Real Life Stories
Guidance for confident skincare choices
Silver serum clears teaching assistant's agonising adult acne just before she resorted to medication
Caroline, 29, is a school assistant from London Caroline says; “I've also been prone to getting a few spots, but about three years ago my skin started developing bumps under the surface that wouldn't go away. They were red and really painful and would takes days to emerge. What started with a few painful bumps over a period of months developed into something worse. It felt like my skin justblew up and it came out of nowhere. Often people can identify a reason why their skin erupts such as a period of high stress or something else to do with their health but there was nothing in my life to indicate why it happened. The only thing I can identify as perhaps being the cause was that I came off the contraceptive pill. I went and saw my doctor and he referred me to a dermatologist who prescribed me two gels, both which made my acne worse. I put the first gel on at night and by the morning I felt like ripping my skin off. The other one made my face really red and dry and people asked me if I was sunburned. I tried both for about 4-5 months but the side effects continued and the spots actually got worse. It got the point whereby I stopped going out. I stopped meeting up with friends. I didn’t even like commuting into work on the train. I even had members of the public coming up to me to recommend products to me. One time I was on tube on the way home. Two young boys kept calling me names under their breath and the kids at school were always starring at my skin. Some of the other teachers at work even asked me if everything was alright. It felt very humiliating. I became really self-conscious about my skin and honesty began to get a bit depressed. I was in a relationship and it began to affect that too. Luckily, we had been together for a long time but I felt really unattractive all the time and so I simply didn’t want to go out. It caused friction but my partner was really understanding. After about eight months of continuous painful red bumps under my skin, and extreme rawness because of the dermatologist’s prescription gels, I decided enough was enough. I went back to the dermatologist and he told me to stop taking the gels and suggested I took a stronger acne medication. I was terrified as I knew all the side effects of this medication, and I had read that it can cause depression, which really worried me. I was in the middle of a really difficult dilemma about whether to begin on a course of medication that I needed to take for months and all the possible problems and side effects that might come with it when my mum reminded me of an article she had sent me about this Silver Serum that had worked miracles for a women with adult acne who was about my age. At the time I had dismissed it as rubbish as I believed the dermatologist’s suggestions were the best route for me. My mum was very insistent so eventually I dug out the article and read it. I thought maybe I should try one last-ditch attempt before I went down the medication route but to be honest I mostly wanted to appease my mum who was very against me taking strong medication for my skin. I ordered some of the Silver Serum and I told my mum I’d give it one month and if I didn’t see any improvements I was going to begin on the course of medication. It was the best decision I could have made.The first thing I noticed about Silver Serum was that it didn’t hurt when I put it on, which was a big deal as at the time almost everything I put on my skin hurt. Within a week I started seeing my skin calming down. The underlying redness and soreness were the first things that started to disappear. Within four weeks the red and painful bumps under my skin had begin to subside. Within approximately two months my skin was more or less clear. It was the first time it had been clear for almost two years. I felt elated and hugely relieved. It was like a dark cloud had passed. I now use silver serum every day without fail and thank goodness I never had to resort to taking the acne medication. I'd recommend anyone considering acne medication to try this serum first. If you're in the same position I was in then you have nothing to loose. My skin has remained more or less free of acne for a year now and is also softer and smoother. The serum has also completely cured the dryness that I had on the skin between my acne. I recently went to a make-up course and I was asked if I could be the model as my skin was so good. It was ironic because a year before I think they would have tried everything they could to avoid using me. Actually I would probably never have gone to a make up turorial with my skin looking as it did. Of course, I still get the occasional spot here and there as therre is no such thing as a compete acne cure, but during the day and especially in the evenings when I can feel a spot forming under the skin, I do my evening routine and apply silver serum before I go to sleep and by morning the emerging spot has calmed right down and is less painful and less red and it usually goes within a few days without actually breaking out. Althougth I hate to admit it I wish I'd listened to my mum sooner!"
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Young woman who developed rosacea as a teenager finds magical concealer that cleared her skin
Danielle, 26, a retail Supervisorfrom Birmingham began getting the first symptoms of rosacea when she was just 19 years old. Danielle says; “My rosacea started on my right check when I was nineteen. Before that I had had no acne of any other skin issues. It then spread to my other cheek and then to my nose. More recently, it spread to my chin and forehead too. I have Papulopustular Rosacea, which means I also get painful puss filled spots of all sizes, along with my redness and bumpy skin. I’m unsure how it began, I’ve found that stress is one of my main triggers but I am now tracking my diet to see if there are any dietary triggers that are possibly effecting my rosacea and acne breakouts. I honestly didn’t know what to do when I first started getting symptoms. At the time I thought I was having a late acne spell from puberty. People, including most doctors, think rosacea only effects older people but that is not correct. It can start in your teens as it did with me. It can also start anytime in your 20’s or 30’s. This is a fact that needs more awareness as rosacea is often misdiagnosed in younger people as doctors assume it’s just normal acne. As time went on and I got older, the flare ups continued and my rosacea started to be evident all the time and progressively got worse. It became clear to me that this was something other than late onset teen acne. My rosacea progressed to cover nearly my whole face. The redness also deepened and my breakouts have because more frequent and aggressive too. I went to my GP several times about my skin and received many types of creams and a very strange dab on liquid to try and treat both my acne and rosacea. None worked as I think they were all meant for normal acne and I was eventually referred to a dermatologist. The dermatologist diagnosed me with rosacea and gave me a cream that seemed to calm it down for a few hours a day. However, after prolonged use, it wasn’t having the same effect as it did at the start. My rosacea has made me feel terrible for years. Looking at myself in the mirror every day. Seeing how the rosacea was spreading was worrying and it progressively started damaging my confidence, self-esteem and my mental health as there was no reprieve. A few months ago, I suffered from a very aggressive breakout. It was covering my chin and forehead and on the side of my mouth. I’ve struggled mentally with my skin disease as its had got worse. It’s been hard to have feelings of positive self worth, especially when trying to get into relationships and keeping a brave face when at work. It’s a vicious circle too, when you’re suffering mentally already and then look in the mirror and can feel and see your skin hurting. It was hard to stay positive, especially when you are constantly having to deal with people’s reactions. Last year I was making my way to work. The train was quite crowded and a lady took the empty seat next to mine. As she got up to leave the train, her son, who was about 15 years old followed her off and as they left he said; “Let’s get off before you get infected mum”. It scares me that I might have rosacea for many more years. In some cases it can go away but often it stays well into your 40’s and even older. I’ve came to feel more at ease with my rosacea but I find it very hard when I get a really bad flare up. I used to feel alone with my skin disease but since finding positive influencers on Instagram and seeing more people go through what I do, it helps me stay a bit more positive Since starting my Instagram account about my rosacea, I’ve been posting more of my bare skin and showing my bad flare ups instead of always trying to filter photos or trying to cover up my rosacea with thick make up. It was through this that I heard about Kalme skincare for rosacea. I was quite sceptical at first as I’ve tried so many products that either don’t work or make my skin worse but I did my research and read many other testimonials from people who had tried the products and you could tell they were genuine. It was these that really convinced me to try the products. It was a matter of weeks before I started to see a significant improvement in my skin after starting to use the Kalme products. I was having quite an aggressive flare up when I started with the products and within days I noticed my skin become smoother with far less texture. After a month of using the Kalme rosacea cream set, my skin is so much smoother and my painful breakouts have hugely reduced and in several areas of my skin they have completely cleared. I used the whole skincare range, which is recommended, but the Kalme Chameleon Concealer is the standout product that really worked wonders for me. It has a long list of ingredients in it that help combat the various symptoms of rosacea from redness, dryness to sensitivity as well as a mineral SPF to protect against UV related flares. Then on top of all that it contains a rosacea concealer that covers redness but looks really natural due to clever tone-matching technology that adapts to the daily changing skin tones that come with having rosacea. Each day my skin can be a different tone, but the concealer adapts to this. It feels like everything you need to combat the different and difficult issues with rosacea have been put it into one little bottle.”
