This ESSENCE beauty writer discusses the body product that helped heal her heat rash during her time in Mexico.
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New York weather has a way of humbling our tans and hearts. Summer was slowly ending, and naturally, that meant one last trip to catch some sun.
Mexico was a place of comfort as I laid out and enjoyed the laziness of catching a casual tan. Four days of lying poolside or beachside was just what my skin needed to receive a golden glow. I felt accomplished. However, my skin spoke otherwise when I woke up the next day.
A heat rash had appeared right before my eyes. Red bumps were a result of my excessive sun exposure. What was once a golden glow was now a skin emergency that needed to be addressed immediately, and being in another country didn't exactly help. I had to use what was in my luggage, rummaging through a sea of beauty products that didn't serve this purpose. I had a bit more luck looking through my body care options. There, I saw my Dove Original Beauty Bar Soap as a beam of hope.
Growing up with dry skin, Dove Body Soap was always a product that comforted my skin. I hoped that it could bring the same ease to my heat rash. I traded a swim in the pool for a long shower and put the nostalgic body product to work. This required me to gently rub the soap into my skin since sensitivity was in full effect.
The milk-like consistency, partially due to its moisturizing formula, acted as an oat milk hack, creating a soothing effect. Although it brought me the instant ease I was seeking, I knew this was only the beginning of what would come.
Days of unbearable redness and bumps took over my mood. Every move became a general discomfort. The bumps across my neck and face didn't exactly make it pleasant either. It was a reminder that maybe, just maybe, I took my skin health for granted.
Being a woman of color, I naturally assume my skin is resilient. I've unfortunately taken advantage of not wearing enough sunscreen, laying in the sun for too long, and not always being on top of nurturing my skin barrier. All factors that should be considered every day for optimal skin health no matter where we are in the world. It was the first time my skin had shown me that it can't always be strong for me. I would have to put the work in.
Despite the hard truths that had cast over me, I continued using the bar soap twice a day with cold water -- sometimes three times a day if I needed some relief. The soap and the Dove Deep Moisture Body Lotion became a combo I desperately needed to get through.
Slowly, my bumps began to welcome the product and ease its side effects. What was once a great discomfort and hindrance to my confidence became a lesson and sense of security I don't typically feel with most beauty brands.
My heat rash had cleared, and it was time for me to head home. By the end, New York's fall coolness didn't seem so bad. Sometimes, for the glow we want, the answer isn't more sun -- rather, what we put on it to maintain its resilience.