Welcome to Skinquiries S2

Join Dylan Marron as he explores what it means to live in your skin when you’re dealing with eczema and other visible or chronic skin conditions.

From the confidence it takes to show up during a flare to the routines and decisions that shape the everyday, Skinquiries shares personal stories about the many ways skin can shape daily life.

Listen to Skinquiries every other week, starting July 23rd, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Skin is deeply personal, which is a strange thing to
say about something that everyone can see. Before people know
our story or even our name, our skin becomes part
of their first impression of us. It ships how we
get dressed, how we sleep, how we work, go to school, date,
take photos, attend parties, and sometimes it dictates whether we

(00:22):
even want to leave the house.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
It just felt like I was a shell of a
person and I just wanted to hide.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
So when it starts flaring, itching, or doing something completely unpredictable,
the day can start to feel like a series of negotiations,
all centered around that pesky little question, how can I
make myself less visible?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
My outfits are dependent on my skin condition about long legs,
and unfortunately these long legs are covered in eczema, so
usually I'm going to aim for pants.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
We have spent enough time hiding the parts of this
experience that are already so hard to carry on our own,
So on this show, we're giving it space. I'm Dylan
Maren and this is Skin Quarries, the podcast about what
it means to live in our skin. This season, we
are talking to people living with skin conditions about the

(01:19):
questions that don't always get asked, like, what does it
feel like when your body becomes unpredictable?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
I lost the ability to grow hair, I could not
recognize myself in the mirror.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
I've never felt as horrible as trying to put a
child with open wounds and a bathtub of salt. When
people tell you that it's like the miracle cure.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
How do you hold on to your joy when your
skin keeps interrupting the plan?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
It destroys your heart to see your child non stop rubbing, itching, scratching.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
And what changes when you finally meet people who get it.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
I went up to a handful of black girls in
the room, and I was like, can I take a
photo of our hands? Because I just have never seen
people's hands who look like mine, you know, And I
was just so excited about it.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Skin can be funny, frustrating, vulnerable, confusing, exhausting, and so dramatic,
but it can also connect us to our bodies and
to each other.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
It was the hardest thing, and I just I didn't
want anybody to have to go through that. That's why
I started the Exema Company.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
The Black Girls with Exzema community like supports me and
poors into me just as much as I pour into them.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
So let's talk about it. This is skin Querries, dropping
every other week starting July twenty third. Follow and subscribe
so you never miss an episode. Listen on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.