My Patch Test Experience

Last year my dermatologist referred me to a skin clinic to have a patch test done.  I had stubborn eczema that wouldn't go away, even with cortisone cream.  The eczema started off as two small patches on my neck that later spread to my whole neck, my face, my chest and my right arm.  He wanted me to get tested so that I could avoid whatever it was that was triggering the eczema.  I opted to go through the public system, which meant a longer wait but it also meant that it wouldn't cost me anything.

In January I had the initial consultation with the doctor who would be reading my patch test.  She told me to bring in all the products I used daily and explained to me what a patch test was, exactly.  I knew that sticking things on my back was part of it, but I didn't know that it would be done over the course of 6 days and that I wouldn't be able to get my back wet or sweaty at all for 5 days!  Eek.

In February, on Wednesday the 29th I had my "patches on" appointment.  I took in the products I had been using prior to my eczema appearing (moisturiser and face/body wash, perfumes, my shampoo and conditioner, etc). Before I went in, I had my final proper shower and washed my hair for the last time that week.  When I arrived, the nurse had my patches made up, then applied them to my back.

The non-showering began from this point on.  I didn't think I would be able to not have a proper shower for 5 days, but I managed pretty well.  I simply adjusted my shower head so that it was at waist height and showered my bottom half normally.  With my chest, neck, right arm and underarms I just wet a washcloth and washed myself with it.  I suppose it was kind of like giving myself a sponge bath.  I felt clean enough afterwards, but couldn't get over my back not being clean like the rest of me.  So I still felt "dirty", in a way.

The pre-made patches with 80 of the most common allergens.

The patches applied to my back.

The "bag of goodies" I took in with me to my "patches on" appointment.

The photo patch on my arm (covered with tape).

On Friday, March the 2nd I had another appointment.  The nurse took my patches off and labelled it with sticky tape, then got me to put my left arm with the photo patch (which was a perfume) into a UV booth for five minutes. This was to see if there was a change after exposure to ultra violet light from the sun (as is the case with photosensitivity).  After 20 minutes of having had my back aired out, an initial reading was done.  The nurse had a look and feel of my back to see if I had reacted to anything.

Sure enough, I had a positive result for nickel, and a possible reaction to my shampoo and moisturiser (noooo)!  I was sent home and warned not to scratch my back, even if it got itchy (which it sure did)!  It actually got so bad that my left shoulder and upper back got rather red and inflamed.  I was told to take Clarintyn and Nurofen and to apply a cold compress to the area.  After two hours it settled down and I was able to sleep.

The UV booth I had to stick my left arm in for 5 minutes.

Today, before I was seen by the doctor.

Needless to say, my weekend was uneventful.  I mostly stayed home watching videos and reading.  Even though I was doing my half shower, half sponge bathing routine twice daily, I was started to feel really gross and my hair was in desperate need of a wash.  I very nearly went to a hair salon to have it washed, but laziness and lack of money stopped me.

Today was the day that I finally saw my doctor again, who would do the final reading and tell me the results.  It was a strong positive for nickel, and while I had an initial reaction with the shampoo and moisturiser, it had died down over the weekend (the Clarintyn played a part in that)!  I was given information on how to avoid nickel and advised to switch shampoo and moisturiser because they were both organic and contained essential oils, which may have been the problem.  Nooo!

So that was my patch test experience.  Definately not something I would want to go through again, as the no showering thing really sucked.  But it was a wealth of knowledge and I'm now on the hunt for some decent non-nickel containing jewellery, a new shampoo, conditioner and a new moisturiser.  If you have eczema and want to know what the cause of it is, a patch test may be able to help you avoid a flare up in the future!

Beauty Confessions: How Often Do You Do It?

I will probably gross you all out after you've finished reading this.  But I know I'm not within the norm, and I'm just curious about how often most girls do it. The general consensus is at least once a day, but more often it happens twice in a day.

By "it", I mean: how often do you wash your face?

This is where it gets a little gross.  But this is a beauty confession, so I will be frank.  In a day, I wash my face on average about... oh, never.

