7. The best Body moisturiser for this I have ever used is Pais Comfrey and calendula calming body cream. Its amazingly gentle.

    Amy x

    http://seeking-aurora.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. This comment isn't related to the above post but I just thought I would come and thank you for commenting on my blog. Now following yours.

    Charlie xx

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  9. Love your blog! http://mtlborn.blogspot.de/ :)

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  10. I'm very lucky in that I've never suffered from eczema, but that protopic stuff sounds amazing for sufferers! xx

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  11. it can be really hard having a skin condition, i dont have eczema but i have had acne for about 10 years :(

    xo

    WIN a piece of your choice with OASAP

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  12. Great post! (: I don't have eczema but I have really sensitive and acne prone skin

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  13. So great you've worked out a system that helps you. I get psoriasis on my hands alot which isn't great seeing as I work with paint most days! It can make you feel very self-conscious can't it? But Calamine lotion is a wonderful thing :)
    xxx
    Chambray & Curls

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  14. Aw, I'm sad you here you suffered of eczema.. I do as well but on my hands and feet every winter and summer and sometimes it gets painful.

    I'll defienitely try those products out x

    Hola Flo | Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

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  15. I am so happy I found your blog and this post ! I have had eczema since I was a kid but over the years it has gotten worse. I have always had it in the crooks of my elbows but I didn't mind it that much since it wasn't very visible and was relatively manageable with a cortisone cream. In highschool it spread to my eyelids like you. They were constantly red and flaky and eventually the corners of my eyes would rip and bleed (so gross, I know). This became more under control but four-ish years ago it spread to the area around my mouth. This year it got so bad that my face is cracking and ripping and constant completely peeling off. Cortisone is doing nothing and the only thing that soothes it at all is Vaseline. Its so hard to leave the house and feel confident since my face is so red and it is so hard to cover with makeup. It is also so painful. Than you so much for making this post, I am hoping some of the products you mentioned will help my skin too ! I can't explain how estatic I am to have found this ! Thank you so so much !

    Madeline | Its a Mads Mads World

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  16. Love this post and i'm glad i stumbled across you. I have eczema too, still quite severely at the age of 23 >< protopic thinned my skin so i have totally stopped using it. I try to hide it ALWAYS in long sleeve tops - but i need to stay strong anfd positive! Thanks for this post x

    www.hellojennyho.blogspot.co.uk

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