WHY PATCH TESTING IS IMPORTANT ( and you should do it too!)

Ola! 

As a beauty blogger, I get tons of products to review on a daily basis and usually I do a patch test before actually using a product.

What is a patch test? 

It's basically a simple procedure where you test it first on a small amount to see if you develop an allergic reation towards it. 

Here is a short story before I tell you why this is important.

A couple of years ago, a company sent me a product to review with a full disclosure that if this gave an allergic reaction to me I won't post the review which they actually agreed on because I am willing to pay for the next batch of products I will order from their store if this product works out. 

For the first couple of days I noticed red bumps on my skin which bothered me. I didn't actually analyzed it further until the third day of using the product - It made my skin itchy and red that I had to go to the doctor! 

I don't have the pictures anymore because it was super bad which I also reported to the company since I know my skin is not sensitive but this broke me out. The company was actually nice enough to cover the doctor's fee although they didn't have to. 

Since then my dermatologist told me to ALWAYS do a patch test. 

And fortunately - rather unfortunately, a similar incident happened to me earlier which made me decide to write this for you girls. 

HOW TO DO A PATCH TEST

The test is really easy to do since you just have to apply the product on the back of your non dominant hand or anywhere you want, cover it with a piece of cotton to protect it from the elements, pollutants and dirt, wait 24 hours and tada! You see the results!

You can also have a batch of patch test with a dermatologist done in case you have a bulk of items you are not sure if it gives you an allergic reaction. 

The next picture you will see was the result of the patch test I did which was actually a moderately severe reaction which I won't reccomend you do girls. 

This was only a few hours after the patch test was done and I was a littke bit disgusted by this because it looked like ants attacked my hand. The back of my hand also felt rough to the touch and had become rough. Its not a good sight but this is for science. 

As of writing this post the redness of the skin have settled a little bit thanks to anti histamine that I took the night before. There is still some red bumps and its a bit itchy but according to my dermatologist I just need to let it subside on its own and frequently moisturize the area so the roughness wil go away. 

WHY DO A PATCH TEST? 

Doing this will save you the agony of going paranoid of what made you break out. Believe me that it will make you think backwards of what you did wrong to your skin. 

It will also save your pocket because you don't have to spend to do this. You can try this out by using testers in the store and just walking around to know the difference. 

This will save you time as well because knowing this method saves you from unnecessary visit to your dermatologist. 

I hope this post helped you out. Don't forget to leave a comment about yur experience and if you have done this method. 

Much love! 

Xx Alice