THIS IS: KATIES STORY

TIB is committed to making the world of beauty a more inclusive, celebrated and empowered one. That’s why we launched THIS IS: This is our moment to share real stories by real people to help us shift our perspective on beauty.

It’s within their stories that magic can happen. Maybe their stories resonate with you, maybe they make you feel seen and heard, or maybe they bring new awareness and thought-provoking notions of what the word beauty even means.

After every story, we ask ‘ What is your perception of beauty? ’ Keep reading to find out their answer….

My name is Katie Mackie AKA @Mackies_Moments and I have eczema. Having eczema is tough because every day is different, you don’t know what you’ll wake up with each morning. Flare? No flare? This is what makes eczema so hard to deal with you truly never know when she's coming or going. Because of this, my experience of beauty has honestly been a battle between my brain and the mirror. Before I started sharing my reality online and found a community of itchy bitches like me, negative thoughts would drag me down every time my skin flared.

I spent years perfecting how to hide my skin instead of learning how to love and care for it. Looking back over my journey, I remember the long sleeves in summer, the foundation on my legs and even using airbrushing apps to edit out eczema, it’s safe to say eczema has always been a massive trigger of anxiety for me. After these experiences, I got another kick to my confidence when I started to suffer from alopecia. Oh boy, alopecia she was the one that really did take my last drop of confidence. I remember sitting there hair falling out, skin flaring, and thinking f*ck what have I got going for me? Bauld and flakey at 20.

After a lot of therapy and failed topical treatments I decided to take matters into my own hands, I saw my hair regrow and my skin drastically improve and I felt empowered to share and hopefully help others who were feeling as hopeless as I once did. Honestly, I had to reach rock bottom before I learned how to resurface.

I learned I couldn't hate myself into healing but I could reach out for help when I had that sinking feeling. I also learned if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Coming online I realized one of the best ways to care for your eczema isn't your physical skincare routine. It's your mental health care. It's about knowing you're not alone. Reading and seeing other people's experiences of their skin and having that moment of WOW, I am not alone, and suddenly feeling this weird connection to a stranger online simply because they get it. You’ll be surprised how the one thing you hide is usually the one thing connecting you to hundreds of others.

After finding my community and having this overwhelming sense of belonging and connection I slowly started to accept my skin and feel confident enough to unhide my eczema online and in the streets.

This mindset shift and self-acceptance started with small positive self-talk phrases like “At least my eczema isn’t on me X.Y & Z” it could be the smallest part of your body but reframing your thinking to look for that small positive will grow into a bigger mindset shift with time and honestly help you when those flares catch you off guard. I went from hiding and overthinking about people seeing my skin to reclaiming my power by controlling my narrative and hopefully helping to change the general narrative about skin conditions little by little. The fave quote I’ve ever written is “We can’t always control our [insert skin condition], but we can control how we react to it. That is our power”.

Moving forward I hope to amplify this feeling through my accounts @Mackies_Moments and @Itch _N_Bitch and show others hiding their realities that they can show their skin without getting hate and actually will make lifelong friends. Instead of getting upset and closing myself off; I’m flaring, sharing, and dancing along the way and hopefully helping others by showing you can have eczema and be happy. I’ll never forget the day I saw a girl rocking her full flare in summer and felt instantly inspired to do the same, I hope to amplify this feeling and movement.

Nobody should ever feel like less of a person because of how they look. Be bold. Be brave. Be you. And Be the reason someone feels comfortable enough to be themselves. Step forward: skin positivity.

And finally. KATIE, what is your perception of beauty ?

The meaning of beauty has evolved over time for me. When I was younger I would’ve probably turned around and pointed at the nearest airbrushed model on a magazine cover and said that’s what I thought beauty was.
As I’ve grown and learned, I’ve realized beauty isn’t one singular definition. It can’t and won’t fit into one box.
Beauty is a feeling.
You don’t see it, you feel it.
Beauty is having the confidence to look yourself in the eyes when your skin is unrecognizable from flares and say you know what ‘Fuck it’ I am me, I am unique and I accept myself.
Real beauty is the acceptance of yourself, ‘flaws’ and all.
No one can hurt you anymore because you are acknowledging your insecurities and taking control of your narrative;
It’s not poor you – it’s powerful you.
I have finally accepted my skin condition and realised it does not define me; it is merely a part of me. A part of me I have grown to love and care for instead of hate and for me that is why acceptance is the true definition of beauty.
As I always say; beauty starts in your head, not in your mirror.

We absolutely love this, your vibe, your determination, your dedication to help others going through the same or similar to you is beyond inspirational and this really is beauty. Thank you Katie.