How psoriasis + dermatitis changed Nikola's life.
Our friend Nikola is a florist, born and raised in Tassie. We clicked with her around two years ago over DM’s — she’s the BEST.
Nikola's dealt with psoriasis since she was a little gal, and was whacked with perioral dermatitis as an adult. No doctor could diagnose her PD either. Drainer.
It took years of trial and error to get her routine down pat, and embrace her picky skin.
Let’s deep-dive into her health story, shall we?
Psoriasis
Nikola’s childhood was one that you’d see in a cute movie. Sport, socialising, a small regional town, and living in a little culdesac where she always had someone to play with.
In the third grade, a teeny little spot popped up behind her ear, that just looked like dry skin. (If you aren’t keeping up, it was psoriasis).
Her flare ups got worse, and spread as she got older. Arms, scalp, back, stomach — you name it. She tried everything under the sun: steroid creams, random scalp treatments, medications, even methotrexate.
It wasn’t until her early twenties when she realised she wanted to understand her body as a whole system.
What was causing her to flare up? And why the heck were most foods making her feel sick every single night?
Perioral dermatitis
Oh boy, strap in for this one. Our girl Nikola is a bloody warrior for what she’s dealt with. The skin around her mouth started playing not-nice in her 20’s, and she just presumed it was her pesky psoriasis. She whacked some steroid creams on it (a big no-no, girl).
She developed super pussy and sore pimples, all under-the-skin. Then, the whole top layer, CAME OFF. No joke.
The tightness and itch was next level, she couldn’t even smile.
Again, she tried anything she could to soothe it, and her specialists didn’t really know what it was. Antibiotics did really help, but then she used a corticosteroid nasal spray, and her nose flared like CRAZY.
It got to the point where Nikola was told to just to just stay home, use nothing on it, and hope it calmed down. She did a bunch of research, and realised she was dealing with perioral dermatitis.
Nothing was working. She decided to stop using topical steroids, steer clear from flouride, and overhaul her life.
Enough was enough for poor Nikola. She changed up everything — cleaning products, skincare, makeup, diet, and anything with high toxins went straight in the bin.
She cut out foods that were affecting her IBS, and decided she needed to change her topical skincare routine.
This is when she did a quick Instagram search and came across us (hi). She loved the products so much, and we became instant friends. She uses the whole range — which makes us so happy.
Now? She still flares up, but she’s in a MUCH better place. Her perioral dermatitis is at bay, and her psoriasis has reduced, and is manageable (it’s an autoimmune condition, so it’ll never go away).
We’ve flown Nikola to Melbs for two Yours Only photoshoots. She's so incredibly inspiring.