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Mum with fibromyalgia experienced lower back pain worse than childbirth
Fibromyalgia sufferer and mum of two Michelle, 37, is a finance manager from Suffolk and married to Wil, 38, a quantity surveyor. Michelle says: “I have psoriasis, which has caused psoriatic athritis in my hands but it has never spread from there. The first symptoms of my fibromyalgia thatI noticed was when a naging muscle pain began developing mostly in my leg and thigh muscles but I also had muscle spasms and muscle pain in my back. I assumed I had a virus or somethig but when it didn't go away I asked my doctor about it as I wonderd if maybe my hand athritis had spread but my doctor told me that this was nothing to do with my psoriatic arthritis. By the start of lockdown the pain in my thighs and lower back muscles had got so bad I didn’t know where to turn, and at this stage not a single doctor I had seen, which was many, suggested it might be fibromyalgia. During lockdown it was truly awful as I couldn’t even get any form of medical advice and just had to try and cope at home on my own taking cocktails of painkillers while looking after the kids. Throughout the pandemic, during which time my undiagnosed fibromyalgia was at its worst, I was in so much pain that for several months I was literally unable to leave the house so even the small amount of exercise I was allowed to do was reduced to almost nothing! Just after the second lockdown my children went back to school and the day after I experienced pain in my lower back worse than childbirth, it was relentless, it went on for a couple of weeks like this and I couldn’t even watch TV or read as it was agony even just sitting down. When I finally got an appointment with the doctor after months of waiting, I was eventually sent for a pain test and after a lot of back and fourth they finally diagnosed me with fibromyalgia in April last year, but I feel I’ve had it for about the last five years. Despite my diagnosis the only medical advice and help I’ve been offered is to softly exercise as much as possible, practice relaxation techniques and take prescription painkillers, which I was already doing and which by this time barely touched the pain as I think I’m more or less immune to painkillers after having taken so many in the past. Trying to exercise or relax when your leg muscles are screaming with pain is no easy task and more often than not I was in too much pain to push my muscles into exercise. The most difficult pain I struggled with was pain in my thighs. They throb even when I’m just sitting down, it means I can never relax and it makes it very hard to sleep. Despite getting diagnosed with fibromyalgia I’d given up any hope of medical help as there seemed to be nothing the doctors could offer me that I hadn’t tried already. I was desperately searching for natural joint pain relief and natural muscle pain relief alternatives that didn’t need a prescription as my prescription painkillers were having little or no effect on my thigh and back pain and my tummy was getting upset by taking so many. That’s when I came across Actimas Celafen. I read a review of it online from a mum with fibromyalgia who was aroud the same age as me. She said it had worked wonders for helping to manage her pain flares and so I checked out more reviews for Celafen and I found load from fibromyalgia sufferers saying it had really helped reduce their muscles spasms and pain. I was convinced enough to give it go and ordered some. I started using it in May last year shortly after my official diagnosis due to the excruciating pain in my right thigh, which was literally driving me to despair. The results were virtually instant and such a relief. My right thigh at the time was throbbing and I remember rubbing the cream into it and the pain starting to ease within a matter of about half an hour. It felt miraculous. My other high pain area is my lower back and if my arms were long enough I’d be rubbing Celafen into my back day and night. My husband Wil helps me when he’s around. My muscle pain gets much worse in winter when the weather takes a colder turn, so the current cold snap has been really challenging fo rme but Celefen has helped me get through it better than any winter since I began getting symptoms. During the much warmer weather last summer and after using Celafen over the Spring my symptoms had hugely improved to the point I was able to use no pain killers at all for several days in a row by the end of last summer. Things improved so much I even started being able to do a few outdoor activities with Wil and the kids, which I haven’t been able to do since before lockdown. But as the colder weather arrived just befor Christmas, the pain in both my thighs returned but this time I was prepared and started using Celafen more often, about 2-3 times a day on my thighs and on my back and so far the pain has been significantly less than it has been for about five years at this time of year. The brain fog and fatigue have come back with a vengeance but at least I’ve been able to lessen the physical pain in my legs and back, which mean I can relax and sleep more easily, which then helps ease the other symptoms. I’ve been recommending this miracle cream to friends and people I know with joint pain and most of them have had similar results to me. I'd recommend this cream to anyone suffering from fibromylagia who is looking for natural fibromyalgia pain relief and wants to cut down on their reliance on prescription painkillers. It's made a huge difference to my pain management programme.”
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Abusive relationship triggered marketing consultant's cystic acne
Taylor, 22, is a marketing assistant from Chichester Taylor says; “I got teen acne like most other kids however it cleared up by the time I was about 16 and my skin was flawless. My acne unfortunately returned when I got into an abusive relationship when I was 18 and the stress caused my acne to come back with a vengeance, but this time it was cystic acne, which is more than just normal teen acne. My dermatologist told me that the emotional stress I was in due to my relationship was most likely the reason for my adult acne. At one stage my cystic acne was so bad, I had almost every single inch of my face covered in deep red cysts. When I was younger my acne worried me but as everyone else had it too, I didn’t feel so self-conscious. But when I developed cystic acne when I was older, after everyone else’s acne had cleared up it made me incredibly insecure, to the point I didn't want to leave my bedroom. I remember constantly staring at myself in the mirror so confused as to why I couldn't look like the other girls my age. Everyone would recommend different products which worked on their skin but what they were incapable of understanding is acne is an actual condition and it didn't mean I was unclean. My friends often talk about how they go to bed with their makeup and how they don't even have a face care routine yet their skin is flawless. I have such a thorough skin care routine for every morning and evening and have done so for years - yet I suffer with severe acne. It seems incredibly unfair. At 19, I was referred to a dermatologist through my doctor, so the experts could help me further as my acne was getting worse and worse. They put me on everything medicated that they had and finally at the end of last year I took a course of accutane. I was on it for four months. Thia only thing that U'd been precribed that had any effect, but the side effects were so awful that I didn’t want to take another course. And despite all the nasty side effects like very dry eyes and skin, hair loss, nosebleeds, my skin still didn’t clear as much as I expected it to. I’m normally one of the bubbliest, confident people you could meet, but when my acne was bad my anxiety levels were through the roof and I’d lose all my confidence. I’ve been lucky in that I have never been bullied about my acne like some people are. I’ve had a few people accidentally say things... somebody thought my acne was freckles in pictures and somebody else thought I'd got pink hair dye on my face – but they were not meaning to be nasty. I know so many other people who got picked on because of their acne. However, that was until I broke up with my ex towards the end of last year. He knew how insecure I was about my acne so he created an instagram account full of pictures of me with no make up on and started to follow all my followers. It was called 'Real life Taylor' and it was not a nice thing to have happen to me. This lead me to being diagnosed with BDD at the start of this year. I hated my face so much that I used to stare at it for hours. I thought I was so ugly. When I finally escaped my toxic relationship my whole face became red and swollen and very painful. I felt as if it was distorting the shape of my face because my skin was so inflamed. However I didn’t want to go back onto medications again so I tried everything else besides. Light therapy, face washes and every acne brand under the sun were all treatments I tried in the last six months. Before taking medication I I would rotate between over the counter acne treatments but all to very little effect. I became particularly depressed when my acne came back after taking medication. It was not as bad as before but I could feel it had the potential to get really bad again if I didn’t find something to try and control it and I didn’t want to take any medications again as my skin felt destroyed. Which is why I’m so grateful that I discovered Clarol Silver Serum through another acne sufferer via instgram. Without this product I think I’d have lost all hope. At first Silver Serum made my skin 'purge' a bit, so I wasn't 100% sure if it was going to work - but then after about two weeks my skin began to clear. First the redness and swelling reduced and then slowly but surely the deep painful lumps and bumps reduced until I was left with just normal ‘pimples’. Eventually after about a month they went too. I have combination skin... some areas very oily and others very dry and so it can look patchy in places and swollen in others, but when using Silver Serum my skin tone evened out and the inflammation and redness died down and the dry flaky patches disappeared within weeks. Two months on and I am now able to go out in public more or less make up free, which if you had told me this a year ago I would never ever have believed it. My skin isn’t perfect or flawless but it’s so drastically improved that I feel grateful most days when I look in the mirror. Even though its not perfect my skin now glows whereas before it looked dull and blotchy. I feel for the first time in my adult life I’m able to look at my skin and love it, despite the scars and the few spots that are still lurking around I feel like a long hard battle has finally been won and I love myself and my skin for surviving it. I really deserve to be loved and so does my skin. My skin now feels the clearest and healthiest it has felt for about two years.”
