My Skin Story

I feel like I should explain what "journey" my skin and I went on recently. It wasn't a fun one. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. And I remember looking in the mirror and wishing I had horrible acne instead, because surely acne would be better than this?! You think I'm being over dramatic? HA! (And keep in mind, these pictures weren't taken when it was at it's worse and I look good compared to how I looked in person.)

Let me explain...

My skin seriously hated me or something. I felt like it was finally acting out for the bad way I've treated it these past twenty one years. Not enough sun block. Rarely washing off makeup. Cleaning my face (twice) daily? Pfft. And moisturizing? Never. Finally I realized I was literally adding years on to my face by not doing these simple things so I decided to buy a facial cleanser and moisturizer and start anew. I always seemed to have combination skin. A little oily around my T zone in the winter and dry on my forehead, corners of my eyes and sides of my nose in the winter. And I've always gotten blackheads on my nose and chin, and I was starting to get whiteheads on my chin now too. (PS sorry if this is TMI but I'm telling you about my skin, pimples and all.) I figured, since I've been getting minor acne, to look into a cleanser that would treat my breakouts. I googled and bought Cetaphil and their moisturizer.

This was at the beginning when I had tried to conceal the
  redness by using my foundation & it settled into the wrinkles

While all this was going on my under eye area became very dry and itchy but since it's winter I thought nothing of it. And I began to use Cetaphil. Within two days.. all hell broke loose. My under eyes became not just dry and itchy but inflamed, flaky and wrinkly. My face broke out into a rash. And all around my lips became severely chapped and would crack at the corners if I opened my mouth too wide to talk, eat or brush my teeth. It was awful!

I immediately stopped using Cetaphil and its moisturizer, assuming this was the root of the entire problem. And this was all happening around the beginning of December and I had holiday parties to attend to so of course I just covered up my eyes and mouth with the foundation I was using Maybelline's Fit Me (in shade 115, perfect match by the way). The rash went away when I stopped using Cetaphil but my eyes and lips kept getting worse. I caked on Blistex and Vaseline onto my lips and surrounding areas which just caused milia because I wasn't letting my skin breathe. I used an all natural eye cream in excess, which caused another small rash to break out around my eyes, most probably from over use. While this went on I continued to use my Fit Me foundation because I refused to go outside looking how I did. However the makeup hardly made things better. It only settled into the fine lines and wrinkles that had formed around my eyes and made me look like I was at least forty years old. It was a lose lose situation.

People at work kept commenting about how I looked, their were even customers who couldn't keep their mouths shut. I must have broke down and cried like twenty times throughout this whole ordeal (which made my eyes even more red. Fail.)

This picture is bad quality, but this is without makeup.

I started using only Vaseline on my lips which made the milia go away and polysporin on the corners so they wouldn't crack. It helped, but wasn't a miracle worker. I also got a humidifier which I kept on day and night. It got rid of the flaky dryness which made things less itchy. My boyfriend finally made me stop using makeup to cover it up since he figured it just irritated it more. I relented, but felt hideous. It's embarrassing how upset I was over this, but to me, I felt disfigured and ugly. Which made me feel shallow. Did I rely that much on my "looks"? I realize now that it played with my confidence. I never battled with not being confident. Everyone has things about themselves they'd like to change but for the most part I had always been comfortable in my own skin and I felt like this wasn't my skin. This wasn't me.

Finally it started to get better and before going to work one day I took out my foundation and applied it only to the top of my lips and outer corners of eyes because those were the places that were most red.

While at work my eyes went from looking okay to looking the worse they had ever been. I ended up finally going to see a doctor and I definitely got the "I told you so!" from my boyfriend when we found out I was having a allergic reaction to my makeup. It wouldn't have gotten to this extent if I hadn't kept applying it. I was given steroids (because he didn't want to give me a cream seeing as it was near my eyes) an allergic medication, and another pill to make sure the steroids didn't mess up my tummy. (I know I should have seen a doctor earlier but I guess I was lazy and determined to fix it on my own. Or I didn't want the doctor to tell me it was just dry skin and to use a moisturizer, because that's what I had been doing anyways.)

Also bad quality, but you can tell my entire lip area is red

I have to make an appointment with an allergist to find out what ingredient I'm allergic to so that I know not anything with that in it. I've obviously stopped using my previous foundation. And I've went a week without wearing makeup! (Okay I lied, mascara doesn't count.) In a way though, this has made me even more confident, I'm so happy for my skin to be back to normal I don't feel like it's as necessary to cover it up. I've always had dark circles under my eyes, and I always will. But considering what happened, I'll take those circles any day thank you very much.

As for the Cetaphil, I tested the cleanser on my chin area only and it's fine, I believe the cleanser just irritated an already irritated area. The Cetaphil moisturizer however.. is pure evil. I applied it to my forearm two nights in a row and when I woke up on the third day I had a rash. So I will most definitely stop using that product for good.

My eyes are completely back to normal. I still have a slight discoloration around my lips. Almost like an acne scar, so I've been using vitamin E capsules and applying the gel around my lips. It's making the redness fade... but breaking me out. Lose lose situation, once again.

This is what they're suppose to look like!

I know that was a lot and bravo to those who got through it all. I just felt like their should be a place for me to get it all out, explain and write it all down. For those of you who asked me what was wrong with my face in a compassionate way and I snapped I am truly sorry. For those who looked at me and laughed in my face (because I got laughed at, on more than one occasion) I wish that I had been able to brush you off. You shouldn't have received the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. Shame on you.

Okay, I promise I'm done typing now... Okay I lied.. I just have one more thing to say... My boyfriends amazing. When I would glance in the mirror and sigh, he would reach over, pull me towards him, look me straight in the face and tell me I was beautiful. Every single time. I think he's a keeper  <3
- Megan Elizabeth

UPDATE {Jan 20th}
My allergic reaction is back!! I have an appointment with an allergist on the 26th!