When you have an invisible illness, it can be difficult because people often just assume you’re fine based on appearances and that you have “no excuse.”
- A 34-year-old woman living in the U.S
Despite how little this experience is discussed, according to the CDC, “invisible illnesses,” which can also cause or be a disability, actually affect an estimated 10% of the 61 million Americans who deal with mobility or sense limitations. And among the 25% of American adults who have a condition considered a disability, only a fraction use visible supports.
While not all disabilities are chronic illnesses and vice versa, many people who experience one or both are still confronted by ableism. For instance, when one's appearance adheres to stereotypes surrounding non-disabled folk, they could still experience symptoms like chronic pain, fatigue, etc that go unnoticed.
Cognitive and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders are also invisible illnesses. Many autoimmune disorders and disabilities, such as CFS, fibromyalgia, and lupus, are considered invisible illnesses too. Plus, they are actually more common among women than men.
For example, singer and actress, Selena Gomez, experiences bipolar disorder as well as lupus. But, upon looking at her, you may not realize that she experiences dysregulation or an autoimmune condition. She describes how people have no idea and how disheartening this can be.
"My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks—these were all things that honestly should have taken me down," Gomez told Elle magazine.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease, meaning it’s a condition where the body kind of attacks itself. “Systemic lupus is an autoimmune disease where the body’s machinery that normally fights infection turns against and sees “itself” as foreign, causing an inflammatory response, typically via the production of antibodies. The antibodies then lodge in tissues and can activate further inflammatory mechanisms. It can infect nearly any organ in your body.”
Lupus can also cause butterfly rashes across the face, fatigue, headache, anemia, and hair loss. Arthritis and ulcers can also occur throughout the music membranes on the skin. Furthermore, lupus, as well as several other chronic illnesses, causes inflammation throughout the body, including the skin.
Skincare and inflammation: What should I know and points of interest?
Wear SPF
Yes, the sun can make inflammation worse. The sun already poses a risk to the skin because UV radiation can damage the DNA in our cells. When the sun hits our cells, ultraviolet radiation (UV) can cause cell death through DNA damage and apoptosis.
Normally, this is fine, and the body can recycle the dead skin cells using autophagy. However, lupus erythematosus, a type of lupus, can cause dysregulation of autophagy. So, with autoimmune disease and really any chronic illness, it’s especially important to wear broad-spectrum SPF.
Colorescience Clinical Redness Corrector
The best sunscreen is the one you’re going to use, but this is an SPF 50 broad spectrum, which is especially important. And since some forms of Lupus can cause erythema or redness, this is a great color-correcting sunscreen that resolves redness.
Avoiding fragrance
Fragrance is something that’s been linked to contact dermatitis. And if you’re dealing with chronic inflammation, it can also increase the skin’s susceptibility to irritation and contact dermatitis. So, if your skin is sensitive, there are specific ingredients you should probably avoid. And even though fragrance isn’t a huge red flag, it’s better to avoid anything that could trigger your immune system.
Here are some products that Selena uses that work well for sensitive skin. Some of them do include fragrance, but Selena says her acne-prone skin copes well with them. We’ve also listed some fragrance-free alternatives for Selena’s choices.
Eye masks
Since chronic and invisible illnesses can also cause sleep deficiency and stress, we’re also including some sensitive-friendly eye products. Eye masks are better than eye creams because eye creams are just overpriced moisturizers. So, it’s better to get eye masks.
Sephora cucumber eye mask - $4
Selena uses these, and they are good for dullness around the eyes, especially if it’s related to dehydration. These contain butylene glycol and glycerin, humectants that pull in a lot of moisture.
Wander beauty eye mask (fragrance-free) - $26
However, for dark circles related to pigment or fluid, Cassandra would recommend the wander-eye patches. Plus, they’re fragrance-free.
For dark circles and hyperpigmentation, tyrosinase inhibitors like vitamin C or alpha arbutin truly work. You could also use vasoconstrictors like caffeine in a delivery system or antioxidants. You could also use an eye-safe retinol.
Hydrating the skin
Selena Gomez uses the Tatcha dewy serum. However, a lot of Tatcha products are overpriced. But, at the same time, this dewy serum does use a patented form of AHAs. AHAs like lactic acid, glycolic acid, tartaric acid, and malic acid bind to water. So, they exfoliate and hydrate the skin at the same time.
This dewy serum includes saccharomyces, a ferment filtrate too. Saccharomyces ferment filtrate is derived from fermented yeast, and it’s a skin-soothing antioxidant that hydrates and moisturizes the skin.
There’s also glycerin, squalane, hydrolyzed collagen, and elastin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, and it makes up most of our dermis. However, applying collagen topically doesn’t mean you’re going to magically make more collagen in your skin. At any rate, collagen molecules are too large to penetrate the skin.
Still, collagen is a very good moisturizer because it holds onto water in the skin. The hydrolyzed elastin component is even better. Elastin is the stretchy stuff in our skin, and there has been some scientific literature looking at how it penetrates the skin when applied topically.
Lightweight makeup
Rare Beauty Pore Diffusing Primer - $28
Selena Gomez uses this, and we like it too. It’s not sticky; it’s a dry-touch primer that feels like Vaseline when you first apply it. Cassandra wouldn’t say that it covers scars or textures very well though. That’s why she recommends the fragrance-free Colorscience SPF, especially since it doubles as a primer and sunscreen.
This is a lightweight foundation; but even though it’s good, it’s not Cassandra’s favorite. The ingredients are fine though plus they’re vegan and cruelty-free.
With niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, and lotus, this is a decent primer from Selena Gomez’s cosmetic line that works well for acne-prone skin.
