As a teen, I can remember waking up early before school to put on a face full of makeup to cover what I thought were imperfections. Looking back, my skin was beautiful. More importantly, it was healthy. Aside from the slight pimple here and there, I really had nothing to complain about. It wouldn’t be until much later—well into my late 20’s—that actual issues would crop up, making me realize just how much I took the skin of my youth for granted.  

Itchy rashes, dry patches and stubborn pimples were just a few of the symptoms I experienced that would continue as the years went on. To make matters worse, I was an esthetician. My entire career was built around helping others achieve healthy, beautiful skin. How would anyone take me seriously when I couldn’t even get my own skin under control?

I was given a prescription for a shampoo or a topical cream anytime I expressed concern to my doctor, products which worked to ease the symptoms but did nothing to help address why it was happening in the first place. My own knowledge of skincare brought the same results. I was able to suppress the symptoms, but they would never entirely go away and the cycle would start all over. 

Eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and dandruff are a few of the skin conditions we come across when trying to diagnose the symptoms that many of us find ourselves dealing with every day. These skin conditions fall under what is known as dermatitis, a broad term that describes common skin irritation and inflammation. While I had a few decades before my skin started to suffer from signs of dermatitis, others have dealt with it all of their lives, some even as little babies.

For some, dermatitis goes away on its own, but for most of us, dermatitis simply keeps coming back. Over the next few months, we’ll explore what dermatitis really is, what we know about it and why it’s often misdiagnosed. Most importantly, we’ll talk about what ingredients, products and practices we can use to treat it—because we all deserve healthy, beautiful skin.