Woman says weeping facial sores made her feel like "horror movie" bride

A mum who felt like the bride from a “horror movie” on her wedding day because of agonising weeping sores on her face is now happily taking selfies for the first time in six years after a “miracle” product finally gave her clear skin.

Plagued with itchy redness and “volcanic” spots, Sarah Beale, 36, spent years limiting her social life and hiding from cameras because she felt so ashamed of her unsightly complexion.

But since the mum-of-four, who works with children with special needs, discovered a £19 over-the-counter remedy in December 2021, her skin has miraculously cleared and she is happy to pose for photos and look at herself in a mirror again.

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Sarah, who lives in Pinner, greater London, with her painter and decorator husband James Beale, 40, and her sons Danny Jee, 18, Luke Dabinett, 14, Aaron Dabinett, 13, and Dexter Beale, who is two in May, said: “I feel like the sparkle is back in my eyes. For once, I don’t feel like my skin is the first thing people see. I’m not Sarah with the red face now, I’m just Sarah. ”

Sarah’s skin troubles started with the usual teenage breakouts, but the spots and redness continued throughout her 20s – which she believed to be hormonal, as she started having children in her late teens.

She said: “Because I had my first child at 17, I always put my skin problems down to my hormones needing to settle, or being sleep deprived, or needing to drink more.

“But when I reached 30, I couldn’t understand why my skin was so bad. The kids were older and I was thinking of dating again and I thought, ‘How can I date anybody with this red face?'”

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Rather than settling, Sarah’s skin became worse in her 30s, leaving her with a “bulbous” red nose and unable to wear make up, as her face “burned” if she used products and the slightest touch made it flake and bleed.

Then a qualified personal trainer, she was extremely healthy, but still tried a range of diets, prescribed creams and treatments over the years in a bid to solve what doctors could only describe as extreme rosacea, or a severe rash.

She said: “I used to think, ‘If I eat this will that make it worse?’ Or, ‘Should I have this glass of wine, what if it makes it worse?"

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Doctors would always suggest cutting out chocolate, alcohol, or getting more sleep.

“I started acting like Cinderella. It would hit midnight and I’d think, ‘I’m not getting enough sleep, I’m going to have a breakout.'”

And despite the consequences, she would wear make up, simply as she was so self-conscious.

She said: “I would be so conscious of trying to hide my red face with make up.

“But it would be so itchy afterwards that I would scratch my face in my sleep and wake up with blood on the pillow, because my skin was so sensitive.”

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Having Dexter in May 2020 really brought it home to Sarah how many family photos she had avoided and precious moments she had missed because she did not want anyone to see her red skin.

She said: “There are big periods where there are no photos of me with the children.

“In the photos I do have, I am looking down, or I’ve used my hair to cover the side of my face that’s red.

“I would just think, ‘Oh God, I’m so ugly.’ Or I’d worry the children would be embarrassed by me, even though I know they would never judge me.

“There are so many photos I wish I was in now, like my son’s 18th birthday. I have no photos of me and him together."

Despite suffering with low self-esteem because of her skin, in February 2018, Sarah met James Beale on dating app Bumble and fell madly in love.

She said: “He always saw past my skin. He never minded about my eyesight or my skin and that was so refreshing.”

After 10 months, in November 2018, the couple tied the knot in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

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But Sarah says she was anxious about her skin throughout the day.

She said: “I had what can only be described as a simmering volcano on my chin that was oozing all day.

“The photographer was lovely and would let me turn to the side or pose in a different way but I kept thinking, ‘How embarrassing for my husband.’

“I kept thinking it was like some horror movie where you lift the veil and there’s me.”

Just as Sarah had resigned herself to thinking her skin would never improve, her friend recommended the Balmonds skin care range – particularly their Skin Salvation, costing £18.99 for a 120ml jar.

Within a week of trying the cream in December, Sarah noticed a huge improvement.

She said: “I put it on and I didn’t get that burning and itchy feeling I’m so used to feeling.

“I was so relieved to wake up without that irritation, but I couldn’t believe that it was working.

“For the first few days I couldn’t trust myself. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me, because of the transformation.

“The redness had gone and my nose wasn’t bright red anymore and there was no flaking or weeping skin.”

After so long struggling with her skin, Sarah finally feels like she can look at herself again in the mirror.

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Sarah has even started taking selfies again and has a busy social diary, as she is happy to be seen out with friends.

She said: “I’m going out with my friends more and I’m actually making plans to see people and go for dinner. I really look forward to it.

“Now I can go out and enjoy myself and I don’t have to sit there itching in the corner or running to the toilet because I’ve made my face bleed, I can just enjoy the evening.

“I’ve always taught my sons to respect women, but I also want to be a strong and confident female role model, which I am now.”

Above all, Sarah hopes that her transformation will give hope to other people with skin problems.

She said: “People mustn’t give up, as there’s going to be something out there that that helps.

“And, in time, you will come to realise that there are bigger challenges in life than your skin.”

GP, Dr Ruth Cammish explained why Balmond’s Skin Salvation, which she describes as the company’s “hero product” and was developed by a mother looking for a product to help her daughter with her sensitive skin, has worked for Sarah.

She said: “It works as a semi-occlusive balm with beeswax to lock in moisture and soothe irritation whilst letting the skin ‘breathe’.

“It contains hemp oil which is packed with fatty acids to help repair the skin barrier. ”

Additional reporting PA.