So the Story goes...
One day, about five years ago, I had a brief walk at the beach with my husband for about 30 minutes. It was a beautiful spring day in October and the sunshine was just glorious.
Look, this was taken on the day - it was spring in its full swing!
Look, this was taken on the day - it was spring in its full swing!
We had a lovely walk, thinking we're soaking up more than enough Vitamin D intake for the day from the sun, then came home.
Uneventful evening that night, then the morning came.
I started getting tingly sensation on my face, didn't think much of it. I've never had any skin troubles ever, in my life. Even acne didn't exist in my dictionary.
By the end of the day, I got tiny pores all over my face and mum was sure that I got food poisoning. Okay, so something felt wrong, so I went to see a doctor who gave me this verdict, "It's a type of acne."
Oh, no big deal. Slapped on some cream and went to bed, but woke up with my face full blown.
Bright red, hot, itchy and all swollen, altogether in one!
I couldn't recognize myself in the mirror. My nose was buried, it was THAT swollen. The itchiness spread to my ears, neck, hands and feet - the areas where the sunlight touched. I'll save you the shock of showing you a photo of my face then.
Long story cut short, it took about a month to settle and I finally met a skin specialist who told me what I had: PMLE. What?
Polymorphous Light Eruption. A fancy word for sun allergy.
But this was all of a sudden - I've never had it before.
Since then I discovered that the problem was essentially to do with my immune system being tricked into suddenly thinking that the sunlight could harm me.
What really puzzled me was that this was all very new!
Uneventful evening that night, then the morning came.
I started getting tingly sensation on my face, didn't think much of it. I've never had any skin troubles ever, in my life. Even acne didn't exist in my dictionary.
By the end of the day, I got tiny pores all over my face and mum was sure that I got food poisoning. Okay, so something felt wrong, so I went to see a doctor who gave me this verdict, "It's a type of acne."
Oh, no big deal. Slapped on some cream and went to bed, but woke up with my face full blown.
Bright red, hot, itchy and all swollen, altogether in one!
I couldn't recognize myself in the mirror. My nose was buried, it was THAT swollen. The itchiness spread to my ears, neck, hands and feet - the areas where the sunlight touched. I'll save you the shock of showing you a photo of my face then.
Long story cut short, it took about a month to settle and I finally met a skin specialist who told me what I had: PMLE. What?
Polymorphous Light Eruption. A fancy word for sun allergy.
But this was all of a sudden - I've never had it before.
Since then I discovered that the problem was essentially to do with my immune system being tricked into suddenly thinking that the sunlight could harm me.
What really puzzled me was that this was all very new!
Sounds like your Seasonal Skin allergies, Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis...?
It is called an allergy when your immune system begins to react to something that’s usually harmless. Those triggers, which doctors call "allergens," can include pollen, mold, and animal dander, certain foods, or anything that irritate your skin. For me, it was the sunlight. A lot of people think allergy sufferers are born that way, but alas, many can develop it as they age, like myself, rather than be born with it.
There are many factors that contribute to an allergy to develop, which may be largely environmental things such as food we consume or product chemicals we're constantly exposed to.
One thing was for sure after my first PMLE surprise shock, I NEVER wanted to experience it again. I spent sleepless nights researching, and finally came to accept that there's no cure, but you can learn to keep it under control.
So I eliminated the following from my daily routine to reduce the chemical impact on my skin as much as possible:
- Perfume
- Soap, Shampoo and Conditioner with SLS, SLES
- Scented laundry washing powder
- Facial and body cream with heavy fragrance
Sun hat, sunscreen and long sleeved clothes are my best friends during the summer days, but I can still enjoy being outdoors and for the last five years, I have not experienced another outbreak.
Nurture your skin naturally, NOT with possible allergy irritants
I can't recommend using skin care products without SLS and parabens enough, for the benefit of your whole family.
The harmful effects of these chemicals in our mass-produced everyday personal care items are well published in various places on the internet, but few people actually care enough to put it into practice. It is largely because these big brand products are a lot more accessible and way cheaper to buy.
But please read the labels. If it contains SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and chemicals that end with "parabens", DO NOT BUY.
If you learn the long term effects of these nasty chemicals, such as cancer, the bargain price is simply not worth it.
I have more info and reference websites under Our Story, but also found this one to share:
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SLS FREE PRODUCTS
The best way to nurture your skin and prevent allergen contact is by using natural products. I have listed the skin benefits of many natural ingredients in our Well-Being Range page, which you may find useful for your own research.
So the Story continues...
So this is what got me here, on a soap-making journey, so I can help people nurture their skin naturally.
I remember having to take 2-3 weeks off work when I had the PMLE outbreak, sitting in front of a fan blowing on my face all day, and all I could think about was how horrible I felt under my own skin. So If you're experiencing any big or small skin issues, I know, and I feel your pain.
Using natural products may not have an immediate impact like steroids, but over time, you will not regret in giving it a go.
If you're interested in hearing more, have any questions or want to try the Well-Being soaps, please get in touch :)
I remember having to take 2-3 weeks off work when I had the PMLE outbreak, sitting in front of a fan blowing on my face all day, and all I could think about was how horrible I felt under my own skin. So If you're experiencing any big or small skin issues, I know, and I feel your pain.
Using natural products may not have an immediate impact like steroids, but over time, you will not regret in giving it a go.
If you're interested in hearing more, have any questions or want to try the Well-Being soaps, please get in touch :)
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