My Story

Hi, I’m Catherine. Thank you for visiting my blog!

I was born in the 80s, way before the invention of the World Wide Web. My Mom told me that when I was 1 year old, the first time I was introduced to solid foods, beef caused red rashes to appear all over my forehead. Though they went away 1-2 days after the doctor prescribed some cream, the rashes reappeared after eating beef again. At this point, she knew the rashes were caused by beef.

When I was 2, Mom realized I was sensitive to dogs as red rashes would appear on my limbs. When I first used hair conditioner, I developed dandruff. That’s how I realized I have sensitive skin. The doctors said I have eczema.

I grew up in the hot & humid tropical city-country of Singapore. I wouldn’t go anywhere without air conditioning or strong fans because the heat and sweat caused me to break out into itchy rash.

It wasn’t until I was 17, when I moved to the cool & cold climate of Canada, where my skin dramatically improved.  The Toronto weather helped my complexion and my parents noticed the improvement.

Over the next decade, my health was great, and my skin didn’t cause problems. Consumed by school and then career, my health and skin became the lowest priority in life. During University, I focused on my studies which resulted in many all-nighters and a very poor diet.

Upon graduation, my career became the utmost priority and I made a series of unwise lifestyle decisions, which at that time, I didn’t realize how negatively it could impact my skin. Examples include: not setting personal boundaries, working 80 hours/week, innutritious diet choices, eating lots of take-out-food, toxic friendships, legalistic environments and using topical steroids.

I also spent a lot on clothes, cosmetics and skin care products. Even though my sensitive skin didn’t give me issues, it wasn’t flawless. My face had uneven skin tones and under-eye dark circles. Fearful of what society may say or think of me, I found myself dependent on make-up to feel confident.

During my early 30s, in the Spring of 2018, my sensitive skin worsened to the point where I was physically disabled. I felt like I had no skin barrier & a million open wounds (caused by pruritus) all over my face & body. My skin couldn’t stop shedding. Even water felt like acid on my skin.

I could feel the air touching my the open wounds of my skin and it hurt. I couldn’t bend my arms or legs without feeling the pain of the open wounds on my inner elbows and the back of my knees. I could only stay in bed under a thick comforter that protected my skin from everything else. Metaphorically, I was in darkness.

Fast forward the beginning of 2019, I am way ahead in my healing journey. I can move, cook, work from home, drive within limited distances, and think brilliantly.

Even though I am still on journey to recovery , I’ve never been freer, healthier & happier than ever in my entire life. This blog attempts to share with readers my insights, perspectives & reflections of my recovery journey toward living a free, healthy & happy sensitive skin life.

If you are interested in anything specific that you’d like me to write about, just comment below. I’d love to hear your questions & thoughts.

Cheers,
Catherine

Disclaimer: All the content found on this website and blog is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace proper medical advice. See here for more details.