Ariana Page Russell is an artist, skin writer, and the founder of the Skintome movement. She has taken her skin condition dermatographia (aka skin writing) and used it as a means of inspiration, connectivity, and purpose. Dermatographia is a condition that hyper-sensitizes the skin to touch, stress, diet, and chemicals. Something that in the eyes of many may be deemed as a weakness she has turned into a source of power to live her life with a heightened sense of consciousness and expression. She now helps people heal their dermatographia naturally by sharing healing methods that have worked for her. She also helps others develop as artists and find strength and inspiration in their ‘weaknesses.’
From highly acclaimed art exhibits and awareness campaigns, to being the voice for dermatographia, Ariana has tapped into a world that has people all over the globe shedding their individual shame and uniting in the many differences that make them unique. This movement has gone far beyond being a uniting force for those affected by dermatographia–Ariana has ignited a call for freedom in the way we think, eat, live, create, relate to and express ourselves.
Ariana’s art has been exhibited internationally. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Recent exhibitions include Shrine Empire Gallery in New Delhi; the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin; Magnan Metz in New York City; Platform Gallery in Seattle; Town Hall Gallery in Australia; the Luminato Festival in Toronto, Canada; Adelphi University in New York; and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Bolivia. Her work has appeared in Art in America, the Huffington Post, Wired, The Atlantic, VISION Magazine: China, and the monograph ‘Dressing’ published by Decode Books. She was featured on ABC News 20/20 and was a recent participant in the Sexto Encuentro Mundial de Arte Corporal in Caracas, Venezuela. She received her MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2005.
Dermatographia is a condition also known as skin writing. When people who have dermatographia lightly scratch their skin, the scratches redden into raised welts, or hives.
If rubbed the wrong way while out at a social gathering it could potentially be very embarrassing. It also causes the skin to itch, sometimes to the point of extreme discomfort.
As Ariana grew more aware of dermatographia, she started to embrace these skin flare-ups instead of hiding from them. She began creating and photographing the welts for the purposes of her art, making designs, patterns and text on her skin. In doing so, she began educating people about dermatographia and how to treat it–Skintome is the vehicle for this education and has now become a community.
The Skintome community is about the depth, what’s going on under the skin that makes us do what we do and be who we are. It’s our experiences, ideas, and actions that make up our stories.
We embody our experiences, ideas, and actions—they live in our bodies. Therefore, your body is your biography. And your skin is the binding of that book. It’s all about expression, creating your story and telling it.
The community is a virtual and physical gathering of people, relating together on each one’s own journey of expression and embodiment, independence and community, beauty and transformation.
Terms of Use and Disclaimer
Welcome, and thanks for looking! If you are using this website (www.skintome.com), please be respectful when posting comments, and do not copy content unless you have permission and are siting the source. Skintome reserves the right to remove any comments that are deemed negative and/or malicious. All material on this website copyright Skintome and Ariana Page Russell. Skintome is meant as a general guideline for health and inspiration. Please consult a physician or health practitioner before making adjustments to your diet/exercise program. You assume the risk and responsibility for any results gained through input from Skintome.
And have a great day!
44 Comments
Rachel
on September 29, 2014 at 2:38 pmI had no idea this condition even existed! It amazes me, in life there are two directions I witness: negative and positive, your outlook is so positive it is purely refreshing. I stumbled upon this looking for skin conditions as assignment. I am truly moved finding your site. Your positivity is inspiring alone, what your doing is motivational. Thank you for your outlook and up beatness! I hope you keep up this work, there should be more positivity in this world. Your unique, like this condition, and its beauty is inconceivable. AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING, THANK YOU!
Ariana Page Russell
on September 29, 2014 at 3:40 pmHi Rachel, thank YOU so much for your kind and supportive words! I definitely choose a positive view when it comes to most things ;’) Welcome to SkinTome, and good luck with your assignment. Let me know if I can help at all!