The only time I wash my face is when I'm in the shower (sometimes) and after I've been wearing makeup and need to remove it.  I have a shower once a day, occasionally twice (if it's "that time" of the month, before going out at night, if I need to shave my legs etc).

When I'm in the shower, sometimes I decide to wash my face with a cleanser, and other times I don't bother with a cleanser.  I'll just use plain water.  This is usually determined by when I last washed my face i.e: did I wash my face just before getting into bed last night?  If that was the case, I'll just splash my face with water and call it a day.  However, If I last washed my face in yesterday's early morning shower, I'll wash my face again.  I guess I give myself a daily allowance of just one time to wash my face (with cleanser).

Most girls will wash their face upon waking, then again before getting into bed. Do I bother to wash my face before getting into bed?  Generally, no.  Even if I had gone out that day.  The only times I will wash my face before bedtime is if I had been wearing sunscreen, if I had been wearing makeup, or if I had been excessively sweating from exercise (which let me just say, occurs as frequently as a mass extinction on Earth i.e: once every 26 million years)!

I know that you should wash your face before getting into bed, to wash away all the dirt and toxins that have accumulated on the skin throughout the day, as well as all the free radicals collected from our environment.  So why don't I? 

Two reasons: one - I'm lazy.  And two - I don't really go out all that frequently.  I'm at home most of the time, therefore I don't think my skin gathers as much crap as say, someone who works 5 days a week in the city.  I have found that not washing my face often has actually improved my skin.  I'm not as greasy as I used to be.  I don't ever get pimples (I used to get a lot!), except for the occasional hormonal breakout of one or two baby zits before my period.

This is how I see it: the less you do to your skin, the less you need to do to maintain it.  The more you wash your face and apply oil free moisturisers and yada yada, the more your skin will produce sebum to compensate, therefore your skin looks more oily, therefore you wash even more and find harsher cleansers to combat the oil, therefore the more sebum your skin produces, therefore the more oily you look and so forth.  It's quite a nasty cycle.  I believe this may have been why my skin was so atrocious a few years ago where I was obsessed with washing it twice daily and using oil free products so I wouldn't be a grease ball.

Of course, I can't speak for everyone.  Maybe washing regularly works well for you.  And if that's the case, then I'm sure you're happy with your routine.

My skincare routine goes something like this: wash face, either with or without cleanser.  Apply eye cream.  Spritz face with a toner mist.  Pat on rose hip oil as a moisturiser.  The end.

Every now and then I'll do a clay mask, and twice a week I'll exfoliate with a granulated scrub which also contains a chemical exfoliant.

These days, I have pretty nice, normal skin.  Right now I have a zit on my cheek which can be attributed to my menstrual cycle, but other than that it's pretty clear.  If I have moisturised my skin well, it appears quite even toned and the texture is soft and smooth.  I get asked all the time which foundation I'm wearing, or if I'm pregnant (because I apparently "glow" like a pregnant lady).  The answer is always "I'm not wearing any foundation!" or "Why, do I look fat to you?!"

So, how often do you do it?

Hello, Sun Damage!

During the long Australia Day weekend, I went to Venus Bay with my family and a family friend.  Can you believe that a few weeks before "the big event" I go out and get sunburnt?  No?  Well surely these photos will paint a clear picture in your mind for you.  I bet you can even feel the pain!

Now, I wish I had taken photos of the day, but unfortunately I'm not the kind of person to take snaps every ten seconds.  (Serena took some photos on her phone, maybe I'll bug her for them...) Once I'm somewhere, I just enjoy the moment without worrying about capturing it on film.  So sadly, there will be no photos of the day so I won't talk about it.  I'll just talk about my sunburnt back.  I will mention that it was a very clear, hot day.  Mid 30's, I believe.  I caught 3 pipis.  Go me!  And I discovered a new hobby: body boarding!  So fun!

