Am I the only woman in the UK whose..

He knows. And if he doesn't know, it means he's not paying that much attention and so doesn't care about it.
This is not about your skin. It's about your self-perception. I say that as someone who has severe eczema and has cried over how crap I look and the pain. It was terrible on my face in my early 20s. I wear makeup sometimes when I feel like it. It's for a bit of fun and sparkle, not to hide behind.

Try it, one evening. Have a bath, put some healthy moisturizer on and get into bed. Tell yourself that the state of your skin is not who you are. You are so much more.

Please do go see a GP for referral to dermatologist - if you're in the UK, it won't cost you.

I have rosacea, and allergies that affect the skin on my face. I was told by the derm that I have mixed skin type - both oily and dry! It took a while to unravel exactly what my underlying problems were because the allergies were complicating the rosacea diagnosi..., but we got there in the end :)

There are loads of treatments for rosacea that can be tried - antibiotics, creams, laser treatment etc. You really need a derm to recommend the best one to try first.

mencken Of course the OP can book a GP appointment if she wants to.

I just checked my surgeries appointment availability - there are loads.

Maybe warning patients to stay away if they think they may have a cough/Coronavirus is freeing up more slots.

good luck to you - but not the GP right now please, bit of a crisis on.

if the man is half-decent he won't care, and you can't live the rest of your life like this. Men go round with similar problems and no-one suggests that they must face paint.

I wish you the very best.

@LovelyIssues I don't feel it, but thank you. So are you, you've got this. Maybe try tiny steps at a time, like swapping your tinted moisturiser for a plain one? It doesn't have to be a big leap. I'm 31, so close enough ages - I get what you mean about things hanging over you. You deserve the chance for some down time from the makeup routine. I'd second giving the GP a go too. There may be a solution there too, or even some advice to make it better.

Why not cancel your order, save your money for now and see a GP instead?

@LovelyIssues It's the only positive thing...he does have to see me with self harm scars and tolerates a my complete inability to travel any further than a 10 mile radius of home! My parents didn't let me where makeup when I was young and by the time I went to uni and could do so, I had no interest. I like the extra time in my bed in the morning and for the same reason, I shave my hair off to avoid haircare duties.

OP, many people have suggested your GP but you haven't responded. Are you going to go?

And gingersausage speaks a lot of sense.

I haven't seen a dermatologist because I would have to take my makeup off to show them

When I first went to the GP about my rosacea, I took a photo of my face in the morning before putting on makeup so I could show her, there was no way I would have gone out without makeup on at that point as it was so bad. The GP was absolutely fine about just seeing a photo and didn't say she wanted to see my actual skin without makeup. Now, since being on medication, its mostly cleared up and I regularly go out without makeup.

OP - I also suggest that you go and see your GP

There will be other options available - and if they are things you have already tried then the GP should refer you to NHS Dermatology.

I have suffered with acne since my teen years. It was never 'severe' but embarrassed me greatly. The school 'teasing' didn't help either

In recent years I figured I needed to sort this out properly so visited a private Dermatologist. The initial consultation was about £200 so nothing earth shattering. It was so worth it. She actually took the time and listened to my concerns about still suffering with facial and chest/back acne albeit mild. I had asked about going on Roaccutane - I knew the NHS wouldn't prescribe it as I wasn't a severe enough case. She said that the better option was for me to take something else - and referred me (via my own GP) to an NHS Dermatologist who specialises in adult acne/skin issues. This Derm sorted me out straightaway and I am still taking the medication which just keeps my skin looking pretty damn good.

I can understand though how you want to hide your skin issues from everyone. Including your DH. Chances are though, that he knows that there is something underneath the make up - and he probably doesn't care that much. Your happiness and wellbeing is more important.

DM if you want details of my dermatology docs.

I didn't develop a make-up habit because stage make-up gave me horrible eczema around my eyes when I was 12. They were so sore, puffy and bleeding. Blinking hurt my eyelids. People often asked if I had a black eye. So in the teenage years after it cleared up, I only occasionally, sparingly did light make-up.

Later in the teenage years, I gained a scar next to my eye which interferes with getting a symmetrical line for eyeliner, so I never wear it. The more make-up I wear, the harder it is to get the symmetry right.