Mindy Connerly
on August 28, 2016 at 2:10 pmMy biggest challenge having this skin condition is I have a very severe case according to my dermatologist. He stated I have 9X the normal amount of histamine. I’m glad you have turned yourself to a positive example. Thanks for your courage. People make it difficult because they think I’m hurt and often point at it or want to aid me in some way. It gets old telling them I’m okay over and over again. No I didn’t get mulled by a tiger. Lol
Ariana
on October 11, 2016 at 5:20 pmThanks Mindy! And yeah, it does get old having to explain what’s going on over and over again 🙂
I try really hard to avoid touching/scratching my face and it definitely helps!
Have you tried the elimination diet or something like that? Maybe you can lessen your histamine like I did with diet and exercise…
Let us know how it goes if you discover anything!
Heathen
on September 30, 2014 at 3:52 amThank you so much for doing this site. There are a lot of interesting topics and posts about our skin condition. 🙂
Ariana Page Russell
on October 1, 2014 at 1:10 pmThanks for the note! Welcome to SkinTome ;’)
Carl Warden
on May 17, 2020 at 10:46 am(Wow). I’ve dealt with this my whole life. Doctors never helped. I own a power washing business so when I’m in the hot sun a lot it itches and welts my head and face. Even a blood pressure cuff causes severe redness and raised hives or jeans rubbing my knees. I’m 47 and literally thought I somehow was allergic to myself. Thank you so much. Your awesome.
Ariana
on July 12, 2020 at 7:56 pmThanks Carl! Glad you found us!
chezarre
on December 31, 2014 at 1:31 pmOh my goodness!! Ive lived with this my whole life and never knew what was wrong or what to tell people was wrong. When i was younger my parents had to have a note from the dr to the school so they wouldnt think i was getting beaten at home. I had welts all the time my skin has been so sensitive!! I dont draw on.myself to purposefully see it but im glad i know there are many others who welt as easy as me!!
Ariana Page Russell
on January 3, 2015 at 5:30 pmThanks for the note! Welcome to the community ;^)
Delicia
on April 29, 2015 at 5:02 pmI am so glad there’s someone else out that has the same condition. Mine started showing up in my late teens and got progressively worse as time went on. Some days I don’t even want to put clothes on and leave the house. But it’s so encouraging to find someone that took the bad and turned it into something positive. Thank you!
Ariana Page Russell
on April 29, 2015 at 8:52 pmHi Delicia! Thank YOU for writing in! Have you tried the suggestions I write about here? There’s lots of suggestions from Skintome readers too :^) Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Delicia
on April 30, 2015 at 2:26 pmWhen I actually figured out what was going with my body, I did a lot of research about it and it led me to your site! I have tried to go organic with as much of my food as possible (it can get super hard to find that stuff in my town) and started going to all sensitive body products. I NEVER go a day without lotion anymore and I stopped using soap when I was (as gross as it sounds). Those changes helped a bit, but I still get flairs at least once a month. I actually planned on starting an elimination diet for the month of May to see how it helps!
Molly
on June 27, 2015 at 2:04 amI think I have it… I dunno because sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. My mom and grandma are the same way, but the allergist says I have it . It’s partially because I get a red, swollen bump for shots, even if they just have water or saline ( they tried). I want to know for sure because I get a reaction more often than not when I draw on my skin. Anyways, I love that you’ve taken a positive outlook and used this to your advantage.
Ariana Page Russell
on July 2, 2015 at 1:24 pmThanks Molly! Sounds like you might have a mild form of dermatographia. The severity differs for all of us… You are one of the lucky ones :^)
Jada
on July 5, 2015 at 11:46 pmhi, I’m in my teens and I just discovered this blog. I’m still unsure as to if my condition is dermatographia or allergies. I get what seems like hives on the backs of my thighs, blotchy spots on my face, and raised welts on my sides and arms, all when I itch them.it causes mild pain, but i cant help scratching. a lot of this information points to me having this condition. help?
