Anyone that suffers from a chronic skin condition, knows how debilitating they can be. Not only can they massively knock your self confidence, they are notoriously difficult to treat.
Carrie Davies has battled with eczema all over her face and body for most of her life and while it's common in milder forms, hers was so severe, she was in constant pain. "I used to get horribly bullied for my skin in school. The word “flakey” evokes a visceral reaction in me, as that used to be my nickname - i've never not had eczema", Carrie told Cosmopolitan UK.
Having tried every possible product going, she was running out of ideas. "My mother was at a loss and tried all sorts of nonsense: sulphur tablets, honey, creams, Chinese herbs, wrapping me in emollient soaked bandages, Liz Earle, Elemis - always to no avail," she explained.
When at home treatments didn't help, Carrie decided it was time to go and see a doctor. "I’ve been prescribed lots of different creams - diprobase, Oilatum, Elecon, Fucibet, which is a prescription steroid."
These came with some pretty nasty side effects, like premature skin ageing, but being desperate, she was willing to try anything. "Because of the steroids ageing qualities, doctors don’t like to prescribe it unless your eczema is particularly bad."
It wasn't until a friend convinced her to try something new, that Carrie stumbled upon the two life changing products. "My friend Jake is very into skincare, he gets a kick out of testing products out on me (after he’s vetted them first, of course)."
"He was using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% and CeraVe Moistursing Cream as part of his standard skincare regime and had raved about them, so I decided to try them."
"I applied the glycolic acid with cotton wool, waited for it to dry and then smeared the moisturiser over my skin - that was it. The whole process took about a minute and a half."
Carrie admitted that the Glycolic Acid did initially burn slightly, but that told herself that it was 'for the greater good.' Acids are not recommended for damaged, broken or overly sensitive skin, so if you're planning on following suit - please be extremely careful. Test it on a small area and then monitor how your skin reacts.
She stuck to this routine morning and night for the next three days, adding in an SPF for protection. Little did she know, it would completely transform her skin."The results were unbelievable! I looked radiant! I’ve never looked radiant in my life! I couldn’t believe it," she exclaimed.
Unfortunately, after religiously using the products, they stopped working for her, something she says happens a lot. "I continued the regime for a while, but my skin started to reject it, which is a common theme for me - it gets used to a product and then just doesn't work."
Having not used them for a while, though, Carrie has high hopes that she will get the same results once she starts again. "I haven’t used the glycolic acid and CeraVe since last year, but I’ll start to use it again, because hopefully my skin has forgotten about it?!"
Specially formulated for very dry, irritated and sensitive skin, CeraVe's moisturiser is a thick cream that contains a blend of three essential ceramides and hero hydrator hyaluronic acid, to moisturise and restore damaged skin.
The Ordinary's Glycolic Solution needs no introduction, but for those that don't know, it's a liquid exfoliator that refines texture and tone - one that's safer for sensitive complexions, thanks to smoothing ingredients aloe vera and Tasmanian Pepperberry.
The combined cost comes in at a mere £15 and although they stopped working for Carrie, she suggests that anyone suffering with eczema, should give them a go.
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Gaby is the Senior Beauty Writer here at Cosmopolitan.com/UK. Her favourite hobbies include sleeping, eating cake till she can't move and uncontrollably hoarding beauty products.
