“I’ve always had eczema,” says Nara Smith, a model and content creator known for her viral “from scratch” recipes. From vitamin-rich beef tallow cream to anti-inflammatory teas and compotes, the creator’s life-long struggle with eczema, and lupus later on, has turned into a daily routine. But, it wasn’t until she gave birth to her son three years ago did she realize how serious her flare ups could get.
“I grew up with eczema, but then it kind of just went away,” Smith tells ESSENCE. “When I gave birth, I had a tiny little flare up on my hand and I thought it would just go away [again].” Except, it never did. The creator recalls putting her eczema patches on the back burner, but out of mind didn’t mean out of sight, as the patches grew into infected flare ups all over her body and hands.
“It basically just made me bedridden for a few days,” she says, falling victim to itchy, swollen hands and scaly, oozing skin. “I couldn’t really get up and I think people don’t realize how mentally draining it can be, physically draining as well, because all of a sudden you don’t feel confident and you can’t really look at yourself.”
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Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting about 10 percent of adults in the US. According to the National Eczema Association, two-thirds of people say their mental health is negatively impacted by eczema, while others reported interference in other sectors of life, like their relationships, sexual health, and even sleep. And, with darker skin tones more prone to transepidermal water loss, Black women are more at risk.
Some studies suggest nearly 20 percent of Black Americans develop eczema, with Black children 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed than white children. According to dermatologist Dr. Camille Howard-Verović, eczema doesn’t just impact darker skin more, it also looks different. “We tend to rely a lot on the word “erythematous” or red or pink in people of color, [however] people who are deeply complected, pinks show up more like grays or blues or purple,” she says.
Unlike dry skin, which can be dull and scaly, the leading symptom of eczema is chronic itchiness. “You can have a malfunction in the epidermis or the cornified layer where your skin is not that good at keeping water in,” she says, making your skin more susceptible to irritants and allergens, triggering an inflammatory response. Meanwhile, flare ups can be caused by dryness, harsh skincare and environmental triggers, like allergies, pollen, and pollution.
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And while Howard-Verovic says diet won’t necessarily cause or cure eczema, it plays a significant role in our skin’s overall health. For Nara Smith, spending nights researching eczema meant cutting out grains, dairy, and sugar, and leaning further into her world-famous naturopathic remedies. “I tried switching up my diet, and I tried cutting things out and managing my stress,” she says, analyzing each ingredient she put on and into her body.
Turns out, her life-long eczema and severe flare-ups was in part due to the autoimmune disease, lupus, which she was diagnosed with in 2023. With the threat of the infamous “butterfly rash” as well as other lupus associated sores exacerbating her eczema, treating her “unpredictable flare ups” required more than just made-from-scratch recipes, but a gentle, dermatologist-endorsed routine.
“There’s nothing that I’ve found that completely erases them because that’s just not what eczema is,” she says, but building an effective skincare routine has helped her find necessary relief.
Recognized by the National Eczema Association, Smith, who is Cetaphil’s newest partner, supplements with Cetaphil’s Restoraderm line to manage even her worst flare ups. This is, in large part, thanks to the range being filled with a protein called ‘filaggrin’ that maintains the skin barrier and hydration. “My eczema feels a lot calmer. It’s not as red, it’s not as dry, it doesn’t crack as much,” she shares, going through bottles of the Eczema Rapid Relief Cream and Soothing Moisturizer on top of a serum, oil, and finishing off with SPF.
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Although most people only talk about eczema on their body, if at all, building a scalp routine for textured hair also has its challenges. “I used to wear my hair out and it used to be full, and then I flared up, so my hair started falling out,” Smith shares, chopping it all off for the brush-blown bob she’s known for. “I think that there is this kind of shame around it because you’re so embarrassed to show [your eczema] off,” she says, especially with women’s beauty standards and skincare routines being pushed on social media.
Apart from this new partnership, the content creator plans to continue the conversation around beauty and skincare, building an expansive, yet intimate community to discuss even taboo, personal topics. “Even though it’s a skin condition, it does affect your day to day life tremendously in all aspects of it,” she says. “I think that’s something that people don’t understand.”