Ariana Page Russell
on July 6, 2015 at 11:30 pmHi Jada,
When you lightly scratch your arm (just one time), does a welt appear? If so, my guess is that you do have dermatographia. Also, I suggest you see a dermatologist and she what s/he says about it.
Good luck! I hope you get some answers.
Marjie
on July 14, 2015 at 2:24 amHi Ariana,
I like many of your other readers didn’t realize how many other people are out there…like us. I have the wonderful distinction of having 3 different skin disorders, Eczema (since I was 6 months old), Psoriasis (since I was 6 months old) and a few years ago a new Dr finally told me why my skin was so hypersensitive to EVERYTHING! Try to explain why you can’t stay in hotels (detergent). I love how positive you can be about your skin. I have major issues with my different medications interacting with one another. I’ve tried diets and I’ve tried many things. Everyone tells me (because I’m fairly high strung) that I should exercise, try explaining that when you do the rashes that happen in your pits are unbearable. I hate to be a jerk but is it unfair of me to say I don’t want to ever be pregnant? The chances of any of my 3 conditions getting worse is very likely, and the meds that I use (very, very infrequently. I hate that my skin thins from steroids) aren’t okay to use when pregnant. Does anyone have any advice?
Ariana Page Russell
on July 20, 2015 at 5:52 pmHi Marjie! Thanks for writing. It sounds to me like you could really benefit from doing the elimination diet (see my post about it here: http://skintome.arianapagerussell.com/how-doing-an-elimination-diet-can-help-heal-your-dermatographia/), especially since you’re having a hard time pinpointing triggers.
Also, have you tried yoga? If you do a mellow class with air conditioning, hopefully you won’t sweat too much–then you get relaxing exercise to help stress without the sweating. Let us know how it goes!
Edyta
on October 5, 2015 at 1:35 pmMy daughter 5 years old was recently diagnosed with dermatographia. First it started end of july and it looked like heat rash. With time ( now is October) progressed to dermatographia. She is on reactine every other or third day. When the antihistamines stops working then she is itchy and irritable, I feel for her so much 🙁 tomorrow we are going to a naturopathic doctor and we will see if he can help her …
Ariana Page Russell
on October 7, 2015 at 1:23 pmHow did it go with the doctor? I’m curious to know what he said! She’s so young, poor girl 🙁
Grace
on October 14, 2015 at 5:16 pmI feel for all of you and each of your individual experiences…sincerely.
My loved one is suffering from dermatographia. This is the second occurrence and has returned with a vengence! I appreciate all your suggestions. I feel so sad when I am unable to help relieve the hives, itching, and pain. Sometimes after medicines, cremes, diet…it seems like an unpleasant waiting game.
God bless you all. God bless you, Ariana.
Ariana Page Russell
on October 26, 2015 at 12:21 pmThank you so much Grace! To be clear, personally I do not ‘suffer’ from dermatographia. It can be uncomfortable and frustrating, but I have learned to make the best of it. I’ve found that having a positive attitude, along with optimistic language in regards to dermatographia, helps a ton. Everyone’s experience is different though, and I also feel for those of us who are in pain.
Monika
on October 24, 2015 at 8:14 pmI would like to share my experience and how I got rid of it.
3 years ago I had dermatographia, i did not mind writing on my skin, but itching was unbearable. I had attack almost every hour during the day and at night it got worst, I never slept whole night for many months, forgot to mention that taking shower was my worst part of the day. I never took any medication.
Before I had healthy lifestyle and was eating healthy.
I had to wear only cotton clothes, wash everything in natural soap, organic shampoo, a lots of coconut oil.
I cleaned my liver with herbs, did juice fasting for 10 days, was eating only fruit, vegetable, rice, seeds and nuts, tried many herbal supplements,vitamins etc.I tried a lots of healthy things, I am vegetarian for many years and I also eliminated from my diet all gluten, dairy products, sugar, eggs., I was desperate to get healthy and after 8 months it was gone.
