Assalamualaikum..

Hi. Now I’m on the mood to update about my skin condition. Yes, this is a very important update. Hahaa. So important that I need to write it down here to make sure I remember my skincare journey on the do’s and don’ts. It is already proven that my memory slowly fades away in just a month time. So, there is urgent need to update. Lol.

So here is the story. Quite recently (middle of January 2018), my skin even gets worse than before (which was already damaged).  Suddenly, my skin turned itchy, red, flaky, peeled hmm ahh you name it all. Even under eyes got badly swollen. I applied essence on my face to cool down the damage. But hell no. It introduces more redness. And Alhamdulillah luckily, I am at hometown. You know.. healthcare (dermatologist) in Kelantan quite cheap compared to KL. It cost me only RM50 for 3 types of medicine (antibiotics, sinus and antihistamine), 1 ointment (Betamethasone) and 1 cleanser. Alhamdulillah, my skin gets better just before I get back to KL. It leaves only scars. I am satisfied enough with result. But I did not get any skin consultation from the Doctor. I don’t know what caused the damage, whether from the food intakes or products applied. It was less than 5 minutes appointment.

Then, after I back to KL. I started my normal routine again. And suddenly again, my skin slowly become itchy and blotchy. It was at the same spot. I tried to take the similar medicine from the previous clinic (the antibiotic and antihistamine). Well, Alhamdulillah it helps. But hell, if this continuously happened, I’ll be too dependent on the steroid that might cause another illness for prolonging used.

For precautions, I started to choose the type of food I take. I avoid seafood, belacan and any dried food such as anchovies, dried shrimps. Changed the bedsheet at least (paling malas la) in 2 weeks’ time. If possible once in a week. This helps to keep my skin healthier (no redness, no rashes, no itchiness).

But then (again), after having such some challenging activities (lol) at the beach (as updated in the previous post in early February), bitch seriously bitch it get even a serious damage. Hahaha. Sigh. Even with the medicine intake, it does not work anymore. This time I only consume antihistamine, no more antibiotic. Because from my few readings online, I note that I should not consume the similar antibiotic in a short period of time. It won’t work, because the bacteria were said to be immune to the antibiotics. You can google for more info.

Then, I get back to Pasir Mas again. Sisthur memang balik sebulan skali.hihi. My parents decided to bring me to a more experienced Doctor (Klinik Foo) located in Kota Bharu nearly taxi station. I don’t know how to describe the exact location. hihi. Alhamdulillah, I am satisfied with this clinic service. Well it is wayyyy expensive. He carefully examines my skin conditions and explained what was the possible causes of my skin problem. It is called ‘contact dermatitis’. Usually, contact dermatitis was caused by the allergies to the ingredient in skincare products. Which might be alcohols, fragrance or even preservatives. I was provided with 2 types of medicine (to be consumed for 3-4 days) and skin cleanser. Plus, I need to avoid sun lights at all cost. Dia suh kawin ngan orang kaya, duk dalam umah, keluar malam je. Kuang asam jugak Dr ni. Haha. It was not the problem at that moment since I’m at hometown. Balik kampung = balik rumah. I usually spend most of my holidays in house. After 4 days, my skin getting better but still reddish, just that no more swollen eyes, no more bumps on my face. It seems to cool down. After 2^nd appointment with Dr. Foo, he advised to continue consume the medication for another 3 days plus ointment. The ointment was only applied on dried skin. Meaning that, when the redness diminished, it leaves my skin dried. This ointment help to give moisture to my skin (I guess..). Also, he advice to avoid belacan, egg, any condiment foods, canned food, instant noodle, processed food. Eh macam semua takleh makan sis! And still cannot exposed to sun light (and cannot wear sunblock too). Padia doctor ni semua tak bolehh.

Now I understand that, what causes the skin damage was mainly due to the types of skincare that I used. Firstly, I need to avoid any skin products that contains alcohol, fragrance (wajib). For preservatives, there are certain that my skin can tolerate. To be exact, preservatives might not be the main causes. Secondly, I need to avoid sunlight as much as I could particularly around (11 am – 6 pm). I think, my skin can still tolerate the sunlight before 11 am. Wear only non-codomogenic cosmetic. Thirdly, I need to carefully choose what to eat. Well, this contribute to the reason why I lose another kilo. Mostly Malaysia’s foods (at restaurants) contains belacan. Whenever I went to a restaurant, I was like scanning through the ingredient. As if I am very good in cooking, by just looking at the food, I can list down all the ingredient. hihi. It is hard to eat nowadays.

The bottom line is, if I carefully look through these 3 things, I can be instafamous liddat. Hahahha. It is said that ‘beauty is pain’. I must agree on this.

For the time being, I still use the cleanser from Dr Foo. I started to apply argan oil to maintain the skin condition since I’m not using any moisturizer or sunblock. I still cannot decide which moisturizer/ sunblock that suits my skin. I did not continue my previous sunblock (even though it was proven good on my skin), because the 2^nd ingredient is alcohol. I need to find the new one which does not contain alcohol and perfumes. I am planning to try sunblock from sunkiller (no alcohol). Hopefully, it can cooperate well with my skin.

Somehow, I am a normal human being with ‘nafsu’. There were times that I just eat whatever served and regret later. I wear whatever skin product. It is really a tiring journey. Even writing this makes me exhausted. I hope my skin will get better. I hope I can remove away all the allergies. So that I can live my life with no barrier. And for the time being, I have to accept this as a form of test from Allah to make me closer to Him.

And I would appreciate (if anyone come across this post) to suggest any suitable product for those who suffer contact dermatitis. U can share your skincare experience too. Thank you for reading!