Lichen sclerosus is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder and autoimmune disease which causes thin white patches to develop on the skin. While rare, post-menopausal women are at the highest risk, and the condition typically presents itself in the genital and sometimes anal area, which is also known as vulvar lichen sclerosus.

Often misdiagnosed as a yeast infection or a result of menopause, vulvar lichen sclerosus can be the source of serious physical, sexual and emotional discomfort.

To explain how lichen manifests, our skin is made up of several layers – the outer layer known as the epidermis and the inner layer known as the dermis. For women who are experiencing lichen sclerosus, the epidermis becomes very thin, causing the stretchy fibers in your skin to break, causing its symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms

A common sign that you could be experiencing lichen sclerosus is the loss of pigmentation and architecture of the vagina. This can be diagnosed during a pelvic exam with your OBGYN. Women may also experience pain with sex and itching, which is a common sign that you’re losing your protective layer of skin.

Itching, however, can often be mistaken for a yeast infection which is why it’s important to ask your doctor for a vulvar biopsy since this is the only way to properly be diagnosed with lichen. Lichen sclerosus is often a painful condition due to the vulvar tissues thinning out and can make doing everyday things like wiping after you use the bathroom painful.

Early diagnosis of this condition through a vulvar biopsy is imperative as lichen can lead to serious medical issues including vulvar cancer. In fact, if not treated, 4-5% of patients will develop vulvar cancer. Lichen can also lead to irreversible scarring and certain anatomical changes if left untreated for too long.

A majority of providers do not routinely look at the vulva which is why vocalizing you’d like it checked is very important.

Incontinence and Lichen Sclerosus

In a recent study, it was found that 35% of women who have Lichen sclerosis also experience urinary incontinence. If not treated properly, it can lead to anatomy-based incontinence, meaning the incontinence doesn’t have anything to do with the bladder.

When you start having closure of the labia, and the closure starts happening over the urethra (where urine exits), urine will get stuck in that area or it can cause women to not empty out their bladder as much, leading to urgency, frequency, or overflow incontinence.

For women who are already experiencing incontinence, lichen can worsen symptoms since urine is a major irritant to the skin. If experiencing both lichen and urinary incontinence, it’s best to go to the bathroom more frequently and change incontinence pads regularly.

Are There Preventative Measures?

While there are no preventative measures women can take to stop lichen sclerosus from developing, as mentioned before, early diagnosis of the condition will be the best way to lessen the chances of developing vulvar cancer and permanent scarring.

It’s also important to note that lichen can develop at any age between your 20s into your 80s. People may even have it for years before getting a proper diagnosis and will only find out when they begin to experience some of its most notable symptoms.

Treatment

The great thing about treatment of lichen is that, with the proper medications, your vaginal tissues/damaged tissues are able to grow back. Clobetasol ointment is considered the gold standard when it comes to treatment of this condition and works to thicken and rebuild the structures and architecture of your genital area that was lost (typically targeting the top layer of cells that experience damage).

It is recommended to use this ointment twice a week, once a day, for about 4-6 weeks. Use can be extended to 8-12 weeks depending on the state of someone’s condition. However, since clobetasol is a steroid, it’s important to be careful to not overuse.

If used too often, the ointment can reverse its intended benefits and start to thin out the skin of the vagina. If you’re allergic to this medication, another option is to use steroid injections directly into the vulva.

Takeaways

Lichen sclerosus can be an often painful and uncomfortable condition, which is why having an open conversation with your healthcare provider to make sure you’re receiving a thorough pelvic exam is important and key to receiving an early diagnosis.

While being your own advocate, especially with your healthcare provider, can be scary, having a thorough exam will benefit your health in the long run and prevent conditions like lichen sclerosus from worsening.

When was the last time you had a thorough pelvic exam? Did you ask for it? Why? How do you take care of your pelvic health?

I think we’ve all experienced cracked hands in the winter. Not to be gross, but it’s just what happens when cold weather comes around and naturally takes a toll on our skin. We constantly use our hands, making cracks and dry flakes feel all the more painful. However, you don’t have to endure this common skin concern year after year. While there are tons of remedies on the market, I’ve only ever found one that actually works.

My ultimate skin savior is Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Hand Cream. After years of trying products that smelled weird, left my hands slimy or straight up didn’t do anything, I did my research and came across this game-changing product. 

You might think I’m being overdramatic, but I’ve been using it for a few years now, and I’ve even gotten my mom, sister and friend hooked. Trust me, with this wondrous product, you won’t ever need another hand cream again, and you most certainly won’t go through winter with dry skin any longer.  