Last year I had few itchy attacks maybe for a week and after a lots of research I wanted to try water fasting. After 3 days itch was gone, but I was fasting another 6 days.
3 weeks ago I got very itchy skin again and seams worse than before, it itches every hour also at nights and it does itches on my face also. I did fast for 5 days, but it did not help. I couldn’t do it any longer because I was on vacation in Italy and ate too much bread and pizza,so I am thinking that I am gluten intolerant, usually I eat 1-2 small pieces a bread a week. I do not eat gluten for 3 weeks, but still have itches. I am planning to water fast , because it seams like the fastest way to rid of it than I let you know if it helped. I can’t imagine to live with itchy skin like this any longer.
Ariana Page Russell
on October 26, 2015 at 12:28 pmWow thanks Monika–your story is fascinating! Have you tried speaking with a naturopath about this? I wonder if fasting so much is hard on your system, so it reacts strongly when you reintroduce certain foods…. Very curious. Let us know how it goes as you keep trying new things.
Monika
on October 29, 2015 at 1:17 pmWater fasting works!!!
On third day of fasting my symptoms were much better no itching all night. After 7 days no itching at all!!! I am very happy about it and feel great! I know I am not healed completely, after scratching my skin I still get light red lines, but they are not swollen. I will be now on extremely healthy diet for some time. Water fasting is not easy, but it helped many people with all kinds of health issues, diseases and even reverse cancer. Fastiing did never hurt anybody. There are many books and websites how to do it right.
If you think you can’t fast I would recommend Gerson’s therapy. My friend did it and had great results.
Do not put your health in hands of other people and doctors, only you know your body the best, do your research and try few natural things. Cheers! And I wish everyone to get well soon! Thank you Arriana for this web it helped me also!
Chandler
on March 24, 2016 at 2:58 amI’m only 16 and ever since 2nd grade I’ve known about my “special skin” and doctors never were able to tell me what I had. It wasn’t until today that I found out that other people have it too! At school, my friends jokingly flick me and my skin gets red and puffy. I would always tell them I have sensitive skin. It always helped me in sports too because when other players scratch me in water polo, I have evidence for awhile haha. Thanks for this website!
Ariana
on March 30, 2016 at 5:06 pmHi Chandler! Thanks for the note :+) Welcome to Skintome!
Cristina Barnes
on October 7, 2017 at 11:07 pmHi Ariana! I’m glad that you started this blogs. Thank you very much for inspiring me although I am a bit stressed about my skin condition. I’m only 17 years old and suffering from dermatographia. At first I thought it is only temporary but then after months of waiting, it never disappeared. I love how I can write different things on my skin but when it started to itch, I just don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t do anything because it keeps on bothering me. It rapidly spreads all over my body when I scratch it. I understand that it will take me a long journey to overcome this but is there any other way to lessen the time of healing process? I already consulted with my doctor and he said not to take anti histamine. I can’t resist taking anti histamine. It’s super irritating and itches so bad. Is antihistamine that bad? I’m only a student and of course stress is always around the corner for us. Please reply to my comment. It would mean a lot to me. Thank you very much!
-Cristina with love
from Philippines
Tin aaaaa
on November 25, 2017 at 11:02 pmMy name is Tina and I have dermatographia and I think it’s mild because it doesn’t react on my hands and feet and rarely on my face and I think it’s because I touch those parts a lot so maybe if I scratch myself excessively, it might disappear even though it’s cool and unique and I’m 13 and I got it this year one day where I was scratching myself and I noticed weird welts and stuff and I thought they were veins and I scared myself until I told my mum and she told me that my whole family has got it before and recovered from it so maybe it’s genetics but my mum thinks it’s allergies and I was thinking of getting medications but maybe not because my dermatographia is mild wow this is the longest sentence I’ve ever written and I don’t think it makes sense okay bye.
