My Allergic Reactions - Sensitive Skin

Quick Intro

This is a very difficult topic for me to talk about. I didn't really want to upload photos on the internet of my allergic reactions because they really are ugly. However, I think it is extremely important to send a powerful message across to everyone regarding products you're applying to your delicate skin.

Please do not just apply any product on your skin! Research and speak to people about the products or you may suffer long term damage to your skin!

This blog post is about a recent experience with a brand that has caused long term damage to my skin. I'm going to be telling you about my skin before the incident, a bit about the brand that caused my allergic reactions and finally my skin now.

As a result of my severe allergic reaction, I was prescribed steroids, antibiotics and given two different creams.

BEFORE

My skin type was combination and my skin was not sensitive. I also had clear skin luckily and never really had a big outbreak of spots. Sometimes during my period, I would get the odd spot.

This is me make-up free. I had just got my hair dyed red so you may see red around my forehead! Haha

Arbonne Incident

Back in October 2014, (one year ago) I was given the opportunity to try some skincare products from Arbonne and I took that chance to trial the products for a few days. I absolutely loved trying different products from different brands and basically thought my skin could handle absolutely everything as I didn't have sensitive skin.

Unfortunately, the experience was absolutely awful which resulted me being severely allergic to the products and now I am suffering long term damage to my skin as a result of the products. Please note that the products will not affect everyone in the same way. I did a review on my horrific experience using Arbonne skin products so if you wish to have a read of my experience, please click here. 

I'm still really unsure why my skin has reacted this way but my guess is that the products that were given to me to trial were already opened and could have been contaminated. I was stupid enough to still apply the products to my skin but the way I see it, when you go into shops and there are samples there for you to try, they are already open. I never had an allergic reaction from sample products from shops so I didn't think anything of it when I applied the Arbonne products to my skin.

The Arbonne skin care range I tried.

After

My skin type is still combination. My skin was not at all sensitive before the Arbonne incident. However, ever since applying Arbonne skin products, I have been suffering from random allergic reactions which have been so bad that I had to go seek doctors advice. My skin is now also incredibly sensitive which is really upsetting as before I didn't need to worry about what I was applying to my face. Now, I have to be extremely careful with products I pick up and try.

The photos I will be showing you really don't show how bad my skin was when I had a severe allergic reaction which is really annoying. My doctor has now arranged for me to go see a dermatologist however I have to wait a couple more months before my appointment.

Products I used in the past, I can no longer use including Johnson's face wipes (moisturising for dry skin) which I used all the time before. They are now too strong for my skin so now I have to use Simple face wipes and Johnson's extra-sensitive face wipes. I also have to look for products that are only suitable for extra sensitive skin which really limits the amount of products I can use.

The photo below shows the random severe allergic reaction I suffered. I have a feeling this was due to using the Johnson's face wipes (moisturising for dry skin) as it really felt like my face was burning when I wiped my face with it. I suffered from redness and extremely dry flaky skin for about 2 weeks before my skin got progressively worse. My face and neck started swelling up and the redness got worse and eventually my face and neck swelled so much that I could barely open my eyes and my face stung so bad. My neck was also infected from me scratching because the reaction was incredibly itchy so I scratched during the night when I slept. My face was burning so much that I went to grab ice and I iced my face and neck but the next day, my face and neck were so bad I had to go see my doctor. I actually looked like someone who had suffered from burns to my face and neck because my skin was that red raw. Unfortunately, the photos don't really show this.

I was living in London for work and my doctor was all the way in Sussex. Unfortunately, this came at the worst time as there was a tube strike in London therefore I had to get an Uber to Victoria station and of course I did not want to be seen by anyone in the state I was in so I wore the biggest sunglasses in an attempt to hide my face and neck! The journey took 3 hours to see my doctor.

Severe allergic reaction to my face and neck. You can see my face is really swollen and I can barely open my eyes.

My mother picked me up from the station and was absolutely shocked when she saw my face. Likewise, my sister was scared when she saw what I looked like. She said I didn't even look like myself. When I saw my doctor, she immediately knew it was an allergic reaction and was feeling really sorry for me.

Due to the severe allergic reaction, I was given steroids to take for 7 days along with antibiotics for my infected neck and cream to apply over my face and neck. I have now been referred to a dermatologist.

Luckily, my skin got better after about 4 days of taking the medication.

However, my skin has never fully healed. I have been suffering from random allergic reactions but luckily they haven't been as extreme as above.

Reaction on my cheek.

Redness above my eye and on my cheek.

Conclusion

Now that you've seen photos of my allergic reactions, please do not just apply anything to your face. Really research products and speak to people about the different products.

I have to be extremely careful with what I apply on my face and neck now to reduce the chances of suffering from another allergic reaction.

Also, if you have an advice for me, please post a comment or send me a message as I'd love to hear from you if you know anything about skin :)