Bare-faced my skin is good, but foundations and powder draw attention to the roughness. (To me anyway )

People get used to what they see. Most people I know wear make-up most of the time, so on the occasions that they don't, they do look different. Because I don't routinely wear it, no one notices. No one cares when I turn up post-run looking like a sweaty beetroot. No one's registered the scar, or being a bit assymetrical (most of the time I don't pay much attention because I don't spend much time close-up in a mirror)

Talk to your husband, tell him you've been wearing tinted moisturiser. You'll probably find that it's not nearly as bad to him as it feels to you. Get used to the feeling of being bare-faced at home. Try the tips from people with similar skin conditions, and the air on bare skin is likely to help anyway.

My partner of 12 years has never seen me with makeup on. Life's too short for makeup.

Please take the advice about seeing your GP and getting a referral. It's so sad that you have to live like this.

I mean we can’t always look perfect all the time

Aww OP that’s actually really sad and Ai feel for you. Such is the pressure put on us in society that some feel they can’t even even be seen without make up.

I don’t love DH seeng me without make up on, however I dont care enough to get up early and put it on on a work day. I prefer my sleep! I often don’t wear make up because of time restraints so when I do wear it, DH is pleasantly surprised that I can look better 😂

The thing is, we can’t all look perfect and DH knows this. I’m sure your DH wouldn’t give it a second thought if you went make up free.... I can almost certainly say he wouldn’t notice and I’m sure he wouldn’t thunk any less of you OP!!

@LovelyIssues please, please don’t start buying random crap and plastering it all over your face. It’ll just make things worse. Go to your GP and get a referral to an NHS dermatologist, which is your clinical right, and won’t cost you anything except the cost of the prescriptions. I really can’t stress this enough. Everyone will recommend The bloody Ordinary like it’s some magical skin elixir, but at the end of the day it’s not clinical strength and it’s not going to sort out a medical condition, which is what rosacea is. If you broke your leg you wouldn’t buy a bandage from Boots, you’d get it fixed properly so get your skin fixed properly.

Once you’ve made a start on that then you can start to tackle the makeup issue. As your skin starts to improve, which it will if you get proper care, you will find that you will need less and less makeup. There are also mental health issues tied up in bad skin like body dysmorphia, OCD and anxiety. It’s definitely worth discussing these with your GP too, or self referring for talk therapy.

I understand where you’re coming from. I used to have awful acne, it’s now better but still not great. Nobody other than my parents saw me without makeup until at least late 20s. I’ve been with DH since we were 20 so and used to sleep in make up and get up early to retouch for the first 6 or 8 years or so we were together. Even now most friends have never seen me without at least concealer.

I don’t know what changed and made me feel able to show DH my bare face. Gradually it just didn’t seem so important any more, plus he’d probably become well aware I had bad skin despite the makeup so it wasn’t exactly revealing a secret. And once we had children there was just no time.

I have the same .. DH has no option but to see it all, because I refuse to wear makeup at home, I need to let my skin have a breather.

Doesn't DH think it's strange he's never seen you without?

Not in UK but can't your GP refer you to a dermatologist, they are surely not all private?
Honestly one visit to take your make up off can't be worse than living your entire life with skin that causes you so much stress?

I have rosacea too and if I wear any type of make up it seems to start a really bad flare up (red hot itchy pain) for a good few days. I hardly ever wear make up for that reason but if I do it's only BB cream. Body shop products (especially the hemp heavy duty face protector really help when I'm not in the middle of a flare up).
I have seen a dermatologist and have a prescription cream/gel from the doctor. It's Finacea a 15% azelaic acid gel (not sure if you can buy it over the counter!) Just to let you know if you get anything with azelaic acid IT WILL STING LIKE CRAZY and feel like your face is on fire for the first few days/week. It still does when I get a bad flare up. I have to use mine morning and evening and you can't use with make up on in afraid. For that reason my husband has hardly ever seen me with make up on and my 8month old son looked at me very confused when I went for a night out with make up on the other day 😂🤣
I really hope you find something to help you, I know how self conscious it can make you feel. I have simply decided to stop wearing make up unless I am going out for a night out as I don't want to have to deal with the pain that comes with wearing it.
So sorry for the long reply