This is what happens when you think you're being clever and apply sunscreen all over your body, except the one place you can't really reach very well: your back!  I didn't purposely leave my back unprotected, I had actually forgotten to apply sunscreen there each and every time I reapplied!  How does one forget each time?  I'm pretty sure my brain was reacting to the sudden surge of ultraviolet rays which it rarely ever experiences due to me being a homebody.

Before I got to Venus Bay and stripped off, I had made sure to apply my sunscreen all over my body, including my back.  Once I got there and reapplied my sunscreen, I just completely forgot to do my back.  I got an offer from someone to do my back, but I declined because I didn't think that he would do a good job. Ironically, I then forget to do it myself (was too busy talking about astrophysics and astronomy) so maybe I shouldn't have rebuffed him!

Nearly a week has passed, and my back still stings a little.  It's still quite itchy but it is no longer red.  It is now extremely dark brown.  Not a good look!  Have I learnt my lesson?  Yes!  If somebody offers to apply sunscreen to your back, TAKE IT!  Because you'll probably forget to do it yourself :(

Here's a photo I took of my younger son on the way back home.  He's asleep in his speedos, lol!

Eczema Update: There is Hope!

No makeup

The photo on the left is me, today.  If you compare it to the photos in this post, you'll see the difference...

Most of my eczema rashes have completely cleared up.  My neck is totally free of any dry spots.  My chest still has 2 patches that haven't completely cleared, but it's no longer red, dry or itchy.  It just looks slightly darker than the rest of my skin.  As for my face, there are no more dry spots at all but I still have depigmentation issues due to the reaction to cortisone.  I did not use witch hazel and vitamin E.  I started off doing that, but the vitamin E was too sticky and kept making me want to scratch at it.  So what did I use?

Browsing the isles of my local Priceline pharmacy, I came across a range of products called Hope's Relief.  A while ago, I read that manuka honey is great for eczema, so I had initially bought a jar of manuka honey UMF 20+ and was applying that directly to my dry skin.  It was far too sticky, so I bought the Hope's Relief healing cream because it contains manuka honey.

Hope's Relief healing cream - $22.95 (60g)
www.hopesrelief.com.au

 

I used this cream daily.  I started off re-applying four times throughout the day, but as the eczema began to clear up, I reapplied it less often.  A week into using it, I also started using the soap free bar to wash my face and body with.  I'm still using the bar for my face, but not body.  I also now only use the healing cream once or twice a day, always after I shower.  It was what has cleared up my eczema.  I wish I had started off using this in the very beginning!  My face may have been saved from the horrible reaction to the steroid cream that all the health professionals kept telling me to use.

No more itchy, dry patches on my neck!

I have an allergy test booked in early January so until then, I will not be using any skincare products except for Hope's Relief and  MooGoo.  I want to avoid having another eczema outbreak, especially during the holiday season.  I'm so glad that my skin will be normal in time for christmas!

Is My KP Clearing?!

Just over a month ago I wrote this blog post.  I have been following that plan (with a few tweaks here and there) religiously for a month and I am now here to give an update on  how my skin is.  This post will only address the keratosis pilaris issue, as I have an eczema post coming up soon.

Here is what I've been doing every single day:

• Taking 1000mg fish oil 3x (after breakfast, lunch & dinner)
• Taking B group vitamins 1x (after lunch)
• Taking Beta Carotene 1x (after breakfast, sometimes also after dinner)
• Taking 400iu vitamin E 1x (after breakfast, sometimes also after dinner)
• Moisturising my whole body with DermaDrate dry skin therapy 2x (after my morning shower, then again before bedtime)

In all honesty, I believe that if I weren't taking any vitamins but still moisturising my body twice a day, I would probably get the same results as I've taken vitamins before without moisturising, and I've seen no improvements with the kp.  But maybe the vitamins help a little?  I'm not sure.

Two weeks into doing this daily, I started to notice that the kp dots on my legs and thighs appeared to be getting smaller.  The discolouration on my arms in the kp area also seemed to be fading.  And a month later, while no bumps have disappeared, they do seem to be getting smaller.  The dots on my legs seem to have become more sparse and so too has the discolouration on my arms.  So is it getting better?  It seems to be!  I haven't been exfoliating, maybe if I start to do that then the bumps will also begin to go away?  Here's hoping!