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Professional make up artist finds best natural solution for her blepharitis
1. Helen Andrew, 37, is a professional make up artist from Surrey. Helen says; first developed eye eczema symptoms in 2014 mainly during the winter months and this would be fairly consistent every year until 2020 when it became much worse. Painful styes began appearing on my eyes with an awful dry gritty feeling every time I blinked. Soon came the sore dry scaly patches again on my eyelids which aged my appearance, but the most worrying morning was waking up with extreme swelling to one of my eyes, It looked as though I had been beaten but without the bruising. The severity of these symptoms lasted throughout the entire summer of 2020, wracking my brains wondering if it was related to my hay fever? I cleanse my face thoroughly twice a day, why am I experiencing this issue? Due to covid I couldn’t see a doctor face to face and trying to diagnose the issue via phone and video call was becoming a challenge as my eyes really needed a closer look. I was eventually given the diagnosis of Blepharitis, with some great advice from my doctor on how this can been managed to subside the symptoms. There were times throughout 2020 where I could return to work. As a make up artist, working so closely to peoples faces, having sores and styes around my eyes made me feel anxious and worry I’d be judged as “looking” unhygienic. Skin conditions and hygiene play a huge part in make up artistry, if it looks as though I didn’t look after my own skin then would my clients have much confidence in me with theirs? Would they worry they’d catch something from me? Having these symptoms around my eyes made me feel gross and somewhat unprofessional, I would wear glasses just to help disguise the problem. Of course wearing make up would make the problem worse, but my face is an advert for my business. How do I explain to my clients that I’m a professional make up artist but I’m not wearing any make up, without highlighting the problems i am experiencing. Knowing how delicate the skin was around the eye I was very reluctant to putting steroid creams on it, I tried very small amounts of ezcema creams, i tried antihistamines, I also used a heated eye mask which is great for the styes and dry eye symptoms, along with eye drops. None of these were really making an improvement with the eczema on my eyelids. During 2020 I had to go to work whilst experiencing severe symptoms, working just inches from peoples faces. I felt anxious that Iwas being judged, I felt unprofessional, on my days off I didn’t want to leave the house, i would frantically search google for natural ways I could treat my symptoms. When I would go out, i would reach for the sunglasses when it wasn’t even sunny just to hide my eyes. And still to this day, when the eczema flares up usually during winter months, I’ll wear glasses to help disguise the problem. I didn’t feel confident in the job I was doing with my eyes looking how they were. I have had to cancelled social plans during times of flare ups because i the dryness ages me, I don’t feel good about the way I looked. I discovered Hydrosil Dry Eye Gel when I was searching the internet on natural remedies for eczema on the eyes. I knew using a natural product could be used safely for prolonged periods. I started to feel results instantly, the dry eye gel felt cooling and soothing immediately. I started seeing results within 48hrs and after just 4-5 days the dryness had improved hugely. I didn’t feel aged, my eyes were feeling much more comfortable and my confidence levels improved. Several months on I have been using the eye gel every day under my make up and so far I have barely had any flare ups. I still get mild itching and irritation but it’s nothing like it was before and barely affects me. I feel like I now have this awful eye condition very much under control which is a godsend for me professionally as well as personally.” Helen gives 10 tips on how best to manage an eye eczema or blepharitis flare when applying make up 1. As a general rule when having an eczema flare up on my eyes I tend to avoid putting any make up directly onto the irritated skin (ideally I would avoid all make up if and when possible). My flare ups are usually on the eye lid so avoiding eyeshadow where possible and using the Dry Eye Gel alone is key for me, but as a make up artist my face is an advert for my business, so wearing no make up at all is not an option. Here’s a few of my top tips for managing sensitive eyes: 2. Using Hydrosil Dry Eye Gel under make up has been a game changer for me! Just make sure you allow 5-10 minutes for the gel to really absorb into the skin before applying your make up, this will maximise the benefits without moving the gel when applying make up on top. 3. Try to stick to make up products that are described as Hypoallergenic or for use on sensitive skin - these tend to avoid the use of perfumes and allergens which can further irritate sensitive eyes. 4. Avoid make up which contains Talc, perfume and preservatives. These are all common irritants found in make up. 5. A lot of powder eyeshadows can contain Talc, so I would opt for a cream based eyeshadow to help avoid irritation. 6. Where possible during hay fever months use waterproof make up, watery eyes can result in your make up streaming down your cheeks which is a look we all try to avoid but make sure you remove this thoroughly at the end of the day to avoid clogged pores. 7. Waterproof make up is obviously more stubborn to remove and many waterproof make up removers can include harsh chemicals wich could irritate any flare ups on the eyes. I love using natural raw organic coconut oil, it’s safe on the skin, naturally antibacterial and is great at breaking down the products on your skin. I melt a small amount in my hands and massage gently into the skin paying attention to the lash area too, then rinse away with lukewarm water and continue with my cleansing routine (oils can clog the pores so it is important to use a hypoallergenic cleanser afterwards). Try Kalme Cream Cleanser which is water-free, chemical-free and gently removes any make up residue and oils without damaging or irritating senstive skin. The idea is to avoid any harsh rubbing or pulling on the skin or lashes which can cause friction on irritated skin. 8. Clean your eyes and lashes thoroughly! Asides from make up, we touch our eyes throughout the day usually without realising but especially during those hay fever months when rubbing our itchy eyes becomes more common. Our hands touch many surfaces throughout the day, gathering dirt we cannot physically see so daily cleansing is a routine we must get into the habit of doing! Cleaning the root of my lashes twice a day with diluted baby shampoo has hugely helped to keep my symptoms under control, dipping a cotton bud into the solution and running it along my lash line (top and bottom) really helps to remove the build up of bacteria that begins to form on the lashes through the use of make up and the general outdoor elements, pollution and dirt etc. I use one end of a clean cotton bud for each lash line to avoid cross contamination. 9. I use eye drops twice a day (to manage a dry eye condition) but throughout spring/summer I pop these into my bag to help relieve any dry and scratchy symptoms I may experience on the go. 10.I highly recommend to patch test anything new you’re thinking of trying on the skin.
