Seven Secrets of Wellbeing: Camille Knowles
Looking at Camille Knowles’s lovely happy face today, it’s almost impossible to believe that she spent years suffering chronic eczema, with flare-ups so serious she was hospitalised for weeks. One old photo shows her teenage face swollen and red, dotted with pustules and with eyes like slits of sadness.
Extraordinarily, Camille, now 28, resolved to turn her life round from being a sufferer into healing herself and many others. Much of her determination she credits to her mother who studied naturopathy. Through all the misery of Camille’s condition, her mum never gave up and eventually through a combination of approaches Camille found a solution. Her skin still needs managing but now Camille is in charge of her life, not her skin.
‘People often underestimate the significant impact that mastering the mind can have on reducing the symptoms of a chronic skin condition, and regaining control,’ she says.
Two years ago and by then a trained health coach, Camille launched a book called The Beauty of Eczema, supported by fellow eczema sufferer Jade Jagger and with a Forward by consultant dermatologist Dr Tim Clayton. It’s based on her holistic H.O.P.E. programme, which stands for Home, Optimism, Purpose & Pampering, Eating well & Exercise & Ecotherapy.
Camille has also written The Beauty of Eating Well, endorsed by the College of Naturopathic Medicine, and designed a Positive Scribes Journal, based around her H.O.P.E. principles. ‘I am deeply passionate about helping people to understand that skin flare ups are our body’s way of telling us something isn’t quite right. But that there is hope for rebalancing it.’
Now Camille has launched The Beauty of Eczema range of vegan skincare, which has been formulated with natural ingredients to soothe and pamper eczema-prone and sensitive skin. The affordable capsule collection – five cruelty-free products in 100% recyclable packaging – has been tested by dermatologists. Ingredients include a prebiotic, Bioecolia®, to help balance the skin’s microbiome, Smithsonite crystal to impart zinc, oat lipids for their high levels of vitamin E, plus Rhamnosoft®, a soothing and protective anti-inflammatory ingredient based on a fermented sugar.
You can find Camille’s books, the new skincare range and lots of information on her website, thebeautyofeczema.com. Camille’s own Seven Secrets of Wellbeing are based around the principles she has found gave her hope to carry on. ‘Applying these principles wherever I am and whatever the situation has given me the freedom to live a life beyond eczema. I am well, I am glowing and I am loved.
1. Wind down before bed so I sleep well. I like to relax and pamper my skin in a salt bath around 8pm followed by moisturising. I am in bed for 10pm at the latest. The Beauty of Eczema™ Salty Soother/£15 for 400g, is a mineral-rich blend of Himalayan pink blush, Dead Sea and Epsom salts infused with soothing and restoring oils. The salts calm and nourish my skin while relaxing my mind, preparing me to sleep soundly. This ritual has such a positive impact on my wellbeing and helps me wake up glowing.
2. Be grateful, optimistic and positive. I’ve cultivated an ‘attitude of gratitude’. Reframing any negative thoughts in my life really helps me focus on the positives each day. If my skin is patchy and white in places, I appreciate this is actually a part of the healing process. I call patchy skin “my inner leopard” because the contrasting marks make me feel stronger and more confident.
3. Find meaning and purpose in life. I do the work I love and I also make space for family life, for travelling with friends, for daily yoga, enjoying the great outdoors as well as journaling my thoughts and feelings. That all helps me to live a life beyond eczema.
4. Care for myself. Self-care is the biggest act of love you can give yourself. I used to loathe putting on medicated creams because they felt so clinical and prescribed rather than pampering. That’s why I wanted to create my skincare range so everyone with eczema or sensitive skin could see applying products as a positive and nurturing action.
5. Eat well. I’m a huge advocate for feeding the skin. A balanced diet reduces inflammation and boosts mood and immunity. During a flare up, I increase my intake of hot water and lemon, limit my coffee to an absolute minimum, feed myself lots of green veggies, lean fish/chicken and drink lots of cold pressed juices. Planning and eating nutritious food that I enjoy each day helps my skin glow.
6. Keep moving. Exercise is vital to optimal health. I love vinyasa yoga, which focuses on flow between movements, together with higher impact cardio exercise for a good balance.
7. Replace screen time with green time. Nature has such incredible qualities that ‘ecotherapy’ is now prescribed for stress and anxiety. Being outside in the fresh air does wonders for my wellbeing. Just putting down my mobile and taking a short break outside gives my mind and body a chance to reset. I try to include at least 30 minutes outdoor time into my day.