Ariana
on January 22, 2018 at 1:27 pmHaha hi Tina! Your sentence makes sense. Did you find some relief from the itchiness?
Joe Pryce
on April 17, 2018 at 7:02 pmJust stumbled onto your site.
It great to see that a community exists.
Your work is fantastic.
Mine is very itchy when it flairs up, I was wondering if anyone knows of a more natural way of dealing with it as I worry about possible long term affects from regularly taking antihistamines. Once agin great work and thank you for providing a forum.
jim
on January 13, 2019 at 11:12 amso what can I do for the severe itch, I cant stand it anymore. people say that I also am an artist. I really have don’t have any training, but a lot of times I have dreams of something and get up and paint it
Esther
on January 20, 2019 at 7:11 pmOh my goodness!! I’m not alone!!!! THIS IS CRAZY. I’ve had this condition for nearly as long as I can remember (I’m not quite out of my teenage years yet ) but I never knew it was an actual condition!! The way you use it as art is so beautiful and inspiring!! Though honestly my skin itches after I scratch it for sooo long I don’t know if using my skin as a “canvas” (albeit a temporary one) would be a good idea for me.. but the idea is so cool!!!
Thank you for sharing your work and being so open about this. It really means so much to know I’m not alone
Sierra
on March 3, 2019 at 8:53 pmI have found something that works for me!
Hello dermatographia community,
I’m in my late twenties and have suffered from symptomatic dermatographia for about 8 years now. For the first three years, I didn’t have a diagnosis and certainly didn’t have it under control. Drugging myself to sleep with Benadryl to reach some sort of relief from the intense itching. I was in nursing school and it was this terrible cycle of being stressed, getting itchy, then stressing about being itchy and not being able to focus on work or my studies. It was getting truly ruling over my day to day life. Over the past year, I have truly figured out a treatment that keeps it at bay. I am down to only needing to take 10 mg of zytrec every 3-4 days or if I have a flare up related to anxiety. When I start (the key is start!) to feel an itch coming on, I immediately either place an ice pack or a small amount of Biofreeze on the site and whatever you do, DO NOT ITCH! I focus on the change of sensation, the cooling sensation and its surprisingly enough to calm my skin. I have purchased multiple ice packs from amazon of differing shapes and sizes to be able to fit under my clothes and strap to my body. This allows me to keep living my life while getting relief from the itching. If you aren’t familiar with Biofreeze, its 4% menthol and its gelatinous gold.
-I have also noticed that cow’s milk causes my skin to flare up but I tolerate goat’s milk without any issues.
-I also 100% make sure that my clothes are comfortable. I aim to get clothes that are tag-less or I immediately cut off the tags. I wear underwear that comes up high enough to protect my skin from the top of my pants and a silky tank top to tuck in that protects my core.
I hope these tips work for others as well!
Ariana,
I’m thinking about starting a family soon and worried about the fact that I might not be able to breastfeed because of intense irritation. Have you found anything in your research about dermatographia and pregnancy/post partum? Have you talked to any women that have successfully breastfed and have tips?
Thank you!
Sierra
Ariana
on March 10, 2019 at 5:24 pmHi Sierra! Thank you for sharing your story and tips. I’m so glad you found something that works for you!
As for your question about breastfeeding, it shouldn’t be a problem at all. I’ve been breastfeeding my son (yes, I had a baby!) for the last 18 months. I started immediately after he was born and he latched on quite well. I’m happy to speak with you more about this, feel free to email me or reply here with any questions.
There is some discomfort as your nipples get used to nursing, but that’s to be expected for anyone. I found a great calendula salve that helped with the irritation (I attached a link to the kind I used while breastfeeding. Just so you know, I may receive a commission if you use my link to purchase that salve :+). The salve worked great and I only had to use it for a short time while my body was getting used to breastfeeding.
Shitandi
on April 5, 2021 at 11:18 amHi. New to your page as I was googling and several months with the condition. Does the itching ever stop??? It’s real torture.
