Yep, you read that correctly. For about 2 months in my senior year of high school, I couldn’t go into the sun for more than 10 minutes without my face breaking into clusters of itchy, swollen red rashes. I was basically a vampire (which one of my dear friends never failed to remind me), and not even the knock-off Twilight kind. But I’ll start at the beginning. I went to the dermatologist for the first time in ninth grade. Along with other medicated creams and gels aimed at treating acne, I was prescribed with a 10% sodium sulfacetamide acne wash (pay attention, this detail will be important later). I was also advised to add a sunscreen lotion into my regimen, as my skin could get sensitive to the sun when using the medicated products. After using these products for years, my skin wasn’t anywhere close to perfect, but I figured I shouldn’t fix what wasn’t broken, so I stuck with the routine and followed it religiously twice a day. Fast forward to late March of my senior year, and my skin began acting weird. I noticed that after spending some time outside, my face was itchy and irritated in certain areas. I had really bad pollen allergies for the first time in my life that year, and I chalked up the skin irritation to some weird pollen related annoyance. It wasn’t until I went on a college visit that I knew that something was really off in my body. The day of my flight home, I noticed more and more irritated patches of skin popping up. By the time the flight landed, my eyes were swollen shut, and the rashes were itchy and oozing (I’m sorry it was gross for me too). My mom scheduled a dermatologist appointment for me as soon as we got back. I described my symptoms to her and told her how irritated my skin was after going outside. She honestly didn’t know what was wrong with me. The only thing she could come up with was that I needed to get bloodwork done because I might have skin lupus (which is a not so pleasant skin disease, that frankly scared the crap out of me). A couple of days later, I looked in the mirror at the end of the day and burst into tears. Every day that week, my skin would be fine in the morning, but by the end of the day, I would have to deal with an army of red rashes when I went to wash my face. After I finished my pity party, I rolled over on my bed and picked up my phone, determined to figure out what was wrong with me (never underestimate the cathartic power of a well-timed cry session). I knew deep down (or rather I really hoped) that I didn’t have skin lupus, so I typed my symptoms into Google and began my research. I remembered what I had said to the dermatologist about my skin becoming irritated after being outside and in the sun for too long and added in ‘sun allergy’ to my search terms. It was the missing piece to the big mystery, and the search lead to tons of revelatory articles. I discovered that I had developed “drug-induced photosensitivity” because of the acne products I was using, the sodium sulfacetamide wash in particular. Apparently, after using it for years, it had broken down a fundamental component in my skin that made my face more sensitive to the sun, even though I’d wear a lotion with SPF 30 sunscreen daily. I told you that pesky face wash would become important. I immediately stopped using it, and eventually threw it out after I saw how much better my skin felt after I stopped using it. After a couple of days, I stopped using all of the other medicated topicals the dermatologist prescribed me. I was done using products with heavy chemical ingredients that I didn’t understand and weren’t good for me long term. I started washing my face twice a day with a gentler face wash, spot treated pimples with a gentle salicylic acid product, and I went HAM with the sunscreen lotion and upped my protection from SPF 30 to SPF 50. Well, until I realized I was showing up to school looking like Casper the Ghost, and someone asked me whether I was okay because I looked a little pale (don’t even get me started on the white casting People of Color have to deal with because of the white tint of sunscreen). After about two weeks of speed walking between buildings to limit sun exposure, avoiding all outdoor activities like a plague, and looking like a friendly, well-meaning ghost, my skin got back to normal. To sum up my whole experience, I learned that you can’t be passive when it comes to skincare. So make sure to do your research and check which ingredients and products work best for your skin! This is not to say that going to the dermatologist is bad. They have the knowledge and know how to start you on your skin care journey. But be educated, be informed! Being genuinely interested in the products you’re using makes taking care of your skin a whole lot more fun! All the best, Lindsey

Hey! I’m Lindsey,

a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!