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Donkey milk salve allows Scottish mum with eczema to finally go swimming with her kids
Mum of two Megan, 24, is a planning officer from Lanarkshire in Scotland. “I’ve had eczema since I was a baby, in all my baby photos you can see is very clearly. It runs in my family too so I’m guessing I inherited it. Growing up I was picked on in school by other kids thinking I had a “disease”. I received many hurtful comments and once someone made a comment everyone else joined in. It was relentless. As an adult many people have given me unsolicited advice or told me to put moisturiser on which as someone who has suffered from eczema for 24 years… is upsetting and annoying because it’s like people assume I’m just kind of not noticing my awful skin, when obviously I’ve tried literally everything and am aware of my skin 24/7. I think I’ve tried just about every cream the doctor is able to prescribe including steroids. Steroids work, however as soon as you stop using them, which you have to after a certain period of time, your skin goes back to how it was before. They can’t be used long term or during pregnancy. My eczema got a bit better in my later teens but then when I got pregnant with my first child it came back with a vengeance. During my first pregnancy I had the wore flare up I’ve ever had it appeared all over my face, neck, sides, arms, hands and even under my fingernails were red, raw, cracked and bleeding and it also appeared on my lips which had never happened before. After having my daughter, I was prescribed steroids again by my doctor to try and control the multiple eczema flare ups I was having. Despite the steroid creams the eczema flares were getting worse and worse and more frequent. In desperation and on someone’s advice I also tried sunbeds around three years ago to help with my eczema but as a pale, blonde Scottish girl, it did more harm than good. There were so many days when I didn’t want to go out of the house when my eczema was bad out of fear of people staring at me. If I did have to go out, I kept as much of my body covered as I could even when the weather was really warm. I first tried Hydrosil Turmeric Butter & Milk Salve earlier this year after reading about it on a review online when I was researching alternatives to steroid creams for eczema because I realised that I could not keep using them as much as I was. I was sacred they were permanently damaging my skin. The salve contained donkey milk, which on further research, I found a lot of information on in regard to it being excellent for treating eczema. I noticed straight away when I first applied the salve that unlike other creams it didn’t sting, which I was really shocked about considering the number of creams I’ve tried in the past and had this issue with all of them. After a few days of using the salve the redness and itching calmed down a lot and my skin felt less raw and sore. After about a week my skin was much smoother and calmer. It took around two weeks to notice the deeper cracks in my skin starting to heal. To be honest, the salve worked as well and as quickly as steroid creams but without any of the negative side effects, which for me was like a miracle. I was also able to use the salve every day indefinitely. I checked and double checked on the website and even rang the company up who makes it, and everything assured me that there is no limit on the time I could can use the salve, so I have literally been using it every day for the last five months and I’ve not looked back. I was really sceptical at first as everything I’ve tried previously targeted at eczema has let me down but I’m really glad I did my research and decided to give this a go, it’s made a massive difference and has become one of the most important steps in my eczema management routine. I’ve even managed to go swimming with my kids for the first time, something I’ve never done before with them as it meant having a lot of my body on show in public. Even day to day things like doing the dishes or cleaning I no longer dread doing or put off until last minute as it’s no longer unbearably painful, I just get on with it and apply the salve straight away. It’s honestly been life-changing for me.”
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Young woman with psoriasis tortured by splitting skin discovers life-changing skin remedy
Nicole, 24, from Staffordshire is an NHS claims administrator for an opticians Nicole says: “I got the first signs of psoriasis when I was about 16 years old. Both sides of my family have a history of psoriasis, so I am guessing I inherited it but usually your first psoriasis outbreak is triggered by something. It began as a small patch along my hairline at the back of my head and at the time I thought nothing of it, until I knocked the head off the scab and then it was downhill from there. I was in denial for a while about the spread of my psoriasis. I tried to brush it off as just some stubborn scabs. However, when it started to spread across my scalp, and creep down my neck other people began to notice and eventually my mum thought it best to take a trip to the doctors, even though I was still insisting it was nothing to worry about. After seeing the doctor numerous times, I was eventually referred to a dermatologist at the hospital who diagnosed me with psoriasis. With me being so young, the dermatologist wanted to try creams and ointments first before trying me on more invasive treatments or oral steroids. I tried many different types, but none seemed to work, and many just caused me more pain. When oral steroids were suggested, my mum and I were not too sure about them, due to the possible dangerous side effects. So, the dermatologist prescribed a steroid ointment instead, which did work, to a point. My psoriasis would clear up, but soon return not long after. Over time my psoriasis just got worse and more frequent. What started just on my head and neck, soon spread to more parts of my body. My worse flare up was probably the beginning of this year. It covered my stomach, my back, my neck, my forehead, my legs and my ears. It was honestly torture, I couldn’t move freely without my skin pulling or splitting. The damage to my skin from my psoriasis has triggered another skin condition called vitiligo, which causes patches of damaged skin to become permanently lighter than the rest. I’ll have this patchy skin damage forever. For the past few years, I had basically given up on psoriasis treatments as nothing was really working or if it did it was only for a very short period. I just focused on trying to get as much sunlight on my skin as I could and moisturising it 24/7. Both my confidence and mental health have of course been affected by my psoriasis, more so when I was younger. I would feel self-conscious because every time I moved, I would be dropping flakes of skin everywhere. I had to hoover my room and my bed every day. I just felt gross. People are so insensitive when it comes to psoriasis. I’ve had people ask about it, and when I explained, I would get responses like “you poor thing”. Like I’m not even a person, I’m a thing? Once a work colleague walked up to me after serving another customer with psoriasis and asked me if it was contagious with a scared look and pointedly washed their hands in front of me despite me telling them it wasn’t. Things like that are so hurtful. I’m sure like many people with psoriasis, I’m always researching it online and like to read about any new treatments or read accounts from other psoriasis sufferers who have maybe found something I haven’t already heard of that helped them. My family does the same, we always take an interest in anything to do with psoriasis. That was how I first read about Oregon Skincare earlier this year. It was actually my sister who read about it first. The company who makes it, who are in the UK, were asking people with psoriasis if they wanted to take part in a consumer trial on the products so after some more research to check if there were any steroids in the products, which there weren’t, and reading some fairly convincing reviews, I thought there was no harm in trying it, the samples were free after all. It was honestly one of the best decisions I’ve made. I saw a difference in my psoriasis in a week, I was honestly shocked at how quickly I felt the change. I could move and stretch without pain as the tights dry skin plaques became softer and more flexible. It was amazing. None of the creams I had tried before had achieved this. The Oregon Maintenance Cream seemed to work on a much deeper level than other creams I had tried. It was the first product to actually target the inflammation, and redness in my skin. The improvements with the Oregon cream would start in the middle of the affected area, and work its way outwards, like a ripple in water. It was honestly fascinating to watch the way it worked and how I could actually feel and see the progress of my regular skin returning. My entire outlook about my skin has changed dramatically since the effects of these products has progressed. I used to wear a lot of black, and hoodies to cover up my skin and kind of not be noticed too much, now I’ve actually started wearing lighter colours, and shorter sleeves and I feel much less self-conscious about people seeing me In a period of about two months most of my psoriasis is gone, only a few patches remain, and they’re clearing up quickly. The patches that are left are lighter in colour, softer and more flexible. This is what happened to the other patches that finally disappeared so I am confident that the few patches I have left will continued down the same progress route as the others that have now completely gone. Alongside the Oregon body cream and Oregon rescue serum, I have also been using the Oregon Anti-Plaque Shampoo and Conditioner for my scalp psoriasis. It feels like it’s doing miracles. My hair has never felt this soft and smooth and my scalp is more or less clear of plaques now. The products are lovely to use and smell nice. Before I was using prescription coal tar shampoos which were thick and smelt horrible like old tar and were largely ineffective. I still find it incredible that something that feels so nice c be so effective. When you have psoriasis, you get into position when you kind of accept that anything that may potentially work for your skin will sting and stink. Its like you have to suffer to get results. Oregon product have proved to me that this is not the case and its bee such an overwhelming relief to discover that.”