“I’ve tried dozens of lotions, but this is the only one that fixes cracking and splitting on my hands,” wrote one shopper who gave the product a perfect rating.

RELATED: The 10 Best Face Moisturizers For Avoiding Dry, Cracked Skin This Fall—According To Dermatologists 

Photo: Neutrogena.

You’ve likely never heard of this under-the-radar hand cream, but it’s actually been around longer than you. Let us explain. Going decades and decades back, Norwegian fishermen dealt with extremely chilly weather conditions. So when their hands would get chapped in the cold, they decided to create a glycerin-powered hand cream.

According to the brand, in 1969, Lloyd Cotsen, then president of Neutrogena, was in charge of advertising the fishermen’s O.G. recipe. After rubbing the fishermen’s concoction onto his hands, the dryness immediately vanished. And that, folks, is how Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Hand Cream came to be. 

That’s quite the story, but you’ll just have to try the arctic fishermens’ formula for yourself. It contains a high concentration of glycerin—40 percent, to be exact. It’s so strong that you really only need a tiny dot. According to Neutrogena, each tube holds 200 applications, meaning you’re good to go for the entire winter (and beyond).

The formula is also hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and fragrance-free. Heck, it’s even certified by the National Eczema Association, so you know it’s even suitable for super sensitive skin.

The product has earned a 4.8-star rating on Amazon, with 1,500 reviewers giving it a perfect score. 

“This is my favorite hand cream and has been for many years,” wrote one shopper. “I always have it around, leave tubes around the house and carry them on the go. It does the job and lasts a long time,” they added.

“I have super sensitive skin (acute dermatitis) that acts up only on my hands. My dermatologist recommended this for me for daily use and I LOVE it,” wrote another shopper. “I now keep a tube in just about every room and one in the door of my car!”

For instant, lasting hydration and silky smooth hands, try Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Hand Cream. You might as well stock up now with this six-pack, since we’ll bet a million bucks you’re never going to use another hand cream again.

As a writer, I am a constant reader… even though all my posts so far have been TV and female icon forward. To balance that, here are three books that will transport and delight you – as all the best ones do.

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

I just finished this little charmer and I LOVED it. This is Baltimore in the 70s, as 14-year-old Mary Jane Dillard has the summer of her life, nannying in a household that includes a rehabbing rock star and his movie star wife. I was 14 years old in the 70s and the words “terry cloth onesie” brought it all back!

Mary Jane and the world are still innocent, and life has many fewer options than your current Netflix menu, in part because if you didn’t leave your neighbourhood, you didn’t know anything else existed. Literally. Remember those days? And this is a fond backward glance, a simple – yet not simplistic – coming of age story.

Being exposed to a lifestyle completely opposite to all she’s ever known – rules, order, homecooked meals – allows Mary Jane to flourish in what is freely offered – affection, attention and self-expression. Parents and how they shape their children is a primary theme but not in a judgy way.

There is no cliched ending of Mary Ann completely rejecting her beloved, if rigid, mother and running off to be a love child. Instead, there’s just different POVs and you’re able to take them all in… except maybe Mary Jane’s respectable and racist father. But even he is an accurate representation.

With vivid and engaging characters, Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau tells of a time that will not come around again. You’ll be immediately immersed then reluctant to turn the last page. Who could ask for more?

Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza

This is not your usual female murdery, unreliable narrator ramble, thank goodness. Those cram every shelf at my beloved library, and not in a good way. Instead, Fabian Nicieza, the co-creator of Deadpool, has given us a sharp, witty and intelligent story with an able protagonist to carry it out.

Andrea Stern, pregnant with her 5th child, stumbles onto a bloody crime scene in her New Jersey burg. Like Marge from Fargo – LOVE! – she has a planet-sized brain trapped in an unwieldy body, and she cannot stop herself from investigating.

Her FBI profiler background puts her waaayyy ahead of anyone else involved, including her partner – an unlikeable yet relatable writer looking to redeem himself, big time.

Racism, gender divide, what we give up for marriage and kids, police corruption and more are delivered within a darkly comic snapshot of suburbia – a terrifying underbelly covered with a thin layer of what we’re constantly being sold as the American dream of success. Ugh.

I have a penchant for mysteries that are on the caustically clever side. The Spellman series by Lisa Lutz, anyone? Anyone? Kudos to Mr. Nicieza for creating such a strong female lead, who is obsessed and ambitious, and setting her loose in a little town of horrors. I cannot wait to join Andrea’s next forensically formed adventure, and I know you will feel the same. Get this book.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

I also have an intense love of stories set in WWII Britain; add a subset of Bletchley Park intrigue and I’m in!