Before twice daily moisturising

One month into twice daily moisturising... dots appear smaller and seem to be fading in colour?

My legs are where I've seen the most improvement.  I think I'll start to incorporate some sort of exfoliation and see if that helps the bumps on my arms.  My legs don't have the bumps, just the spotty appearance so maybe that's why it seems to have improved the most?  I will update again in another month's time.

I Have Eczema + My KP Treatment Plan

Today was the day I finally saw a dermatologist for the first time in my life.  This appointment was made for two reasons: one; the persistent rash on my face/neck/chest that cleared up with steroid cream but always came back, and two; my lifelong skin condition keratosis pilaris (a.k.a hyperkeratosis or chicken skin).

So, firstly, let me show you the rash that I've been plagued with for the past month and a bit.  It clears up with hydro cortisone, but once I stop using it (as you should, because long term use will do more harm than good), it always came back.  Each time it came back, a new rash would appear along with the ones already there.  *sigh*

Dry spot on my forehead.

Small dry spot on cheek, large dry area near ear, rash on neck (plus the hormonal pimples on my cheek and keratosis pilaris on my face... aren't I pretty?!)

Close up of rash on neck.  It itches like crazy!

My dermatologist had a look and after a chat, he told me I had eczema.  Now, this is news to me because I think my skin is pretty resilient and tolerant to a lot of products.  I have experienced rashes on my neck before (always due to perfume or a new shampoo) but it always went away with steroid cream.  I've also had a really bad rash on my face before which I believe was due to becoming sensitive to steroid cream due to long term use (I had chronic swimmers ear and was using steroid drops in my ear).  Every time I saw a doctor about these rashes, they told me it was just a reaction to a product or ingredient.  So, when the dermatologist told me I had eczema, I started protesting and saying no, my skin isn't sensitive, to which he replied that it can sometimes be years before you get it.  Hmmm!

I have been reading a lot of keratosis pilaris forums and the general consensus is that most people with the condition have other skin problems, such as eczema... Ahh, so the puzzle pieces are finally falling into place!  The dermatologist has ordered a patch test for me, which unfortunately costs $300 so I have to put together the money before I can get it done at a specialist clinic... *double sigh*  But I'm willing to do this, to find out what it is that is causing my skin so much grief.  In the meantime however, I am on a skincare buying ban and will only be using what I know will not make my skin break out in a rash.  Seeing as rose hip oil is one of the "newest" things I've been using, I'm going to have to say goodbye to it for awhile.

I will be using hydro cortisone on any rash NOT on my face if I get a bad flair up, but I will try to avoid this.  To treat it naturally, I'll be using good old witch hazel to dry it up and soothe the itch, then using vitamin E oil to moisturise it.  That is how I will be dealing with both my body and facial "rash"... (Am I in denial?  I refuse to call it eczema!)  This won't give me fast results like the steroid cream, but it will benefit me in the long term and be kinder to my skin.  And I have done something similar to this to clear up my previous facial rash and it worked, so this should work too.

For my kp, my dermatologist was very frank and told me that nothing would really get rid of it or clear it up completely.  Cue wrist slashing and wild sobs.  Deep down, I knew it anyway because I have pretty much tried everything and nothing has really helped.  He did recommend what every other doctor has recommended, though: regular exfoliation and daily moisturising using some kind of AHA or urea.  He told me I could go the expensive route; getting regular microdermabrasion or chemical peels from spas or skin clinics and then following up with their pricey maintenance products, or I could just use a chemical exfoliant found in most beauty stores, pharmacies and supermarkets, and use one of the many dry skin moisturisers out there.

