It took me a long time to realize I had eczema. I thought the rough, round patches the size of quarters dotting my forearms were a reaction to bug bites, itchy clothing, changes in weather. When an unbearably itchy bloom that made my skin tight and flaky began to spread around my eyes, down my cheeks, neck and along my jawline, I realized outside irritants were not the source of my condition. It was my poor lifestyle, which was physically forcing me to face how much damage to my health I was doing with how I was living.

My eczema began in the summer, when I was completing an internship for a credit as part of my post-graduate college certificate program. The growing conviction that a career in agency, this position a foothold into it which I had gained after expending a huge effort, turned out to be a disastrous fit. A toxic stress poisoned my body – I wasn’t sleeping, I cried easily, I dreaded the office and the work I came to each morning and worried, after years of study, that I had chosen the wrong profession. I took long, hot showers each night to strip away the day from my skin. I would wake myself up at night to find I had been grating my neck in my sleep. When I awoke one morning towards the end of my contract to a face I barely recognized I knew I needed to drastically change how I lived and took care of my body. So began my journey to clear skin, which four months later I can say seems to at last be reaching its conclusion.

The biggest factor in clearing my eczema was my complete change in lifestyle. I began a new job with 9-5 hours which allowed me to leave work at work and get a good night’s sleep regularly. I looked forward to what I did each day, I was surrounded by laid-back, friendly coworkers and worked in a corporate environment that was the opposite of cutthroat. I relaxed, I let myself be happy, and felt my insides uncoiling like an overly taut spring. I had time for friends, for my boyfriend, for writing. My life was becoming more of a priority than my work, a balance foolishly abandoned during my internship. I ate three meals a day rather than starving myself, I drank more water. I walked to and from work, 20 minutes each way, compared to the little exercise I had done in the four months previous. In short, my body was returning to its pre-agency equilibrium, and my face reflected this reversal.

During this time, to help speed up my healing process I tried multiple topical hydrocortisone creams prescribed to me by my doctor. I found none of them did much besides relieving immediate itching. The regimen I found worked best for me to heal my calloused skin instead was to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. The products I found worked best were all from La Roche Posay; specifically, LIPIKAR BAUME AP+, TOLERIANE RICHE and PHYSIOLOGICAL CLEANSING MILK. I applied the baume to my face at night to let its anti-itch formula sink in and keep me from scratching as I slept. I also applied the baume to my arms before bed and again in the morning to stop the daily itching. I applied the Toleraine cream to my face in the morning after cleansing to keep my face hydrated all day. When I got home from work, I used the cleansing milk to remove my makeup without stripping my skin of moisture. I washed my face once in the morning and again at night in the shower, both with lukewarm water and using Cetaphil’s Gentle Skin Cleanser. As a final protection against itching, I took one extra strength Reactine every 24 hours. Thanks to this routine, my skin is getting softer and clearer every day.

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t claim to be prescribing medical advice. But I hope this article might help comfort any itchers and scratchers who are desperately seeking an eczema success story. If you’ve found yourself here, I can only say that listening to your body and being kind to it  – while basting yourself in lotions, potions and creams daily – are the habits that have personally led me into the clear (skin, that is.)