Debbie Rhodes, 32, from Glasgow is an account manager for a building manufacturer and recently married Chris, a TV presenter.
Deborah Rhodes
Debbie says:
"I struggled for years with rosacea before I knew what it was. When I used put any cream on my face it would flare up and if I went in the sun my skin would go bright red and bumpy. I knew there was something wrong with my skin but I didn't realise it was actually a serious condition to begin with, I just thought I had really sensitive skin and acne.
I used to dye my hair blonde, but one time I had a really bad reaction to a hair dye. I broke out with spots all along my jaw line and my face swelled up and went bright red. I actually ended up in A&E because my eyes swelled up like eggs and my lips swelled to twice the size and I broke out in bright red spots all over my face.
After that reaction my skin went from bad to worse and it was clear I had something far worse than just a bit of acne. I went to my doctor who immediately diagnosed me with rosacea as well as hyper sensitivity of the skin. He said it was likely that the hair dye reaction had triggered full blown rosacea, although he said I would have been prone to developing it anyway due to having highly sensitive skin.
I was prescribed steroids for my skin allergy reaction and a topical steroid cream for my rosacea.
Before I was diagnosed I had tried aqueous cream on my skin as I had read it was good for very sensitive skin but it made my skin super dry. After I was diagnosed I used the steroid cream to bring my rosacea down. It worked for a while and my skin calmed down but after about a year it was not really working and my rosacea came back with a vengeance. I was also told by my doctor not to use the steroid cream too often or for long periods of time as it could damage my skin. So in desperation to find something other than steroids that can help with my skin I have tried everything from nappy cream to Vasaline. Most products burn my skin and make the redness worse and I have had to use the steroid creams more to control my skin as a result. Or they work on the spots but dry my skin out so badly it starts to flake. It's a vicious circle. Nothing really works on the redness, which was almost always there, even with the steroid cream.
I got married in the summer and when I went shopping for my wedding dress with my mum and bridesmaids my face swelled so badly and I went so red I had to abandon my dress fitting and sit down in a café with ice cubes on my face. I burst into tears and told my mum I didn't think I could face everyone at my wedding looking like I did.
I was terrified that my skin will break out for my wedding day in August. It's hot in August and with the stress and the heat I was convinced that my skin would turn beetroot red and bumpy and that I would look truly awful on my wedding day.
When I first met Chris I was in Glasgow and he was in London, so my skin massively affected me when we were first dating. I would often get huge flare ups from the change in the water from Glasgow to London when I travelled down to see him, London water is much harder and it made my skin flare up bright red. But Chris has been great and very understanding. He kept telling me it didn't matter to him. The problem was it really mattered to me.
In growing desperation at our fast approaching wedding date and the dread that I was going not going to be a blushing bride but a brilliant red tomato bride, I put out an urgent tweet on several beauty blogs saying I was getting married and did anyone have a remedy for rosacea and that was how I found out about KALME products. Someone tweeted me back and recommended the products saying they were the only thing that had ever worked for her rosacea. It's been the best bit of advice I've ever had.
In less than a week of trying the products my skin clamed right down and stopped stinging. Within three weeks I was able to stop using the steroids on my skin altogether. I only had six weeks to my wedding, which wasn't long, but the product worked their magic and a week before my wedding my skin was almost clear.
My bridesmaids started commenting on how amazingly clear my skin looked at wedding practices, they thought I had had some sort of beauty treatment or something. I was beyond delighted with the results. Not only had the redness drastically reduced, my skin was clear of spots and yet not stinging.
My skin was absolutely fantastic for my wedding day, products literally saved the day and I looked radiant and clear skinned. I'd recommend it to anyone with rosacea who feels there is nothing that can help their skin, because I have discovered that there is."
The KALME skincare programme costs £39.95 and includes an SPF25 Day Defence Cream, a night repair cream & water-free cream cleanser. Available from www.kalme.co.uk
Tagged in Bridesmaids