For as long as I can remember, I have had a skin condition known as eczema. It’s a chronic condition that makes your skin red, inflamed, dry and extremely itchy. The urge to not touch or scratch it is nearly impossible. In fact, during a bad flare-up, your skin naturally gets triggered and inflamed, which translates to it being unbearably itchy and red. Which leads me to the main topic of this article: my relationship with makeup.
While other girls are playing with makeup and discovering their skills in applying makeup, I had to make do with just a simple, clean skincare routine. This involved costly brands such as Elizabeth Arden and tons of exfoliating creams and moisturizers. In my teenage years, this kept my eczema at bay. However, like most fifteen-year-olds, I felt insecure about my bare face, feeling my physical flaws were extra pronounced. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb.
Five years later, I still feel like the same way, although I am older and wiser about it. I have accepted the fact that I have this common chronic illness, but this is just a challenge I have to face in life. Many girls have described their eczema as having routine flare-ups due to stress levels, the weather, or changes in lifestyle. I experienced the total opposite. My eczema has been fluctuating like crazy — sometimes, it gets a lot better, other times it spreads rapidly — regardless of how well I treat my skin. Sometimes I feel bold enough to put a little bit of makeup on: filling my eyebrows in, light lipstick and my favorite, winged eyeliner. My skin responds in different ways each time, and I have learnt to prioritize my health over looks. Slowly but surely, I learnt to love both my face with and without makeup.
My advice for girls who also don’t feel comfortable going bare-faced is to give this a chance. You really never know until you do it. Start slow by not applying makeup for half a day and increase it from there. Also, for girls who have eczema on their face and bodies, or any kind of facial/physical condition, it’s okay to feel bad sometimes. Having this just makes us extra special and resilient. Maybe you’re like me and used makeup as a tool to hide your insecurities from the past. Once in a while, we need to let our skin breathe. Try going to a certified aesthetician who can recommend eczema-friendly products or makeup that is made for sensitive skin. In this way, we don’t need to suffer as much. Everyone deserves to feel and look beautiful whenever they want.