Home Consumer New App Takes the Itch Out of Buying Skin Care Products

New App Takes the Itch Out of Buying Skin Care Products

apps, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Skin Allergies

Christina Boland is not a paid spokesperson for SkinSafe but she certainly sounds like one. “It’s been a godsend for me,” Christina says of the online skin care database and iOS mobile app created by Mayo Clinic dermatologist James Yiannias, M.D. SkinSafe matches consumers with skin care products they can use without risk of an allergic reaction, and Christina is a big fan. “I actually bought an iPhone just so I could use the mobile app.”

skinsafe-app-promo-ebe8a9f910000a8fdf6961c7e3b48133That’s dedication, and we’re guessing a worthwhile investment if it means never returning to the way things used to be. “It was miserable,” Christina says of life before SkinSafe. “I spent 10 years itching nonstop all over my body. It felt like chickenpox on top of fire ants on top of poison ivy. Nothing helped.”

After buying and trying “basically every kind” of skin care product she could find and seeing numerous doctors, Christina had had enough. She scheduled an appointment at Mayo Clinic. And when she saw Dr. Yiannias, “it was like night and day,” she tells us. “As soon as I was patch-tested and given the list of products I could safely use, within three days I was no longer itching. It was amazing.”

Christina says she was also amazed by the number of chemicals the database determined were unsafe for her to use. “I found out I’m allergic to 20 different chemicals and/or fragrances,” she says. “I knew those chemicals had cousins and kissing cousins, but I had no idea there are 2,000 — plus or minus — related chemicals that also cause me to break out.”

[vc_btn title=”More on the allergy app” style=”outline” color=”primary” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fintheloop.mayoclinic.org%2Fdiscussion%2Fdermatologist-creates-app-to-take-the-itch-out-of-buying-skin-care-products%2F%3FlinkId%3D26804469|title:More%20on%20the%20allergy%20app|target:%20_blank|”][vc_message message_box_style=”3d” message_box_color=”turquoise”]By In the Loop, Mayo Clinic posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com, Aug. 1, 2016 

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