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Mum with lip scarring from cold sores finds life-changing cold sore prevention gel made from liquorice
Mum of two Louisa, 36, is a customer services advisor in the health care industry from East Sussex Louisa says; “I got my first cold sore when I was twelve years old. I think I inherited my cold sores from a family member as a few people in my family have them. During my teenage years I got cold sores more frequently and they were really painful. As I got older I also found that peanuts triggered my cold sores. As a teenager my cold sores were just terrible. I used to have days off school as they made me so upset and they were so painful. When I was at secondary school at aged about 14, I remember suffering with a whole crop of cold sores at the same time. I remember having to drink a cup of tea through a straw at one point as it was so painful. Cold sores continued to plague me throughout my adulthood. However, over the years I have learnt to sense when I am going to have a cold sore outbreak. I would always get a cold sore appear when I was having a night out or when a special event is coming up. They have ruined quite a few dates and special nights in the past. It’s always a stress leading up to any kind of special event, as you can be sure that a cold sore is going to totally ruin the day. When you get a cold sore you are always worried that your date is looking at it all time and it makes you feel very self-conscious. You try to cover them up but lip sticks just don’t work and can often make them even more inflamed. With each of my children I got a terrible outbreak afterwards, which is an extra worry as you can’t get your lips close to your baby when you have a live cold sore so you have to be really careful. I would sometimes get three cold sores at the same time, which was agony and also very upsetting as they were so visible. I’ve had people say to me things like ‘ewwww you have herpes! They look gross’ which always makes you feel great! If I got a cold sore at the office I would put a big scarf round my neck to try and cover it up or wear my hair down to try and disguise it. Cold sores really knock your confidence and you are always researching ways to try and get rid of them quickly which makes you even more stressed and upset. I now have a permanent scar on my lip where I have picked so many cold sores due to the anxiety they caused. I’ve tried literally all of the over the counter cold sore creams and patches. It was frustrating when people would try and recommend something to me and I would be like yep been there tried that and it didn’t work! Nothing from the chemist or on prescription ever worked for preventing or reducing my cold sores. I even resorted to trying toothpaste on them once, which stung like crazy and of course didn’t work. My life-changing dicovery came when my stepdad saw an article in the newspaper about a product called Lip Q Liquorice Rescue Lip Gel , which contains a concentrated extract of glycyrrhizic acid from liquorice root and had been trailed by the Herpes Virus Association and found to reduce the frequency and intensity of cold sores. Thank goodness my stepdad read that article because this lip gel changed my life. When I first started using LipQ Rescue Lip Gel the cold sores would emerge but wouldn't last as long as they did before and wouldn’t be as big or painful. But now after years of using the lip gel, as long as I apply it several times at the first sign of a tingle in my lip, the cold sore often goes away completely within a few hours without even developing into a sore. Or if a sore does appear sometimes, it’s much smaller and is so mild that hardly anyone would notice it unless I pointed it out. I also use the Lip Q Liquorice Balm daily as a lip balm which I has a preventative effect between cold sores. Then I use the rescue lip gel at the first sign of a tingle. There's no such thing as a cold sore cure as once you have the herpex simplex virus it never leaves your body. However these products 100% help reduce how many outbreaks you get and how severe they are. I now only get a few cold sores a year, whereas before they were every two months and much more severe.”
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Retired nurse with knee arthritis finds best natural arthritis cream helped delay knee replacement surgery
Judith, 77, is a retired nurse and married to Ray, a retired accountant from Halstead, Essex Judith says: "I had to have knee replacement surgery in my right knee in 2019 after I developed chronic osteoarthritis from a long nursing career. Luckily, I had the operation just before covid. The other knee which was also had less advanced knee arthritis was scheduled to be replaced too but it could not be carried out due to Covid. As my knee operation was cancelled I began researching things aside from painkillers I could take to help with natural pain relief and swelling of my left knee in case the surgery was delayed for a long time. I was taking two Ibuprofen a day which concerned me as it can cause stomach upsets and also has a blood thinning effect if you take them too regularly. As a nurse I know how bad the side effects of taking so many painkillers over a long period of time are and so I was very keen to try and find a form of more natural arthritis pain relief to manage the pain and swelling in my left knee. During my research I discovered that the spice Frankincense was excellent for bringing down the swelling from OA so I started searching for topical creams that contained it. Very quickly I came across Actimas B&C Joint Rub, which contained both Frankincense and Myrrh. I then researched Myrrh and found that also had great results for use on OA swelling and pain so I thought this product seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. As soon as I began using the B&C Joint Rub I noticed the difference. I put in on every night when my knee was sore and stiff and by morning the stiffness had really eased up. Before discovering this cream I was finding it hard to walk without pain. I could get just about down the end of our road before I had to sit down and my knee was throbbing. After using the B&C Joint Rub for a few weeks I was able to walk about a mile without too much pain, which was a huge improvement. I’d say now that the pain in my left knee has improved by about 70% and my mobility has notably improved. I was really surprised at the results, which were far better and longer lasting than any painkiller I had taken yet without the worrying side effects. The beneficial effect also seemed to be accumulative as my knee felt better and better as the weeks went on. Due to finding something that helps ease the pain and stiffness in my knee so effectively I’m not currently looking to book my knee replacement surgery right away. I know eventually I will have to have the operation but the longer I can put it off the better. I feel for now that if I barely ever need to take a painkiller and walking doesn’t cause me much pain then I don’t urgently need to have a knee replacement. I also take multivitamins daily, but other than that I don’t use anything else for my knee pain other than the B&C Joint Rub, it really is the most impressive product and I recommend it to everyone.”
