Following recent public comments from Kendall Jenner about her pimples, and Justin Bieber’s playful “pimples are in” story on Instagram, the doors to conversations about pimples have been wedged open within the media. But what about those less talked about skin concerns?

Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a gene variation that stops the skin’s natural ability to offer protection against environmental aspects, bacteria, irritants, and allergens. It’s chronic, genetic and incurable – a hypersensitivity response that may occur at any age. Even though it’s more common for kids to have eczema, many carry the burden into maturity. Besides the visual oozing, blistery erosions and flaky look, the condition, mostly found on the neck, within the elbows and knees, may result in asthma, hay fever, secondary infections, and sleep deprivation.

Beyond the physical discomfort, AD can have huge impacts on one’s social life, psychological health and general wellbeing. Despite existing charities and helplines equivalent to the National Eczema Society,  a 2018 study found that individuals with eczema are 36% more likely to attempt suicide. There are in fact things you could treat it with, from soaking yourself in oatmeal or medicinal formula for hours to applying layers of creams. Nevertheless, these are all incredibly laborious and sometimes really quite expensive. Prescribed topical steroid creams can range from £20-£200 and might often make your skin worse.

There are preventative methods too, which mainly means monitoring every thing you do in your each day life: ensuring your laundry detergent is 100 per cent natural, containing no fragrance or dyes; ensuring the food you eat incorporates no dairy, gluten, citrus fruits or nuts; banning all wool and polyester out of your wardrobe, and nickel out of your jewellery. It’s best to also avoid certain weather conditions, cold, dry, and damp environments, dust, pet fur, pollen and moulds, all of which might be potential triggers for eczema victims. Principally, almost anything may cause a flare up anytime and anywhere. And when it does all you need to do is scratch it. But you mustn’t, it should make it worse and might end in scarring. Don’t scratch it, don’t touch it, don’t even have a look at it.

I’ve had eczema since I used to be a baby. I’ve come to just accept that I’ll at all times have it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still struggle with it. Through the years I’ve had difficulty with my skincare routine, I’ve had to observe my food regimen and I even have to make use of creams religiously. The worst was at university, where I couldn’t have my milky baths and it was hard to search out time to thoroughly cream my skin. People would ask me why I wasn’t drinking alcohol on nights out, as alcohol triggered the swelling. I made excuses. I felt ugly, itchy and ashamed of my condition. One time, I had to depart university early before Christmas as my eczema became so inflamed that it spread throughout my neck and face. It was horrible. I ended socialising and just told friends I used to be “busy”.  

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s also the stigma attached to having it in the primary place which Dermatologist Dr Nilesh Morar believes stems from the “appearance” of eczema. People have stared at me, assumed I’m dirty, that I don’t wash. They’ve even asked me if I used to be contagious. Then there’s a general perception you could never be beautiful if you’ve got these patches of dry, crumbling skin throughout your face and body. All this needs to alter. How? Through education, awareness, people speaking out about it and visibility given to individuals who have it in order to normalise eczema inside mainstream culture. We’d like to challenge the perception that those that have lower than perfect skin can never equate to what society deems as “beautiful”. In spite of everything, it’s estimated that up 15 million people in the UK and 35 million in America live with Atopic Dermatitis. Dr Morar estimates that in his case, eczema patients total about “20-30% of the practice per 12 months.”

We must be doing what’s currently happening online and IRL for individuals with pimples and people with plus size bodies. We’d like the body positivity movement to shine its light on individuals with eczema. We’d like to proceed the work of individuals like beauty blogger and self-styled “eczema warrior” Joanne RH who uses her IG and her blog to share her story with others. In addition to showcasing her eczema in pictures, Joanne exposes the misconceptions in regards to the condition. “It’s hard to do staple items people take as a right like sleep, wear clothes and even shower,” she says. “People can be afraid to the touch or come too near me.” Joanne’s follicular eczema became so severe that she began to lose her hair and ended up shaving it off to assist heal her scalp. She believes, “being as open about eczema as possible and bringing as much awareness in regards to the condition has helped me cope in so some ways.”