I’m opening up today about my battle with eczema. It all started three years ago right after I had my baby girl, Collette. Out of nowhere, I started getting rashes all over my body. It looked like hives, and I was terrified. I went to see a dermatologist and they told me I had — Are you ready for this? — eczema!

I was so sad and depressed. I couldn’t apply makeup on my eyelids because I had rashes all over my face. I couldn’t wear skirts. I couldn’t show my arms or my chest. I literally didn’t even want to leave my house.

But I also knew if I was going to deal with the problem, I had to educate myself. So I started to learn what to do to prevent my eczema from flaring up to badly. Here are the three main ways I stay healthy to fight back against eczema.

KNOW WHAT’S IN YOUR SKINCARE PRODUCTS

I started doing some research to see what I could do to get rid of the eczema. I found out one of the most important things I needed to do was moisturize my skin. But I also started to look at the moisturizers I was using. learned that some products I swore by were actually bad for me. They had silicons in the product and fillers.

When you look into what you put on your skin, the largest organ you have, it’s crucial to know exactly what ingredients you’re applying to your body. Avoid harsh soaps, detergents and solvents. It’s important to start looking into natural products. Not only when it comes to soaps and moisturizers but for makeup as well. I started cleaning out any products that had ingredients that were just not good for me.

When you look into what you put on your skin, the largest organ you have, it’s crucial to know exactly what ingredients you’re applying to your body. Be conscious. We all have to do our research and educate ourselves.

So I started doing research about what were the top moisturizers to use and what really went into their ingredients.

REDUCE STRESS

Stress has a big influence on eczema. (In fact, stress can cause a lot of health problems.) I know its common advice to “live a stress-free life,” as of it were easy. Like, duh, if we all could, we would. But life happens, and sometimes you just can’t handle all that’s thrown to you. But one thing I try to do help manage and mitigate stress every day is meditation. Even a few minutes of mindfulness and intentional breathing each day can help a lot.

AVOID FOODS THAT CAUSE OUTBREAKS

This past month, I got leathery patches and oozing blisters on my skin. I decided to look deeper into eczema and I realized that food has a lot to do with my issues as well. Common food allergies associated with eczema include cow’s milk, eggs, soy products, gluten, nuts, fish and shellfish.

I’m going to be honest: Eczema has really stressed me out! But I’ve taken something negative that has happened in my life and turned it into something positive. I’ve been working over the past two years to create a product to help those who have eczema hydrate their skin.

I will let you guys know when I launch the product, and I can’t wait to help others who have had skin conditions the same as or similar to mine.