My Skincare Journey!
This post about my skin has been a work in progress for over 6 months now technically, but truth is I have been working on my skin my entire life. My skincare journey has been anything but easy and I want to share it with you so if you are facing something similar, maybe this will encourage you to take the next step.
FIRST, I want to preface this with the fact that I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR SKIN CARE PROFESSIONAL! While this is my story and what has worked for me; not everything works for everyone but maybe some of my tips can help you find the solutions for you. You have to find what works best for you!
After my skincare journey
So skin, we all have it and it is technically the largest organ we have but it’s something we often taken for granted, I know I did.
When I turned 11 I started developing tons of allergies; my immune system was attacking everything and I was getting allergy shots for seasonal allergies, which then triggered tons of food allergies. I spent the majority of my teenage life figuring out what I could and couldn’t eat and everytime my lips swelled or I got hives, I blamed another favorite food of mine or cross contamination. By the time I hit 15, I was allergic to almost all fruit, wheat, rice, potatoes, etc. but something kept causing a reaction that wasn’t food. My allergist who I had been with for years convinced me it was cross contamination and I kept telling myself “I need to be more careful!”
Around the time I turned 16, my family and I had finally moved from my childhood home and I suddenly had a new allergist. One month into starting a new school, I had another lip flare up and went to see my new allergist to get my usual dose of steroids. I was so use to being on steroids that I knew exactly what to ask for, what worked for me and what didn’t. Meeting Dr. Bhat, a short, jolly south asian man who was my grandpa’s age, changed my life; he looked at my swollen lips and then at my bitten down nails and said “Stop wearing nail polish and biting your nails.” My mom and I looked at him confused, I swore it was probably cross contamination from my lunch and he told me it wasn’t. He told me yes I may have food allergies but I also have a chemical allergy and may slowly outgrow it but should be careful. I steered clear of nail polish and also found many chemical free ones in the coming years and my random lip flare ups went away.
As time went on, I began wearing make up like most girls my age, and I began to experience random flare ups on my skin; these weren’t the same as my “allergic reactions".” My skin would at times get dry/itchy, tingle, break out and even be patchy at times so I would wear more make up to cover up my imperfections. From time to time my skin would be better but then it would go back through the same cycle and I would wear more make up to cover it. At age 28, I finally decided to see a dermatologist in my area, Mudgil Dermatology (please note the photos below are from their website and I do not own them or any rights to me, they are just for reference.)
One of the first things my doctor recommended was an allergy patch test to figure out what I was allergic to that isn’t food or in nature. He explained to me what contact dermatitis is and that it doesn’t only result in swelling or itchiness but something as simple as watery eyes when you wear eye make up or endless sneezing when you spray on a face mist is a sign of an allergy.
Patch tests can detect delayed allergic reactions, which can take several days to develop, and don't use needles like typical allergy tests. Instead, allergens are applied to patches, which are then placed on your skin, and left on for 3 days. In a patch test your skin may be exposed to 20 to 100 extracts of substances that can cause contact dermatitis. Once the 3 days have passed, your doctor will remove the patches and assess the results based on swelling, redness, etc. on your back. I didn’t post my after picture, as it was not a pretty sight, but below is how my back looked when the patches were applied.
my patch test
Once the results were in, my doctor reviewed my results with me and sent me a link to an app called Skin Safe; this app would help me track my allergens and allow me to scan everyday products to see if they were compatible with my skin. The office I went to had uploaded my results into this app so I was making sure to look for the right allergens as some chemicals have more than one name. Now I do understand not every dermatologist provides this app but there are many different apps out there that can help you track what you can and can’t use.
In my case, it turned out only was my Too Face Foundation a positive allergy but so was every item in my Kielh’s skincare regime that I had embraced just a few months back. I sat in front of my make up drawer for what felt like hours scanning all the items and by the time I was done, the keep pile had only 20% of the products in it.
Over the next few months I worked on healing my skin, starting a new skincare routine and finding the might make-up products for myself. It’s been about 6 months since my test and I am happy to say my skin has never felt better. Yes I still get a breakout here and there but now I know what to do to heal my skin without causing a domino effect. I hope my story encourages you to take care of your skin and if you’ve had problems in the past, please get tested. Our skin is one of the most important things and it is often overlooked; it’s not always about looking good but about feeling good. Invest in your skin, it’s going to represent you for a very long time!
skin safe app
skin safe app
skin safe app
Brands I have learned to love and recommend:
Butter London - nail polish
Essie - nail polish
Ella + Mila - nail polish
Nars - make up
Kosas - make up
Honest Beauty - make up / skincare
L’orel Paris - skincare / make up
The Ordinary - skincare