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\n By Alexis Smith, as told to Keri Wiginton<\/i>
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I don\u2019t really notice my atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema) anymore, which is completely shocking to me. I used to be the polar opposite. I spent so much time and energy worrying if people were looking at my face or wondering why my arm was red. Now, unless my skin gets itchy, I forget I have eczema.<\/p>\n
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For example, I went on a date recently with a rash on my face. I didn\u2019t even think about what my skin looked like until afterward. In the past, I would\u2019ve thought, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not going out on this date. I have a patch on my face. I don\u2019t look good, and I\u2019m not going to make a good first impression. I don\u2019t want them to see me like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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I started to feel more comfortable with my bare skin about 5 years ago, when I started posting about atopic dermatitis on Instagram (@eczemalove). And when I look in the mirror now, my eczema isn\u2019t the first thing I see. That\u2019s a huge relief, because it\u2019s all I saw before.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Technically, I had eczema as a baby. But I don\u2019t remember that time because, well, I was a baby. I didn\u2019t have symptoms again until I was 11 or 12. That\u2019s when I was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t easy going through middle and high school with a rash covering my face. I was very self-conscious for a very long time. But I got tired of feeling down about it. So, when I was 19, I started sharing more about my real skin. \u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I took to social media because I wanted to normalize the condition. I think people view eczema as weird because they never see it and they don\u2019t know anything about it. I wanted to change that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Of course, I wasn\u2019t confident right away. It was a process. My first posts included tips on the best makeup to hide eczema. I knew I shouldn\u2019t be ashamed of what my face looked like, and I told other people the same thing. Yet there I was, covering up. I felt like a hypocrite.<\/p>\n
I decided to practice what I preached and show my bare skin. Ever since then — and it feels like it happened suddenly — I\u2019ve felt free not worrying about what other people think. That\u2019s changed how I see myself, in a good way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n My symptoms got better, too. This probably goes without saying, but I\u2019ve found that the less I put on my face, the better my skin feels.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I still love doing my makeup. I just put it everywhere except my eczema patches. That\u2019s partly because it\u2019s physically uncomfortable to cover up. It can make my skin very itchy, and it stings a lot of the time. All day, I just want to scratch my foundation off. If I do, my skin ends up looking and feeling worse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Now, I want to put only helpful products on my skin, like a good\u00a0moisturizer. That means I don\u2019t have to worry about worsening my symptoms with stuff I don\u2019t really need.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I also think my symptoms got better because I\u2019m less concerned about my appearance — and stress tends to trigger my eczema. I still worry about other things, just not whether someone is staring at my patches.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying you have to uncover your eczema. You may not be able to do that, at least not cold turkey. If you want to show your natural skin, you can think about doing it gradually. Start to show a little more than you normally would, but always do what you\u2019re most comfortable with.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n My main advice is this: No one really cares about your eczema. At least they probably don\u2019t care as much as you think they do. Take dating, for example. I thought guys wouldn\u2019t want to talk to me or have anything to do with me. But the people I\u2019ve met are fine with it. My boyfriends have been wonderful. It\u2019s very refreshing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Plus, I know I don\u2019t focus on someone else\u2019s skin condition. So many people have them. They might have acne, rosacea, vitiligo, or psoriasis. But, personally, that\u2019s not something I pay much attention to.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I honestly don\u2019t think I would have this confidence without my eczema, which sounds crazy. But it gave me a reason to focus on my skin and think about what it means to hide it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n It\u2019s also given me a lot of really cool opportunities. The first company that ever reached out to me was Dove. I was in their DermaSeries campaign about a year after I started on Instagram. That\u2019s a line of products for people with psoriasis, eczema, or really dry skin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I also work with a lot of other brands now. It\u2019s nice that companies make an effort to feature people who actually have eczema. In the past, you\u2019d see a skin care line where they\u2019d show someone with perfect skin. That\u2019s not realistic for people like me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I no longer expect my skin to be perfect. It took me a long time to get out of that mindset. When you\u2019re diagnosed with eczema, you think each new product might be the one that\u2019ll make it go away. But the reality is, that\u2019s probably not going to happen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I\u2019ve accepted this is a lifelong condition. I don\u2019t need to hide it. And whatever makes my skin more comfortable is great.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen that what I post helps other people. A lot of people tell me, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anyone who has eczema like me. But yours looks exactly like mine. Thank you for showing people what it really looks like. I feel less alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n What I really love is when people message me and say, \u201cYou know, I really didn\u2019t want to go to the beach. Normally, I cover up. But yesterday, I decided that I didn\u2019t want to. And I went to the beach and had a really good time, and I didn\u2019t feel self-conscious. It was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n When I see other people\u2019s confidence, that boosts my own confidence. That makes me think maybe we\u2019re on to something here.<\/p>\n
\n <\/section>\nLearning to Love My Skin<\/h2>\n
\n <\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\nContinued<\/h4>\n
\n <\/section>\nAll About Comfort<\/h2>\n
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\n <\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\nContinued<\/h4>\n
The Positives<\/h2>\n
\n <\/section>\nConnecting With Others<\/h2>\n
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