Ariana
on January 9, 2022 at 2:06 pmI’m sorry to hear that! Yes, for some people the condition does go away in time. For now, have you tried my tips on how to ease the itch? All the things I write about have worked for me and others. I hope you find some relief!
Ciara Mclaughlin
on September 10, 2021 at 3:18 pmI began to notice my skin was itchy and flared up dramatically at the age of 15 and was diagnosed shortly after. I am now 24 and have learnt to live quite well with it over the years. When first diagnosed it became unbearable! I would have to have family and friends hold my hands to stop me from itching. But somehow over the years it has managed to calm down, I don’t even notice when I’m having a reaction most of the time. Although people do panic when my skin flares up and I have to explain what it is alllll theeee timmmee. I thought I was some sort of freak, I don’t know of anyone who has this condition, so to find this page has been amazing to see so thankyou for sharing your story 🙂
Ciara
Ariana
on January 9, 2022 at 1:45 pmYou’re welcome! I’m glad you found us :+)
Madi
on May 15, 2022 at 5:00 amI’ve just come around from a very stressful period in my life working in a hospital (mental health facility), and just finished a COVID bout just over a month ago. My anxiety levels SHOT WAY UP, I’ve never been so anxious in my life, particularly about my health. About a week after my covid infection, dermatographia started. I went down another anxiety spiral thinking I had lupus, MS, etc. (For those with illness anxiety, you may relate). I am just over two weeks into my new dermatographia condition. My hands swell whenever I touch/ do anything, and also swell when I exercise (in conjunction with the normal skin writing). Can anyone else relate to this swelling? I look like I have sausage fingers half the time.
Good news is that I went from not being able to wear shirts with tags, to now being able to wear tags a couple weeks out. I am taking Reactine (10mg) once a day and seem to manage, but it doesn’t help my swelling.
I went to emerge due to my anxiety, and the doctors were lovely, gave me x-rays of my hands to check for joint abnormalities, and a full blood workup – both came back normal. This has helped some of my anxiety.
If you have any tips for the hands, please share
Ariana
on June 26, 2022 at 4:50 pmHi Madi! Thanks for sharing, and thank you for all you do working at the hospital! That can’t be easy.
I don’t know of anything specifically for hands but maybe some of the things I’ve suggested on Skintome would help? My hands swell up in the heat but as long as I drink tons of water and do all the other things to help myself feel good, it goes away quickly.
I hope you find some relief!
Rikka
on May 9, 2023 at 7:52 pmHello. I just wanted to let you know what a great find this is. My 9 years old daughter was diagnosed with dermatographia recently by her dermatologist and also by her pediatrician. I am saddened to read there is no cure for this as of yet. I have lost sleep searching through the net to find ways to help her with this diagnosis. I have so many questions and this site has been so helpful. I have seen my daughter go from clear skin to being covered in this dermatographic rash from head to toe in a matter of minutes. For those of you who have this, has your doctor ever prescribed you carry an epi with you? So far, neither her pediatrician or dermatologist have mentioned the need for epi for her. And does swimming make your rash worse? My daughter has been living on zyrtec for a couple of months and I am worried of its adverse effects and developing resistance to this medication over time.
What lotions have helped you? I have read coconut oil. Her dermatologist has recommended vani cream. Let me know what has helped for you.
I hope more and more people will open up about this and share tips that has worked for and that may help others. Very grateful for this website and all your tips.
Ariana
on February 17, 2024 at 2:45 pmHi Rikka! Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. Have you found anything to be helpful? I love Babo Botanicals Sensitive Baby Fragrance-Free Hydrating Lotion. It is so moisturizing and doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin at all. And it stays on better than coconut oil! I like coconut oil for the immediate relief it provides, but the Babo lotion is good for daily use.
I haven’t heard of someone with dermatographia needing an epipen, unless they have specific allergies that require it.
I hope you get some answers!