New Year, New Skin

So now that the festivities are completely over for another year *sobs*, and we are all back into our normal routines – now is probably a good a time as ever to fill you guys in on my week!

I cannot remember the last time my skin felt as good as it does right now.  There are honestly no words to describe how happy this makes me!

It’s been exactly one week today since I started using the really strong steroid cream prescribed to me by the skin specialist – and the results have been amazing.  Looking at my skin now, you would struggle to tell that I actually have a history of eczema flare ups.  I’ve completely lost the horrible red/pink patches on my arms, legs and everywhere else for that matter! 

It’s gone!

Like, completely gone!

Goodbye red neck, hello fresh skin!

My skin this week vs. my skin last week, see for yourself!

Red hot mess

And this is even with me running on the treadmill at home and making regular trips to the gym (now that everywhere is back to normal opening times... mwahaha).  Because as some of you will know, sweat and eczema don’t tend to be the best of pals at time – and exercise usually turns into a very bad flare up… well for me anyways.

I’ve been using the steroid cream every day after a shower, putting on just a thin layer over the parts of my skin that usually flare up the worst; my arms, the underneath of my legs, my lower stomach, my lower back and the back of my neck.  I’ve also been applying the weaker steroid cream to my face, with more emphasis around my eyes – the only really noticeable part when my skin is acting up.  I’m still using the Cetraben cream on the areas that get particularly dry (elbows and the backs of my hands), however for the rest of my body I’m using coconut oil as a substitute moisturiser.

Some of you will remember that I tried this out on my skin during a really bad breakout, hoping that it would offer some sort of relief.  Unfortunately, this was not the case and I decided to keep it purely as a face moisturiser instead.  So seeing as my skin has repaired itself, I decided to give it another bash – and my skin has never felt so smooth and smelt so good!  I love how completely natural and organic it is, it feels good to finally be able to use something so pure on my skin. 

I’ve also been applying make up again, which means that no one can tell me that I look sick anymore… praise the lord!  So after looking around for a foundation which will not be so harsh on my skin, I found a tinted moisturiser by Nivea which appears to do the trick no bother.  I only use a little, as when applying with a foundation brush it really goes a long way!  And so at just £2.69 for a 50 ml bottle – you can’t really go wrong!

This weeks favourites, they smell delicious.
Cheap and cheerful but work wonders.. the above come in at under £10 for all three.. hello?!

I’m currently looking online to see if I can find a recipe to make my own sea salt face and body scrub!  I’ve seen a lot of posts on Instagram by people using various different scrubs for sensitive skin (FRANK, Sea Salt Scrub, Almond Butter Scrub) but all have been priced at around £10 a bottle!  I still have half a bag of sea salt left, as well as numerous tubs of coconut oil kicking about.  So if I can make my own… why not?

Watch this space… 

Happy New Year!

So first of all, I want to say happy New Year to each and every one of you!  2014 was a fun and exciting year;

I passed my driving test first time round

I went to my first festival (Download) which I absolutely loved

I passed my first year of college with an A *proud moment*

Martin and I celebrated our first year anniversary in Edinburgh

And I got to celebrate my 20^th birthday on the same night as my little sisters 18^th :-)

I’m looking forward to another chilled out year full of fun, gigs, celebrations and laughter!  And who knows, maybe I’ll no longer be blogging about my eczema by the end of it..

On Wednesday I had my appointment with the skin specialist at my local GP.  As most of you will know I was super excited to be referred to her, because I believed that it would be the start of the end of this madness which is my skin condition!

She took a good look at my skin, it was hot and very red that day – so she wanted to see all of the affected areas, opposed to just my arms and neck.  She commented a lot about how angry it looked, and how she wanted to get it “under control” as quickly as possible. 

Her advice was to try out a new steroid ointment that I have not been prescribed before, she suggests that I apply it once a day for up to four weeks, then twice a week, then once, then only when required.  She informed me that it is important to stick to the regime, as when you suddenly stop using such a strong steroid, your skin doesn’t know what to do and goes into shock, which nine out of ten times is why the skin breaks out even worse the next time round!  So even why my skin looks as fresh as a daisy, I’ve still to apply just a little to the areas that flare up the most – in a bid to prevent it from happening later on.

My saviours for the next couple of weeks!  Aveeno cream is right up there with my favourites - the only shop bought cream that actually helps me!
Pictured: Cetraben Cream, Aveeno Oatmeal Cream, Organic Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, Elocon Ointment, Hydrocortisone Ointment and Atarax Antihistamines

My skin the day before the appointment...

My skin the day after, with just one day's use of the new ointment!

She also gave me plenty more antihistamines to help prevent me from hacking at my skin during the night, as well as giving me a weak steroid cream to use on my face to try and stop it looking so angry around my eyes.  I’m still been ditching the make-up, but I have since been advised that Holland and Barrett have a make-up range designed specifically for very sensitive skin – so I may be tempted to test it out in the next couple of weeks.  Watch this space…

All in all, I was a little disappointed with my visit. I’m not exactly sure why, but I had expected something other than just a new ointment.  I guess I had just hoped that I would have been asked more about what I had tried, what had worked for me in the past and what I would be willing to try in the future – rather than just being told for the hundredth time that eczema is not curable just manageable, and that stress will play a part in aggravating my skin from time to time, and that it’s something I’ll just have to deal with. 

I know it can be curable, I’ve read plenty about people who have overcome their struggles with it – be it by changing their lifestyle, their diets or their daily necessities – they did it!  So hopefully, with a little bit of patience, this year will be the year that I overcome it to J

I’m hoping that these ointments will do what the Doctor suggested and bring my skin back to a manageable condition, however I am keen to try other solutions to help control the situation.

I’ll keep you all posted on the success of my new prescriptions over the next couple of weeks, but until then, I hope you all enjoy the start of 2015!