Okay, are my niches fun or just weird? Asking for a friend…

Therefore, my last 2021 recommendation is The Rose Code, a mystery by Kate Quinn. This novel shifts between 1940, in a code breaking frenzy, and 1947, just before the royal wedding madness of the Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip nuptials.

Osla the debutante, Mab the East End girl, and Beth the village spinster share a covert past that destroyed their friendship and is now poised to endanger their futures. What happened and what’s happening is spun out over 600 pages – yay for door stoppers!

Thoughtful character development and captivating historical details, which constantly enrich the narrative, make for a really satisfying read. I did not try to solve the whodunnit ahead of time – I never do – I just accepted every red herring along the way. Because, more fun.

As always. I’m fascinated by how integral the class system is to every British story. It’s all about the accent you have or haven’t, the type of schools you attend or don’t, that dictate so much of your path… It’s no different in The Rose Code, and it just adds to the enjoyment.

Finally, women were an integral part of the victory over the Nazis, in the factories as well as in the Park, but are not always recognized as such. Kate Quinn is a hero for focusing on this oversight. I also loved The Alice Network by this author as well. Please get both if you have a hankering for a great novel x2.

Conclusion

In a slow reading year – only two books a week – with a lot of comforting rereads, these three disparate choices stood out to me. They made me think and laugh and feel and they are all led by substantial women. I will definitely be rereading each of these in a few years’ time, let’s put it that way.

As an author myself, I have nothing but admiration for writers who craft a memorable narrative built from love and imagination to share with their readers. For as long as it takes to finish their tale, we live in their world. What a gift!

PS: That is my cat Bill Murray, looking cerebral with Suburban Dicks. He is actually just wondering when dinner is.

Are you a reader? Have you read any of these gems? What were your favourite books of 2021? I would love to add to my never-ending list! And happy New Year! Wishing everyone a 2022 filled with unicorns, kittens and rainbows.

Saks Fifth Avenue has just dropped its list of Most Beloved Beauty Products of 2021, and we’ve spotted loads of cult-favorite, celebrity-approved products. From wrinkle-busting face masks to smokey eye-bestowing eyeshadow sticks, ranging from a purse-friendly $13 all the way to $140. What’s more, this list is full of products that have been tried and tested by A-listers and garnered a slew of celebrity fans, so you know that they’re as good as it gets.

Looking tip top on and off the red carpet takes expertise and knowledge, which is why we all love learning about celebrity beauty routines and how they always manage to show up looking flawless. Celebrities have an edge in choosing the right skincare, makeup and scents because they have access to the world’s best aestheticians, makeup artists and dermatologists. Ergo, they have beauty chops in spades, and are more selective and particular in choosing beauty products compared to the average shopper.

To absorb some of that beauty wisdom, we did some digging and unearthed the beauty products on Saks’s list that celebrities swear by. Looking good is all about stocking your beauty arsenal with the right products, so pick up these without any hesitation—they work wonders and are the best in their categories.

Below, browse the five shopper- and celeb-approved beauty products that made Saks Fifth Avenue’s 2021 beauty list.

Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream

“I love to try out new beauty and skin-care products, but there are some that I’ll just never give up,” wrote Kim Kardashian West on her now-closed blog in 2018. In that post she revealed an it-list of products she sees real results from, and that included La Mer’s Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream. The Miracle Broth formula lifts skin, firms, contours and zaps wrinkles, delivering radiance and rejuvenation in a jar.

Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

Marvis Whitening Mint Toothpaste

In April 2019, Victoria Beckham revealed  the contents of her travel beauty bag, and out of her Hermès cosmetics case came a tube of Marvis Whitening Mint Toothpaste. “This is quite a posh toothpaste,” Beckham gushed, “but I think it’s the best toothpaste.” A cult toothpaste amongst the fashion set, not only for the chic apothecary-esque packaging but its stain-removing efficacy. A no-brainer for upping your toiletry set from drugstore to luxe.

Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

Laura Mercier Holiday Shimmer & Glow Mini Caviar Stick 3-Piece Set

If, like us, you’ve been oohing at Carrie Bradshaw’s eye makeup on And Just Like That, this is the secret to that smoky eye she always nails.

“I’ve been using these since the day they came out in 2011,” Sarah Jessica Parker told People in November 2018. “They’re incredible colors, and they don’t transfer.” This set has every hue you need. Our tip? Apply the shade Amethyst as a base all over the upper eyelid, then add some smoke with Cocoa, third from the right, and accent the inner corners with Copper.

Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

SK-II Ten Pack Facial Treatment Mask

Jennifer Lopez lives by SK-II’s mask du jour, and so does Zendaya, Chloë Grace Moretz, Katie Couric and Chrissy Teigen. They all reportedly reach for the Pitera-soaked mask to prep skin before red carpet events. Loaded with vitamins, minerals and amino acids extracted via a fermentation process, the multi-award winning, luxuriously soft cotton mask immediately infuses radiance and moisture for a crystal-clear complexion.

Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

Diptyque Baies Candle

“I have a bunch [of candles]. I love scents! [Diptyque] are the ones I really use the most,” Gal Gadot told People. Diptyque’s most-loved candle fills a room with notes of rose accented by blackcurrant, with a fragrance so wonderfully opulent and inviting you’ll feel something is a amiss when it burns out. An homage to the original L’Ombre dans L’Eau perfume, this one is so popular, it very often sells out on Saks.

Add these to your no fail, guaranteed to work shopping list for Christmas. And here’s a tip for a little extra discount: if you haven’t logged in on Saks Fifth Avenue yet, create an account before shopping and use the code ACCOUNTSF for 10 percent off your next purchase.

Are you looking for gift ideas to offer a whole family? That can be quite challenging because each family member has different tastes and hobbies. Your children and grandchildren certainly all have different interests, right?

We’ve put together a list of some fun and creative gift ideas that you can give a whole family this Christmas. Gifts certainly don’t have to be expensive to be thoughtful, and quite frankly, gifts that involve more of an experience than a thing tend to be more meaningful.

Personalized Family Travel Pushpin Map

A family that travels together, stays together! We don’t know if that’s an actual saying, but we like it. This personalized map lets them pin all the family trips that they have had and will have through the years.

Travel may have been limited the past year, but what a great way to plan future trips.

Personalized Family Mugs

To each his or her own mug. These personalized mugs let you create a mug for each family member. Choose from an array of body types, hair color, skin tones, clothing type, and colors.

Each family member’s name is added on the front, and the family name is printed on the back. Finally no more arguing over who has used your mug and not washed it up!

TABLETOPICS Family Edition

This great idea is a box set of cards with questions to start great conversations between family members. The questions are specifically designed to engage the kids in the conversations. Some questions are funny, others are more thought-provoking.

A sure-fire way to learn more about each other.

Christmas Gift Basket

Gift baskets are always a great gift idea for any occasion. For Christmas, choose items that every family member will enjoy. Add some fruit, candy, cookies, chocolates, and even wine for the parents.

Gift baskets vary in prices, and there’s surely one that will fit your budget.

DNA Genetic and Ancestry Tests

DNA and ancestry test kits map out the ancestral history of each family member. Discover where their DNA is from across thousands of regions in the world. They’ll discover people who share their DNA, from close family members to distant ones all over the planet.

Let them travel back in time to gain a clearer picture of where they came from, where their ancestors lived, and exactly when they lived there.

Matching Family Pajamas

Matching family pajamas can be fun and make for great Holiday family portraits. They don’t just have to be for the humans in the family however, pets can get in on the action too! Target have a great range of family and pet pajamas so you can include your dogs and cats as well.

Game Night Gifts

Board games and multiplayer games are super fun for families. Get the kids off of their individual video games and get them playing with the whole family.

Here are a few ideas for family games to make game nights more exciting.

Watch Ya’ Mouth Family Edition

This hilarious game will have everyone in stitches. Players try to pronounce wacky phrases while they have retainers in their mouths.

Spontuneous – The Song Game

Another super fun family game is Spontuneous. This is the perfect game for the family that loves music. A player says a word and others need to find a song with that word in it and sing it (or shout it).

Hedbanz Picture Guessing

A great game for all ages is Hedbanz. Players try to guess what the image on their headband is by asking yes/no questions to their fellow players. A really easy game even for the younger kids in the family.

Metal Family Name Sign

Create a personalized family name sign that looks great hanging outside or inside the home.

A Family Photo Puzzle

Have a family photo made into a puzzle. Everyone loves puzzles! Choose how many pieces and the difficulty level you want the puzzle to be.

100 Movies Bucket List Poster

The family can easily schedule movie nights and choose a movie by scratching off a square on the poster. No more fighting over what movie to watch!

Popcorn Maker

Want to add to the movie night experience? Get them a popcorn machine.

Family Tree Chime

We love this hand-made personalized wind chime. Have all the family members’ names engraved in each leaf on the chime. Beautiful and melodious.

If you’d like to choose individual gifts for the women closest to your heart, check out these ideas!

Do you have any more Christmas family gift ideas? Share your ideas in the comments. Let’s have a conversation!