Thursday, March 5, 2015

Lupus Rash Discoveries

Hi guys! I just wanted to update you all. I've had some wicked flares lately and I wanted to share something with you all. I get the typical, textbook but extreme malar rash every time I have a flare. I'm lucky enough to have a mother in law who's an esthetician. So, during my last flare, she wanted to try to help. I was definitely skeptical because usually nothing helps the rash. It feels like my face is on fire and it looks insane! But she's an amazing woman and as you know from my past posts, she bends over backward to try to help in a any way she can, even if it's small. 

You all probably know where I'm headed, IT WORKED! And I do mean worked! It helped that heat that we all know and hate and it looked much better! So, if you need some release from your skin, talk to a person who does facials. A lot of cosmetologist a do it, but there are also people like my MIL, who are trained just for skin. I know it goes without saying, but I feel I should anyway, tell them you have lupus.(it can limit some of the services they can do and will help them determine the best product to use.) 
I don't know about you, but when I'm having a flare, something as "simple" as helping alleviate the rash can do a lot to make me feel better. If you find a good one, they can work wonders! Also it's relaxing! Which you all also know, can help with the length and intensity of the flare. Stress can trigger and amp up a flare easily! The photos attached were taken the same day. As you can see the results are kind of amazing. Also, that one treatment from her seemed to fend off the rash for the entirety of the flare. (I had to do normal skin care myself, but just cleanser and moisturizer.) some of the products can be pricey, but again if you find a good skin care professional, they'll provide you with samples to help you find what works best for you! I'll try to include more information later, such as products and such. The thing I do want to add is to read the product labels on your skin care products. For example, because I get the rash so badly and easily, (literally 30 seconds of sunlight turns me into tomato head) I bought and was using a neutrogena moisturizer that had SPF in it. I didn't think to look any further because I'd made a good choice is choosing a good moisturizer that also had sunblock in it, or so I thought! Upon further inspection of the ingredients and warnings (by my MIL lol) it turned out that the product actually had a warning that it can cause your skin to be more suseptable to the sun and cause sunburn and hyper pigmentation! So please be aware of that and of the word "fragrance" in skin care product ingredients. I've researched this on the advice of several skin professionals. It turns out the word "fragrance" in an ingredient list on products is basically the word they use if they don't want to list a product. I just always thought the word "fragrance" was just the ingredient to give the product it's scent. However, it turns out skin care (and other) companies get by, by listing potentially "harmful" or less than desirable ingredients to the trained eye, by simply listing "fragrance". I know this is kind of boring, but I thought it was pretty enlightening. Just be the judge of the photos. Just a small side note, these photos were taken in February and I had NO sun exposure!! 

These were taken with no filters or editing. I tried to use the same pose, lighting. Etc. so the differences could be seen!