Given my financial circumstances, I won't be shelling out for a microdermabrasion session any time soon.  However, I will go back to using a St. Ives facial scrub as my chemical exfoliant and use a 10% urea cream twice daily (it says to apply three times daily, but come  on!  My life does not revolve around slathering cream on my body!)  I've also thrown pure vitamin E oil into the mix, to give it a bit of extra moisturising properties.  The idea of using a non-natural product scares me, so I want to add that little extra love to compensate.  Here are the products, all from Terry White Chemists:

Invite Vitamin E oil, St. Ives Apricot Scrub Renew & Firm, DermaDrate 10% urea cream

All the products were relatively inexpensive - the urea cream was $22 (for 500g!), and the other products were around the $10 mark.  There will probably be a high turnover, though.  I don't see the products lasting for more than 6-8 weeks with daily use.  And, just for your viewing pleasure (and for my own future reference to see if this helps it) here are a few not so great shots of my kp:

Kp on lower legs.  Looks like I haven't shaved, right?  That's because I haven't... lol!  But even if I did shave, it still looks spotty like that.

Kp on my arms. Doesn't look bad in this photo, but in real life it is dark, bumpy, irritated & just plain nasty

Kp on my thighs.  So is there any man that would still want me?  Hmm... I didn't think so!

I have also decided to try to treat my keratosis pilaris internally as well.  This means that I will be taking 3000mg of fish oil daily, as well as supplements of vitamin A, B group vitamins, E, zinc and a probiotic (D is recommended also, but I tan quite a bit if I take it and I get enough vitamin D from the sun anyway).  Not to mention, I will try to keep my diet alkaline and try to consume less sugar.  All those things are supposed to help kp.  As the weeks go on, I will continue to share my progress (if any) with photos and how I've been coping with the whole diet and skincare regimen.  In the meantime, I'm off to bed to dream of smooth, clear, eczema and kp free skin.  Ciao! xo

Skin Woes Part II

Today I finally saw a doctor about the spots of dry, itchy, persistent rash on my face/neck/torso (and this morning I discovered a new one on my right arm, grrr).  I didn't see a doctor in the first place because I knew he would just prescribe me a hydrocortisone cream.  I can get that myself from a pharmacy!

As predicted, the doctor prescribed me a hydrocortisone combined with an anti-fungal, but he told me he didn't really want me to use the cream.  Reason being, if I had already tried it, had it clear up but then come back, my skin would clear up in the short term but might become dependant on the cream, resulting in flare ups.  Instead, he urged me to see a skin specialist and wrote a referral for me.

I'm actually quite excited to be seeing a dermatologist for the first time in my life.  Lord knows why I've never seen one before, especially because of my keratosis pilaris.  I called up the clinic and the first appointment will cost me $150 for a 15 minute consult with the doctor.  Ouch!  I don't know when I'll get to see the doctor, but I'm hoping I can get the money soon so that I don't have to feel so depressed about my skin, on top of everything else going on in my life.

Fingers crossed he will cure all my skin ailments!

Beauty School Drop Out + My Skin Woes

How typical of me.  Before my Diploma of Beauty Therapy course even starts, I've had to drop out.  Not because I don't want to do it, but because I left it far too late to enroll and secure a spot.  Ladies & gentlemen, this is why you should never, ever procrastinate!

Luckily for me, I'll be able to enroll for the next course, which isn't too far away.  They start a new course every few months, so in that time I will be able to save up enough money to just pay for the course outright.  Plus, I was told that I wouldn't be allowed to get my regular wax or de-fuzz myself anywhere, because it would all be done at school in class.  Um... Don't shave in summer?  Does not compute!  There are two weeks in between classes, so people would've mistaken me for a man (if they don't already)!

I am still looking forward to studying beauty therapy, so I've already started learning by reading as much as I can (magazines & beauty blogs count, right?) The internet is a wealth of knowledge & I intend to utilise it!

Tomorrow I will start to write up my review for the Burt's Bees sugar scrub + body butter.  I usually use a product for at least a month (often a lot more) but I've been using the butter daily and the scrub every few days (my keratosis pilaris is hating me for it) and I have not had any adverse reactions and it doesn't look like things will change.

