I spent years perfecting how to hide my skin instead of learning how to love and care for it. Looking back over my journey, I remember the long sleeves in summer, the foundation on my legs and even using airbrushing apps to edit out eczema, it’s safe to say eczema has always been a massive trigger of anxiety for me. After these experiences, I got another kick to my confidence when I started to suffer from alopecia. Oh boy, alopecia she was the one that really did take my last drop of confidence.
I remember sitting there hair falling out, skin flaring, and thinking f*ck what have I got going for me?
Bauld and flakey at 20.
After a lot of therapy and failed topical treatments I decided to take matters into my own hands, I saw my hair regrow and my skin drastically improve and I felt empowered to share and hopefully help others who were feeling as hopeless as I once did. Honestly, I had to reach rock bottom before I learned how to resurface.
I learned I couldn’t hate myself into healing but I could reach out for help when I had that sinking feeling. I also learned if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Coming online I realized one of the best ways to care for your eczema isn’t your physical skincare routine. It’s your mental health care. It’s about knowing you’re not alone. Reading and seeing other people’s experiences of their skin and having that moment of WOW, I am not alone, and suddenly feeling this weird connection to a stranger online simply because they get it. You’ll be surprised how the one thing you hide is usually the one thing connecting you to hundreds of others.
After finding my community and having this overwhelming sense of belonging and connection I slowly started to accept my skin and feel confident enough to unhide my eczema online and in the streets.
This mindset shift and self-acceptance started with small positive self-talk phrases like “At least my eczema isn’t on me X.Y & Z” it could be the smallest part of your body but reframing your thinking to look for that small positive will grow into a bigger mindset shift with time and honestly help you when those flares catch you off guard. I went from hiding and overthinking about people seeing my skin to reclaiming my power by controlling my narrative and hopefully helping to change the general narrative about skin conditions little by little. The fave quote I’ve ever written is “We can’t always control our [insert skin condition], but we can control how we react to it. That is our power”.
Moving forward I hope to amplify this feeling through my accounts @Mackies_Moments and @Itch _N_Bitch and show others hiding their realities that they can show their skin without getting hate and actually will make lifelong friends. Instead of getting upset and closing myself off; I’m flaring, sharing, and dancing along the way and hopefully helping others by showing you can have eczema and be happy. I’ll never forget the day I saw a girl rocking her full flare in summer and felt instantly inspired to do the same, I hope to amplify this feeling and movement.
BIG LOVE, 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕀𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕪 𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙,
AKA @Mackies_Moments❤️💌
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Katie Mackie edits manages, creates, and replies to all the content for itch N bitch alongside her 9-5 working in central London. Whilst Daisy has stepped back into appearing on the podcast as a host, occasionally collaborating on awareness content. Nearly 2 years on itch n bitch has flourished into a nearly 6,000-strong community of itchy people called THE ITCHY GANG.
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