This week I received a lovely email from Sylvia, subject line ‘Dermatographia Is Awesome.’ It sure is!

I just found out about a month ago after I had an allergic reaction to raw jalapeños that I now have dermatographia. I think it’s the coolest thing to ever happen to me. Like some people I thought that I was the only one with this skin condition until I started doing some research on it. I think us with this awesome skin condition should be recognized. I found out about you through a friend and I think what you’re doing with your beautiful skin is absolutely amazing!

I look forward to seeing more skin art in the future and who knows maybe one day i can put my new and improved skin to good use. 🙂

It makes me so happy to hear from people who are excited about having dermatographia! Silvia, I think it’s the coolest thing to happen to me too. Thank you for your kind words.

I wrote Sylvia back asking her some questions about the skin condition. Here’s her response:

To answer your questions no I don’t plan on treating it or taking any antihistamines. I don’t think my condition is that bad that I should treat it. I just try and lotion up after I shower and that helps some with the itch. I’m not embarrassed at all about my skin. When I first found out about my new skin I was telling everybody about it and showing it off. A lot of the people I showed were shocked but thought it was pretty neat at the same time. Some said it was weird and couldn’t quite understand it. I myself love my skin and will show it off any given chance! I’ve done some research (Google that is lol) at home and I think i get it. My story is that I had a bad allergic reaction–my first and only allergic reaction to jalapeños, I broke out in hives all over my body. With it being my first allergy to anything I believe my body went into some state of shock and now that I’m 32 it’s just kind of hard to recover. Seems like once you hit 30’s your body is just never same again. Idk, that’s just what makes sense to me. I was born in Ohio but raised in Puerto Rico for some of my life. I now live in Kentucky and have lived here for 15 yrs.

This is still all new to me and you would think I’d have a hundred questions but right now I honestly don’t. I know my dermatographia can last weeks, months, years or I can have it for the rest of my life but it’s my new skin and I’m ok with that. As long as I have it I’m going to enjoy it. To me it’s awesome because it makes me feel unique. It’s the one thing no one else I know around me has. With only about 5% of the population having it i consider myself lucky to be part of that small group. I know that sounds weird but I’ve always enjoyed weird things lol. It kind of brings out my inner child. I’m discovering what all I can do with dermatographia. Also discovering all the different places on my skin I can do drawings on. Like I’ve said before it’s new to me, so I’m still really amazed that i can write or draw on myself and it shows up so perfectly and beautifully. The time it stays on there is pretty amazing too, there for 15 minutes and then it’s gone! Sorry I don’t have much of an input right now maybe with more time and I after it all sinks in I’ll have questions and a better story but right now all I can say is “Wow this is awesome!”

I want to thank you so much for your interest and for taking the time to talk with me. I’m learning more about you everyday and what your doing is truly beautiful. I look forward to reading more about people like myself on your blog and I will continue to follow your work. Good luck in everything you do! -Silvia

Happy Valentine’s Day Silvia, and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on dermatographia with me and Skin Tome. It’s so nice to ‘meet’ you ;’) Keep showing off that unique skin of yours!!

Photos courtesy of Silvia Faulkner