Speaking of which, my neck broke out from something (sunscreen? Perfume?) a few weeks ago (before Burt's Bees) and left a crazy scattering of dark red rashes all over my neck.  Remember the good old high school days when your boyfriend would give you hickies? (No, Rin... You never had a bf in high school?!)  Well, it looked like I had been getting it on with teenage boys who like to leave their mark on my neck.. 0_0  The rash didn't clear up with my trusty coconut oil, but to be fair, I was too impatient and gave it only a week before I got sick of the knowing looks from strangers and finally spoke to a pharmacist.

Anyway, my point is, I cleared the rash up with good old 1% hydrocortisone cream but that, in turn has now broken out my face.  Really badly.  Like, I look like I have a disease.  I have light, extremely dry spots on my face that even if I drown in oil, does not stay moist, therefore anything I apply (blush, liquid foundation, powder, heavy duty moisturiser etc) I can still see the discolouration and the dry spot... Wahhh!  My life is over!

Well, I hope you can understand why I don't want to post up photos.  I can't bear the thought of forever capturing the atrocity.  It's not exactly something I want to look back on... Anyway, I'm just rambling.  I just wanted to share my current beauty woes :(  I'm still smiling, though.  My kids keep me happy & sane (as unbelievable as that sounds, it's true!) So I'm off to watch them sleep now.  Goodnight xo

Hoodies!

I went out today to the Nike warehouse on Smith Street and bought two hoodies. I love hoodies, they're so comfy and cover your body up, which is good for when you're having a fat day. Lately I've been having lots of fat days, even though I'm on a "diet". So I got a white hooded jumper and a navy blue zip hoodie, it didn't cost too much and I absolutely LOVE it! I have a feeling they'll get more wear than my Burberry trench coat this winter, which I kinda feel guilty about as I was bugging the bf to get it for me for my birthday. Isn't it ironic that I'll be wearing a $50 hoodie more than I'll be wearing a $2000 jacket?

Remember those ugly red pimple spots I was talking about on my face? I bought some bio-oil for it, I hope it works! I have noticed my skin is clearing up but the spots are still there which I think looks gross. My period finished a while ago and my face is breaking out less, so I'm guessing the acne is definately due to hormones. I might also use the bio-oil for my stretchmarks from pregnancy, if I can remember to apply it twice daily!

As for my diet, well... It's not really going that great, I haven't been sticking to it. I've had dessert after most of my meals and I'm not eating any less. But I did hop on the scales today and I'm at 58kg (128lbs) so I've lost 2kgs... unless it's all just water. Which I suspect it is as I didn't drink much today! Hmm...

Anyway! Tomorrow I hope to play around with make up and take photos so I can enter some contests. I'm a stay at home mum so you'd think I have lots of time for stuff like that, but between feeding Dante and cleaning the house and keeping him entertained, it is just hard to find the time. I'm lucky if I get to pee alone! So hopefully I'll get some pics up tomorrow. If not, then you'll know I've been a busy mum!

The Teenage Years all Over Agian

Yikes, I'm breaking out big time. Six months ago, I had flawless skin. People used to comment on it all the time. Now? I look like I belong in highschool. Actually, when I was in highschool I never had pimples this bad. It's disgusting! They're so red and take over both my cheeks and my chin. I don't know what I can do to make it go away. But I really need to get rid of it because it's getting me down.

I haven't done anything different to my usual skincare regime so I don't understand why I'm breaking out so bad. I think it's due to hormones... I'm still breastfeeding my son, but a couple of months ago I got my period agian. I think that was when my skin started breaking out lots. So how do you get rid of pimples due to hormones? You can't, right? You just have to ride it out.

I've been washing my face carefully, usually twice a day but occasionally only once. Every few days I use an exfoliant and I'm meticulous when it comes to moisterizing. I'm using products that have always got along with my skin. I dab on pimple cream where needed. I'm eating fairly well. So what else can I do to get rid of these pimples? Even though the pimples dry out quickly after I use pimple cream on it, I find that it leaves a red spot which doesn't seem to fade at all. I have these spots all over my cheeks. It's so gross.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm freaking out! Go away, pimples! Leave me alone, please! Let my skin be beautiful agian!