Exfoliating with Eczema Review

Recently I published an article talking about my experience exfoliating with eczema. It was something I wanted to try out and I figured others may be considering it as well. Going into that post, I had mixed emotions. I'm not easily hurt.

My concerns

I wasn't worried about the pain, but more so about underlying damage to my skin or if I would make my condition worse in the long run. I wasn't worried about what other people would think of me because honestly if someone clicked on the article or video, it's likely they've considering the same thing or something similar.

Eczema criticism

Living with atopic dermatitis or atopic eczema is not easy. It's different from IBD, which I also live with, in many ways. One of the main ways being that the condition is very visible. It's so visible it becomes problematic after a while. People look at you differently. They talk about you. They wonder if you're contagious. People judge you without even realizing they are.

A basic understanding

While I've found that when/if I tell a someone I have eczema, they become much more understanding. I've found that a lot of people do have at the very least, a very basic understanding of Eczema. Most people I talk to understand my condition is not contagious. They understand I will not "spread my Eczema" to their child.

Eczema connections

I've found that people can become pretty compassionate because either they themselves have struggled with it at some point in life, or they have a friend or loved one who has the condition too.

Trying something different

While this is all very true, I still wanted to test exfoliation. The idea of it all just seemed appealing to me.

There's no harm in trying

If you can just peel away dead skin cells, why wouldn't this make my arms look at least a tiny bit better? Why couldn't I peel away my dry skin? I realize there is no cure for my condition. Trust me, I, unfortunately, do understand that sad truth. If there were a cure I would be in the first thing smoking to the hospital to set an appointment. After living with this condition basically since birth, you can say I'm a little tired of it!

My review

So I understand there's no cure and no magic exfoliation trick would be able to heal my skin forever. However, I did think maybe, just maybe, it could make my arms a little more appealing. Maybe ease a flare or serve as something I could do in the future to help with the itching or aggravation. While I still am not 100% against exfoliation of eczema, I wouldn't promote it either. I wouldn't tell my friends to do it, nor would I encourage you to even try.

Unclear results

I am about 48 hours post exfoliation and my skin does look better, but who's to say exfoliation was what caused that? Maybe it was the charcoal or lack of moisture? Who knows?! It's cool to try new things, I will continue to try new things. That basically sums up my opinion on the topic. Exfoliation is exfoliation. No guarantees when it comes to eczema.