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Restaurant manager whose rosacea was triggered by kitchen heat at work finds best concealer for rosacea
Mum of two Alexandra, 40, is restaurant manager from Hampshire Alexanda says; ‘Cooking and the heat of the kitchen is the absolute worst enviroment for my rosacea as the constant changes of temperature make my skin go crazy. In summer it's even worse as sometimes the heat in the kitchen at work is unbearable. At work I have to wear to wear loads of makeup, not to go outside too much if its really warm, wear cooling clothing and try and stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. My rosacea makes me feel very self-conscious in my job as I'm facing the public all the time. Its not uncommon for work colleagues to ask me with concern what is wrong with my face. At several stages my rosacea got so bad I began to even feel embarrassed if my husband or sons saw me without make up. All that’s changed since April this year when I discovered a rosacea skincare range that contains an extract of capers which turned out to be the Holy Grail for controlling my rosacea after over a decade of suffering. Until I was about thirty my skin was perfect. I started noticing the changes in my skin after I had my second son. The skin on either side of my nose and on my chin, started to look red and then I began to develop clusters of small pustules in the red patches. I didn't understand why I had started to get spots and why now when I’d never had so much as a blemish on my skin even as a teenager. Through my 30’s my rosacea flares got worse and more frequent. At first, I tried to hide it with makeup. However, when my rosacea started getting angrier, no matter how much makeup I put on the pimples would start to show through and the hotness of my skin would start to melt the makeup. I'd find myself at work having to re-apply make up several times during a shift. I tried so many face washes for acne and lots of creams from big brands. I also tried just about every product for sensitive skin from Boots. All of them just made my skin worse and worse. My rosacea really started to affect my confidence. I’m a restaurant manager alongside my husband and we interact with people every day. You have to smile and put a brave face, which was very hard when my skin could start to burn bright red at any moment, and I had pustules all over my cheeks. I went to my GP a few years ago about my worsening rosace and he advised me use a medical cream. At first it seemed to be having a positive effect but then it just stopped working and my rosacea came back with a vengeance and seemed to be getting worse than before I used the cream. I then saw a dermatologist who prescribed me a medication, but when I read the side effects it said there could be possible liver problems and so I decided I didn't want to risk it. By the start of this year my rosacea was worse than ever and I was so confused about what else to try but I’m a very positive person so I refused to give up hope. After researching online once again about rosacea, this time I was looking for a rosacea concealer to use as the one I’d been using had been discontinued, I found a very informative article on the best skin care products for rosacea. The rosacea concealer that was recommended was the Kalme Chameleon Concealer which was an actual treatment concealer for rosacea and not just a cosmetic like most of the previous concealer I’d bee using. It contained an extract from capers which claimed to reduce redness and sensitivity plus a load of other rosacea-fighting ingredients as well as being a tone-matching concealer at the same time. It felt too good to be true. Even though it was an independent article, I was very wary of fake marketing promises so I researched the product more widely and found a huge number of independent reviews on it from people with rosacea. Once I was satisfied that I’d done enough background research I decided to order it. Within the first few weeks of continuous use, as the name of the product suggests, my skin was much calmer, less red and less sensitive. The concealer also did exact;y what it promised, it changed tone each time I applied it to match my ever changing skin tones. It was like magic. On seeing the incredible results of the concealer, I quickly decided to purchase the whole Kalme Skincare Kit for rosacea, which includes a water-free cleanser, a de-sensitising base coat, a night cream, a serum and a day cream with an SPF40, which I can wear the concealer over the top of. Once I began using these product the results just got better and better. After over a decade of searching I feel I’ve found an ally in my fight against rosacea, which has improved about 90% since using the Kalme skincare system. It’s a huge relief and I can’t thank whoever made these products enough.”
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Young mum discovers donkey milk salve as the best eczema cream for her raw hands
Florance, 28, is a mum of two and a marketing executive from Buckinghamshire. Florence says; "I've had eczema my whole life. It cropped up when I was a baby and it’s never really gone away. There have been times that it’s been more manageable than others but it’s always there. I also had really bad asthma as a child, as well as being allergic to pet hair, and when I’ve been looking into eczema causes before I’ve heard that people with those two things often have eczema too, so I think they may all have been connected. Whilst I’ve grown out of my asthma and pet hair allergies, the eczema has stuck with me! Neither of my parents have eczema, but my younger sister does. My earliest memory of an eczema was me just itching and itching and itching my skin until it bled – almost zoning out until you can feel your hands are damp and sticky with blood from where you have quite literally torn your skin apart. It’s a very uncomfortable sensation but the itching is almost addictive. I was back and forth to the doctors for much of my childhood due to my eczema several times as a child. I’ve been prescribed several steroid creams over the years and whilst they sometimes, only sometimes, work at tackling the eczema in the moment, they certainly don’t prevent the eczema from coming back. I had a mild reprieve from my eczema in my early 20’s but then it returned with a vengeance when I got pregnant. The most aggressive flare up I’ve ever had was on my hands just after I had my second baby, in May 2023. Suddenly I was uncontrollably itching my hands for minutes at a time. They became red, sore and dry looking and the skin on y hand literally peeled skin. Not only where they sore but they also came with something I had never had before – dozens of mini blisters were cropping up right in the middle of the eczema, on the palm of my hands and on my fingers. They would burst whenever I got into an itching frenzy and this would cause them to get infected and then reappear. It was just horrendous. Previously my eczema has only ever been in places you can hide – inside my elbows, on my tummy, behind my knees. But you can’t hide your hands! It was also so stressful having a newborn who wants to chew on your fingers etc and having to keep your hands away because they’re all sore and horrible. Even my three-year-old made comments about how horrible my hands looked, so I knew what everyone else was thinking even if they didn’t say it. I was trying anything, literally, I could get my hands on to try and sooth my hand eczema but while a few things soothed it in the moment it would keep coming back and nothing was having an accumulative effect in dampening down the flare ups. I was on an endless search for something that I use on my hand eczema that didn’t contain steroids and which had a lot of independent reviews from eczema sufferers and that was when I discovered Hydrosil Turmeric Butter & Milk Salve. This product turned out to be ‘the one’ that I had been praying I would discover because not only did it work but it kept on working over time. I noticed a difference within a day of using it! The improvments increased quite rapidly over the course of a week or so, this was the first product to do that! The blistering was the last to go but nothing else I had tried had cleared them except this salve, which did eventually get rid of them. The best thing was it almost completely stopped the infuriating itching. I still had a bit of itching when I was washing my hands a lot or been stressed but one quick application of the Hydrosil salve and the itching quickly got under control and was completely gone within twelve hours. This is one of those products that’s been a life changer for an eczema suffers like me, I can’t recommend it enough.”
