Skin Drawings Are Cool! 5 Ways to Prove It

February 7, 2014 • 11

Hi, my name is Jamie. My dermatographia started when I was six years old. My parents assumed it had to do with laundry detergent, shampoos, etc. We tried everything. I went a whole year using only oatmeal-based shower and health products until we gave up on the idea of my dermatographia going away. I was always insecure about it, and to be honest I still am. My skin blemishes and bubbles when getting dressed, popping pimples, shaving. Basically, all the time. In school I just try to hide it, but I know there must be another kid in my school of 4000 with the same problem. I’m only fifteen, so I hope this won’t follow me forever. That I know of, I’ve only ever met one other person with dermatographia. My parents tell me I have it because I’m insecure. I argue it’s the other way around! I’ve always been afraid to fool around with a guy who freaks when they see my naked skin, scratched and red, puffy.
In the end, though I know I can’t let my skin control me. Thanks.

Thanks for the email Jamie! I am truly moved that you decided to share this with me, and readers of Skin Tome.

My suggestion to everyone with dermatographia is that we transform the way it’s viewed. Instead of it being an embarrassing condition, make skin writing a cool condition! We are lucky to have something that makes us unique, and it’s possible to find inspiration in this supposed flaw.

For instance, rather than hiding your dermatographia, start making drawings on your arm and showing people the cool stuff you can do with your skin. Have fun with it!

Here’s some suggestions to get you started:

1. Ask someone to play tic-tac-toe, and offer to use your arm as the game board.

2. Draw a heart for someone you care about on Valentine’s Day, or write a love note with our “disappearing ink.”

3. Make crazy patterns on your leg.

4. Draw a portrait of your pet (or a friend’s pet) on your stomach.

5. Ask a friend or family member to draw on your back and then take a picture so you can see it.

Share some other ideas below!

If you would like tips for how to take care of the itchiness, and lessen your symptoms (while still being able to draw cool stuff on your skin), check out my post What to Do With the Itch: 6 Tips to Manage Dermatographia.

Images courtesy of Jamie

#ariana page russell, #dermagraphia, #dermatographia, #dermatographia natural treatment, #dermatographia treatment, #feel comfortable in your own skin, #how to feel comfortable in our own skin, #realization, #skin drawing, #skin writing

11 Comments

Erin
on April 9, 2014 at 4:05 pm

Once when I was over my friend’s house, we were eating cookies (they were so good) and I pranked her by poking dots all over my face, and I came from the bathroom like, “WHAT WAS IN THOSE COOKIES?!”

Sometimes I draw scales on my arm.

Sometimes I make a Spider-Man mask on my face. (The lines on his mask)

Skintome
on April 10, 2014 at 11:12 pm

That’s a great story! Thanks for sharing. I’d love to see some of your drawings.

Jessica
on December 12, 2014 at 12:33 am

Hello. My name is Jessica. I have a awful, but amazing story about my dermatographia. So at school, I got scratched in some way (I don’t remember how) and the mean bully in my class saw it and he started telling everyone it was contagious so everyone avoided me for an entire week…. Some people still act weird around me… That mean bully… Let’s call him Lewis (even thought that’s not his name) he told the boy I have a huuuuuuuuuuge crush on that I have a contagious skin deisease (

Ariana Page Russell
on December 15, 2014 at 10:18 am

Thanks for the story! That sounds like a mean bully. Hopefully now everyone can see that dermatographia is cool, and NOT a contagious skin disease!

Jacinda
on December 21, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Hi I’m Jacinda, and I’ve Dermatographia all my life, my parents thought it was because I was allergic to my fingernails some how, but they noticed that I got bumps and stuff when I was hit, we went to an allergy specialist when I was about 7-8 and it wasn’t just allergies, though I didn’t learn the name of this condition till much later, I have Dermatographia. Sometimes it’s irritating because I can’t itch without getting huge welts over my arms or face, and EVERYONE always gets so freaked out about it. “Jacinda what’s wrong, why is your arm like that?” “Do you need to go to the nurse?” “Is it contagious?” And then comes a long winded explanation. Sometimes I have fun with it though, I’ll draw hearts on my hand or cool things that make my hand look stitched up and it’ll look like some kind of crazy tattoo, so it’s a blessing and a curse.

Ariana Page Russell
on December 22, 2014 at 8:23 pm

Yes, it is kind of a blessing and a curse! I’m hoping that if we all keep spreading the word about dermatographia and what it is, then people will know and won’t ask so many questions. Glad to hear you’re having fun with it. It’s not all bad ;- )

Thanks for sharing your story Jacinda!

monu
on January 24, 2015 at 5:06 pm

Hi Jamie, I have read your post and It is really inspirational to see your positiveness towards this disease demographic and making fun from it. As we all know, this is a life long ailment and sometimes it irritates a lot. I have passed through a lots of treatment but useless. I came to know about my disease 2 days before. In my condition, it disappears after a short span of time.
Thanks Jamie for sharing your personal experience with us.

Ariana Page Russell
on January 26, 2015 at 3:40 pm

Thank YOU for the nice comment! I’ll make sure Jamie sees this.

G
on April 20, 2017 at 12:49 pm

Hey, my name is G, I’m almost 14 and i was diagnosed with dermatographia about 6 months ago! I instantly took it as something cool and I drew on myself ALL THE TIME. Then the teachers started telling me that it was weird and I should stop, and soon the students did too. Now I really don’t enjoy it and it seems to be getting a lot worse. Any tips for helping it go away?

Ariana
on May 5, 2017 at 6:10 pm

Hmmmm, I say ignore them! It’s not weird, it’s actually very common and a lot of us have found relief in having fun with the condition. So if you like drawing on yourself, then don’t let anyone tell you not to. Maybe just do it a little less? (rather than all the time as you said).

Check out my recent article about how I sort of cured my dermatographia the all natural way: http://skintome.arianapagerussell.com/how-i-almost-cured-my-dermatographia-the-all-natural-way/

And good luck!

Mbugua
on November 28, 2019 at 10:29 am

Hello Ariana. My name is Mbugua from Kenya..
First i would like to thank you very much for this initiative you have taken to educate and inform people on dermatographia. For over 13 years i have had this condition and all this time i thought i was the only one with it. But today i am a happy man because i have realised that i am not the weirdo i thought i was.
It makes me even happier to know that there are people out there who have embraced it and are even having fun by using their skin as a ‘drawing book’
I first realised i had the condition when i was 10. I hated it so much because some kids would use it to bully me by drawing things on my skin. When i told my parents about the condition they would tell me that i was too soft and i should man up. This somehow affected my social life because i could not play freely with other kids coz of the fear of getting scratched and swelling.
Although i slowly got used to it over the years it made my childhood abit hard because no one seemed to understand why my skin would suddenly swell up over nothing.
Now thanks to the information shared here, i can confidently spread awareness around so that people get a better understanding of the disease to avoid any more stigmatization
Thank you once more Ariana, stay blessed.