First Post - A little bit of my story and why I'm here.

Hi there! This is a little nerve wracking.. If I'm honest, I never imagined I would start a blog, let alone plastering the issues I've had with my skin and my life etc all over the internet!

So why did I decide to start? 

I've grown up watching YouTube beauty videos, as I'm sure many others have and never seemed to come across any discussing eczema in depth. Of course I've seen people discuss other skin issues such as acne and talk about sensitive skin but famous beauty youtubers discussing eczema? Never. I might be completely wrong and I know there are some things out there but I was never exposed to it. Also, I'm an only child so I never had a big sister to help me with make-up and show me the ropes. I had my Mum, but her being a mother she didn't like me wearing much make-up, resulting in me making disastrous mistakes, making my skin ten times worse.

So I've decided to start with a blog as I didn't want to dive straight into YouTube, in order to help some of those who are feeling fed-up with their sensitive skin and want a few tips in order to feel more confident. I know people say this but I really, really do know how it feels to feel so lost with it all.

I've had eczema since I was born. I had to wear the wet wraps a lot of the time when I was younger. For those who don't know what wet wraps are, they're basically bandages covered in cream. I loved them. I loved how you would put it on, leave it on overnight and once you took them off in the morning it was gone. Like magic! What I realise now is that of course they probably include a hard steroid cream in order to make it disappear like that, which those who are treated with eczema know it's not great to use as it can really thin out the skin.

I don't remember having many problems with my eczema when I was a kid, the wet wraps were only used until I was about three. This was until I had just turned 14, the age where like probably most other teens, was my most self-conscious and always wanted to look my best. So typically, my skin was likely to get it's worse then as I find skin always wants to look it's worst when you want to look your best!

The first sign I saw that my skin had worsened was when I was looking in the mirror and seeing dry skin all over my face. Initially, my first reaction was to get some exfoliator, probably heavy in perfume and other additives and scrub at my face. Obviously, my very sensitive skin hated this.

The thing was, what made me so self-concious was the fact my skin hadn't just worsened on my face - it was all over my body. It actually makes me quite emotional thinking about it because it had got so bad I cut holes out of my school jumpers to put my thumbs through, just so that my red, flaky hands and arms were never revealed.

The summer before I turned 15 was no better.. I went on holiday and wore leggings the entire time. No exaggeration. I wore leggings when I went to the beach, when I went swimming, everywhere. Just so that I never had to show my skin.

I could go on.

But it got better... A few months after my birthday I went to Queen Mary's Hospital in Paddington to get an allergy test, for those who've never had one you have swatches of different things put on your skin and whatever your skin reacts to means you have an allergy. I wish I could say that they found that I was allergic to something which was causing all of this and to this day I've never had a problem again but unfortunately I can't.

However, what I CAN say is that the women, who I wish I knew because she literally changed my life, told me to go upstairs to the Dermatology clinic. This is where I met a team of Doctors, who told me that my GP was prescribing me the wrong things and that I need to go on a 'tropical skin treatment', meaning from then on I would use creams everyday to help control my skin. And OH MY GOD did it?! My skin cleared up in a couple of weeks and I started to feel a lot more like myself. I remember the first time I put on a t-shirt again. It sounds so silly but being able to do that and not have to worry about my skin or what I looked like made me feel so... free.

Now, I'm 20. It's definitely been an up and down road since then with my skin and I probably have lost control at some points with it, but it's still a hell of a lot better than it was.

In addition to this, I KNOW HOW TO TREAT MY SKIN & WHAT MAKE-UP TO WEAR. I put this is capitals because I NEVER knew what to do with it when it was at my worst and how I wish I did! It would of made my life and my skin so much better and easier to deal with!

So after a verrry long explanation and this story (for this I apoligise) this is why I've starting writing. I now know the mistakes I made and wish I could go back in time to 14-year-old Naomi and yell 'DON'T WEAR THAT MAYBELLINE FOUNDATION YOU'RE CAKING ON!! It's one of the reasons your skin is so bad!'

So if you've got this far, thank you. And if you're struggling, don't worry. Eczema is one of those demons that has bad phases but if you know how to deal with it, you'll be able to cope with it a lot better. If you keep on following my blog and this page, I promise I'll tell you everything you know and maybe, just maybe the next time you feel it getting worse you might be able to handle it better with some of the tips and tricks I'll start revealing soon.

Until the next time,

Naomi

XXX