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Mum with hand psoriasis had to stop wearing her wedding ring until she found best psoriasis cream that cleared her hands
Mum of two Robyn, 33, is a call centre advisor from West Yorkshire and married to Kieran, a retail manager. Robyn has been suffering from severe hand psoriasis for almost ten years. Robyn says; "0In my mid-twenties I suddenly started to develop small patches of red blistered skin on my fingers. I didn’t know what it was and thought I had touched something that I was allergic to. However, over a period of a few months it quickly developed into chronic hand psoriasis that left my hands bleeding and cracked and in utter agony. At first I tried over the counter remedies as I thought it was just a rash but when the itching and soreness became unbearable I went to the doctor as I was at my wits end. I was told I had psoriasis and was given double base cream to begin with which helped a little but my hands would then regress back to the bloodied sore state they were in before. Then I was given Oilatum to try and soak my hands as well as using a treatment cream but this didn’t seem to make any difference at all. The worst thing was the hand psoriasis was just constant. Even when it did look like it was going to ease slightly it would come back full force. The colder weather seemed to make it even worse. When I was 28, it was a hard winter and my hands literally turned into what looked like pieces of raw red meat. I was in so much pain I used to cry in the mornings when I woke up and had to start using my hands to do things and so help the kids get dressed. I kept going back to the doctors and they would try another cream and that wouldn’t work either. I felt so isolated as no one seemed to be able to help me. I tried different diets and natural remedies after researching stuff online. For a while I tried a more plant-based diet which did ease some symptoms a bit, but my hands would still flare red and be very sore on a regular basis. Having such visible hand psoriasis is awful as everyone looks at your hands. You can see people being worried about touching things after you have touched them, like credit cards in shops or keyboards at work. I had to stop going to have my nails done as I could see the girls didn’t like touching my hands. I even had to stop wearing my wedding ring as my fingers were so sore, which was the thing that upset me most. During one of my nightly online searches for something I hadn’t tried already I came across a review of Oregon Serum made from a plant root called Oregon Grape Root. I was surprised to see that the product was made in the UK which I found comforting as most lotions and potions for psoriasis are from far flung places and I had lost faith in all of them. The review was from a young mum like me with hand psoriasis and so much of what she said resonated with me that I did some more research into the product. I found many more independent reviews from hand psoriasis sufferers in the UK who’s psoriasis also suffered from the cold weather like me that I was convinced enough to order the serum. That was three months ago and it feels like my life has changed so much since then. Within two weeks the serum had really reduced the soreness and within 3-4 weeks it had started to reduce the dry raised cracked skin so that I was left with smaller reddish smoother patches as opposed to large raised cracked patches that covered my whole hands. After 6-8 weeks my hands were almost clear of psoriasis patches and now three months later you wouldn’t even know I have hand psoriasis. The serum also wasn’t sticky and gloopy like so many other products I had tried and it smelt pleasant. Most psoriasis treatment stink. I honestly do not think it’s an exaggeration to say that this serum has changed my life. It is literally the only thing that has worked to significantly reduce my hand psoriasis. I still have little flare ups now and then but they go quickly and in between my hands are like brand new. I’m able to show them off now and more importantly wear my wedding ring again which means so much to me.”
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Mum with adult acne mistakenly prescribed steriods that made her skin livid finds 'miracle' solution in a serum made with silver
Mum of two Katie, 36, from Leicestershire is a receptionist and engaged to Luke, a garage owner. Katie says; “I've always suffered with sensitive skin and was prone to rashes and allergic reactions but after the birth if my first daughter I starting suffering from adult acne, especially on my cheeks. Although I’ve suffered from sensitive skin most of my life I have never had acne, even as a teenager so when my skin broke out in puss-filled spots and my cheeks went a deep red, I panicked. I didn't want to leave the house. I immediately went to see my doctor who didn’t really know what was happening with my skin so prescribed me a water-based cream which didn’t work. I thought the spots and redness were a reaction of some sort and would disappear as quickly as they arrived, but they didn’t. In fact my acne just went from bad to worse. I spent literally hundreds on every cream possible for trying to get rid of the spots, but with each one I tried my skin got progressively worse and more reactive. I've been prescribed a number of different treatments over the years for my adult acne. At one stage I was prescribed steroid creams which shouldn't really be used on the face and are not a solution for adult acne. I was also given an antibiotic gel as well as antihistamines, all in a failed effort to try and calm my furious red spotty skin. I have also tried everything from cheap supermarket brands up to expensive creams claiming to calm down redness and reduce acne, but whether cheap or expensive, nothing worked. Even though some days were better than others, over time my acne just got worse and worse and became permanently visible. It cumulated in my worst flare up ever was just after Christmas this year when my whole face was bright red sore and felt like it was burnt and I had furious acne all over my cheeks.When I have bad flare ups like that, I hate going out in public as always think everybody is looking at me, I'll make excuses to cancel plans as my confidence really takes a battering when my acne is in full swing. I was spending my evenings when the kids had gone to bed researching adult acne and reading accounts from people who were suffering from similar symptoms to me who might recommend something I hadn’t already tried before and that was when I heard about Clarol Silver Serum. There were a lot of accounts of adult acne sufferers saying it had been the only thing that had properly worked for their skin. The way it worked and what people said about it was different from most of the products I have tried. It claimed to work by building up the skin’s good skin bacteria which gets damaged through multiple flare ups and especially by strong anti-bacterial products and antibiotic creams which I had been using a lot of. My skin felt hyper reactive and very sore and fragile and while having acne I also had very dry patches of dry tight skin, all of which they said were the signs that my good skin bacteria was very low. So, I ordered some of the serum to see if it worked for me and it was honestly the best thing I have done. Within a week there was a huge improvement in my skin. The acne started to recede and the underlying redness began to reduce. It was also amazing because from the first day I used the serum it didn’t sting. By that stage almost everything I put on my skin, even water, stung so that was a really good first indication to me that this product was going to be good for my skin. The Silver Serum not only reduce my acne but it also reduced the redness and soreness of my skin too. After about a month of use twice a day my skin is almost clear of acne but it also has a smoother texture and is much less red and reactive. It feels and looks better than it has in years. The improvement is incredible. Acne is a complicated skin condition and I know there is nothing that works the same for everyoneI I'm not saying this product will either, but it felt to me like a miracle acne cure for my skin.”
