One of the amazing people that I met this weekend at the Highland Park Scleroderma Foundation walk was Lisa Helfand, who found me through this blog.  She told me that she was diagnosed with scleroderma 23 years ago and is married with two kids.  She wrote with some tips for concealing her telangectasias.

The concealer that I use is by MAC- it is called “full coverage foundation“-this is the first layer I put on. Next, I use Studio Fix by MAC (second layer) and to finish it off, I use crushed powder by CLINIQUE.  You can only get the full coverage foundation at MAC stores (not MAC counters).

You can also get the cosmetics that Lisa recommends on the internet.  Despite her long-standing illness, Lisa seemed full of energy. She was very open about her struggles with scleroderma. I can vouch for her cosmetic suggestions– I thought she looked great and I couldn’t see her telangectasias at all.

I saw this advertisement in my Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago:

I don’t usually buy things from advertisements in my Sunday paper. But $12.97! Free Shipping!! Pain-free?!! I had to try them. (I actually bought them off the web, though, at www.dreamproductscatalog.com– does anyone actually cut out their address information and mail it in anymore? Apparently someone still must, to pay for all these ads.)

They looked like when I tried them on: 

They were pretty comfortable, although seemed somewhat cheaply made (not sure what I was expecting for $12.95). They also didn’t match very well with my particular skin tone, and I’m not sure what anti-arthritis properties they could possible have. I kept them on for a few hours and they did keep my hands warm and comfortable while I was working on the computer.  I don’t think I would wear them to work, though, even though they might make my hands warmer there. I felt like I would be very conspicuous.  I would probably wear something that was closer in color to my hands and was less cheaply made.  Other scleroderma patients have recommended “wristies“, fingerless gloves that come in a wide range of colors. Some even have a pouch for a hot-hands. I think I’ll try those next.

Dream Products, Inc. also has a number of other products, aimed at an older segment of the population. Browsing through the website reminded me of the catalogs that my grandmother used to get. 

I am always looking for a good product to cover my telangectasias (see my post about my struggles with vanity here) and I recently saw an article in the Chicago Magazine about the two woman who founded the Amazing Cosmetics Company, right here in Chicago. Their amazing concealer is prized by celebrity makeup artists to cover their client’s most stubborn facial flaws.  I bought a tube on Sephora.com and have been impressed with the results. The color blended nicely with my skin, and didn’t leave a cakey residue.

Amazing Concealer is also recommended to cover roseacea and other skin discolorations.

I don’t know about you, but my arms become pretty fatigued trying to hold a blowdryer and style the back of my hair.  Any woman with a chronic disease probably faces the same problem.  Here’s a new product that hangs your blowdryer up so that you can use two hands to style your hair: “Bloandgo”.It got a good review on the Budget Fashionista blog.  And it’s only $19.99!

It’s starting to get COLD in chicago, and I mean 20s and 30s, REALLY COLD (especially for those of us who have raynaud’s even when opening the refrigerator!) I thought I would post some of my favorite products to keep you warm.

1. Smartwool socks. These socks are lightweight and non-itchy and come in all kinds of neat patterns. (See these.) You can buy them through the company’s site, or other outlets such as REI. There are also other products such as hats and scarves made of the same material.
2. Handwarmers. I love these handwarmers by Grabbers. You can put them in your shoes or carry them in your pocket. I buy a big box at Costco at the start of the winter and use it up by the time it’s spring.
3. The Vermont Country Store has a lot of products designed for the cold winter days in Vermont.  This year I bought the mittens which look cozy and warm and some tights made of wool which come in lots of nice colors.  Maybe someone with scleroderma can wear a skirt in the winter in Chicago! I will have to keep you updated.

I hope to write about living with scleroderma, my experiences as a young woman living with a chronic disease. I plan on gathering information from a variety of sources to make living with scleroderma easier.