My journey to La Roche-Posay: Day 1

2pm: I am so thrilled to be taking this trip to check out the Société Thermale La Roche-Posay Centre in France. Just getting ready to board the plane and already I am having my first experience of La Roche-Posay as I am spritzed by a fine mist of thermal spring water. Very refreshing, will help to prevent my skin drying out on the airplane and it doesn’t affect my make-up!

 

I am travelling with a mum and her daughter who has eczema (a dry skin condition).Michelle  –  26  now  has  suffered  all  her life. She showed me photos of some of the really bad breakouts that she has had, I didn't realise it could get so bad. Her skin looked really angry, while she looked upset. She recalled having to bring her own pillow and duvet with her on sleepovers as a child and not being able to wear make-up and fake tan as she entered her teen years. Her mum said summer holidays abroad were a big challenge as finding a sun cream that she did not have a reaction to was particularly difficult all those years ago. From talking with her, I understood that some of her outbreaks seemed to be linked to food or to a product that she used on or next to her skin. Unfortunately it wasn't as easy as changing her diet, skin creams and clothes detergent though, many more of her breakouts seemed to be unexplained. And while some medicated creams soothed her skin initially, they only worked short-term as she seemed to build up a resistance to their effectiveness. She commented that if they had known about the La Roche Posay skin products and thermal spa all those years ago, that it actually would have been life-changing for her, and her family.

 

I didn't realise that a condition like this actually affects the whole family and not just those that suffer from it. Everything from the products that are used to wash the laundry to hand soaps and the food that is available for consumption in the house. Not to mention the emotional side of things too and the ripple effect of this on the family unit.

 

7pm: I arrive at Chateau de Touffou, a private house used exclusively for guests of Société Thermale La Roche-Posay Centre...I feel like I am in a Fairy-tale. The Chateau looks more like a castle with towers like Rapunzel would have stayed in and my room has a beautiful 4-poster bed like that of The Princess and the Pea! We refresh ourselves quickly after our journey before a bell rings for dinner, a 4-course meal fit for Queen. Bed follows shortly afterwards and I have my first uninterrupted night's sleep in over 4-years...amazing!