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New mum who couldn't change her baby's nappy due to her painful hands finds best solution for hand psoriasis without steroids
New mum. Kiri, 31 from Derbyshire, who sufferrs from with severe hand psoriasis and didn't want to use steroids on her hands in case she got the cream on her baby's skin had to wear socks on her hands in order to nurse her newborn baby as they were so cracked and painful. Kiri was in complete agony and despair until she discovered a solution for her hand psoriasis with Oregon Rescue Serum which cleared her hands in a matter of weeks and allowed her to hold her young son's hands again. Kiri says; “My psoriasis first broke out when I was pregnant with my second son. It started off kind of manageable but over the months went from bad to worse and I was eventually referred to a dermatologist. I still don’t know what triggered my psoriasis as no one in my family has it so it wasn’t genetic. I’m worried that now it has started with me that it might be passed on to my sons. I’ve been prescribed numerous strong steroid creams for my hand psoriasis, which after a while began to thin and damage the skin on my hands. I’ve also been prescribed other topical creams for my hands. To add to my stress after giving birth to my second son I was really worried about touching him if I had any trace of such steroid creams on my hands. But then if I didn’t use the creams my hands were so painful and sore I found it hard to change my baby or wash him. It was a really awful experience because when you have a very young baby, you need to always be touching them and I had these dry cracked bleeding hands all the time, and any form soaps or baby wipes on them felt like acid. It got so bad I had to wear socks on my hands with the toe cut off so that my hands didn’t come into contact with anything, My finger nails began to crumble and I ended up losing four nails completely. I had to wear plasters on the ends of all my fingers. I couldn’t change my baby’s nappy or get him dressed without help, I was in so much pain. I had no strength in my hands either as psoriasis makes your joints swollen and painful so I found it hard to even pick things up. If I had to do food shopping, I wore long sleeves and I made my partner pay so I didn’t have to pass money over because on a few occasions I had paid I saw the cashier’s face when they saw my hands and they would put the money on the counter rather than handing it to me. Even my oldest son said he didn’t want to hold my hands as they felt horrible. Then just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse my hair started falling out when the psoriasis spread and I began to suffer frmo scalp psorisis too. I’ll admit there were a few times I just didn’t want to carry on. I had days that I simply I couldn’t get out of bed. It was a godsent that my partner was on furlough at the time as with a toddler and a baby to look after I don’t know how I would have got through that period on my own. Thankfully a small glimmer of light appeared at the end of the tunnel when I was researching alternatives to steroids, which I didn’t want to keep on using as they were causing so much damage, and I came across a UK skincare range for psoriasis called Oregon Skincare. They had an intensive serum for very sore cracked hard to heal patches of psoriasis which contained a plant-based ingredient called Oregon Grape Root that helped supress skin cell turnover but yet contained no chemicals and, most importantly for me, no steroids. I looked up lots of reviews on the products and they were clearly from real psoriasis sufferers and a lot of them were saying the product had worked better or the same as steroids but without the risks. I felt convinced enough to try the serum. I also had a bit more trust as all the products were made in the UK. That was in November last year. I started noticing a difference quite quickly when I began using the Oregon Rescue Serum. My hands didn’t feel as dry and the patches of sore cracked and raised skin started getting smaller by the end of the first week. Over the following weeks the psoriasis patches got smaller and my hands got smoother. They were still red and tender all over but it felt like the flaring patches were no longer active and my hands started to feel less raw and painful. The serum also wasn’t greasy like other products I had tried which were awful and went all over my clothes. So it was easy to use this serum several times a day and it didn’t sting when I applied it. I’ve now been using the serum for just over two months and my hands feel softer, clearer and are no longer painfully dry and cracked. The visible scales have more or less gone. I still get flare ups but I have worked out a routine where I can now feel a flare coming on and I start preparing my skin in advance and this is where the Oregon products work so well. I use the Oregon Maintenance Cream daily which is more of a moisturiser and then I start using the stronger serum whenever I feel the first sign of a flare happening. I also use their Oregon Anti-Plaque Shampoo which has the same ingredient in it and that is doing a great job of keeping my scalp psoriasis under control and my hair has started to grow back too. I’m so glad I found these products. They have totally transformed my life. Since using them I’ve become much more positive as I feel that I can now manage my psoriasis, rather than it totally controlling my life. If I ever get a really bad flare I think I will probably still have to resort to using steroids for a short period to treat it. But so far that has not happened yet and these products are definitely having a preventative effect where by my flares are less often and much less severe that they were. ”
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Young mum with TSWS finds best natural cream for eczema containing plant-steroid and donkey milk clears skin in weeks
Rhiannon, 26, is a full-time mum from Essex Rhiannon says; “My eczema turned into something worse than I had ever experienced before when I stopped using steroids because I was pregnant. I’ve been referred to a dermatologist for years for my eczema. I was prescribed a lot of steroid creams, some mild and some very strong. They worked for a small amount of time, but my flares would always come back worse each time. Over time my eczema has been up and down, some days it gets worse and more frequent but other times it’s calmer. But when my eczema is bad, it’s really bad. My worst flare up ever was in 2021 when I was pregnant. I started getting a nasty eczema flare as I’d come off the steroid creams that I was using because I was scared about using them during pregnancy. My skin just got worse and worse and I one day I woke up with symptoms of Topical Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome (TSWS). My face was swollen, red and raw with flaking crusty skin. It was awful! I didn’t go out for about two weeks because I didn’t want people to look at me. I tried to use my normal moisturisers but every product I used just made my skin worse. I was so upset when someone commented that I looked like I’d been burnt. After a long road with steroids, I decided last year to go steroid free and try to find alternatives that might help manage my eczema. Last year, after a lot of research, I came across a salve from a UK-made eczema skincare range called Hydrosil. All their products, but in particular their Hydrosil Turmeric Butter & Milk Salve, contained a plant steroid called Cardiospermum which mimics the action of steroids but is much safer and can be used all the time. It also contained donkey milk, which is the most hypoallergenic milk and is given to babies with allergies and also a special turmeric butter. I've read a lot that turmeric is really good for eczema but it’s hard to apply it via the skin. However, this salve has solved this issue by whipping the turmeric into a special butter that can easily penetrate the skin. After a week of frequent use several times a day on my TSWS skin I started to see a real improvement in the eczema on my face. The salve was different from other eczema products I'd tried as it wasn’t heavy or sticky and didn’t sting when I applied it at all, which made it perfect for use on the face. Usually when I first wake up, I have to wash my face and put cream on immediately because my skin always feels so tight. Since using the plant-steroid salve, I wake up now and I don’t feel like I need to rush to do that because my skin feels much smoother and less tight, dry and painful. In the period that I have been using the salve the eczema on my face has massively improved. I now even go out without wearing makeup, as I feel that confident in my skin. This is seriously impressive for a product that does not contain chemical steroids and that I’ve only been using for less than a month.”
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Young mum with leg eczema who couldn't wear skirts finds best natural eczema cream made from donkey milk improves her legs in weeks
Mum of two Brittany, 26, is from Norwich, Norfolk “The first time I got eczema I was around eleven years old and I've been seeing doctors ever since," says Brittany. "I haven't worn a skirt in years due to how bad my legs looked. I’ve been prescribed different steroids several times over the years and they worked at first and then they stopped working and then the eczema came back worse than before. They also began to harm my skin and discolour it so I decided to stop using them after sewveral years. My eczema triggers flared really badly after both my pregnancies, within weeks of giving birth my skin flared up in red vicious rashes all over my legs. I’ve lost faith in medicated products from the doctor as they dont really work. So when I came across a new salve from UK eczema skincare brand Hydrosil for eczema that contained a plant steroid that mimics the effect of steroids but is safe to use all the time plus donkey milk which is the most hypoallergenic milk which has been used historically for babies with allergies it grabbed my attention. Hydrosil Turmeric Butter & Milk Salve also contains a special turmeric infused butter that allows the turmeric to pass through the skin barrier more easily. I’ve read a lot that turmeric helps with the inflammation of eczema but it’s known to be hard to apply to the skin. This salve seemed to have found a solution by whipping the turmeric into a butter which allows a very high concentration of turmeric to sink into the skin. I read several reviews of the salve and a lot of people seemed to be in a similar position as me in that they had tried the steroid route for years and it hadn’t really worked out for them. There were a lot of mums with hand eczema who had said it was a life-saver. I was convinced enough to try it. It was reasonably priced too which makes a big difference for me as money is not easy with two young kids. It’s one of the first products I’ve tried that didn;t make my skin sting and I saw big improvements in my skin within two weeks. After a month my legs looked better than they had in years. It’s just three natural ingredients which are all proven to be excellent for eczema. Its works pretty much as well as steroids to be honest. It's by far the most effective natural eczema treatment I've tried."
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