A student who’d suffered from terrible skin all her life has revealed the one surprising lifestyle change she says cured it.
Annika Tammi, who is studying for a bachelor’s degree in Media and Arts, has battled eczema since childhood.
The condition had never bothered her too much – until it suddenly worsened in 2022, shortly after her 22nd birthday.
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“Most of my body became really dry, inflamed and covered in red patches,” she told What’s The Jam.
“My eyelids dried up badly and the overall condition of my face deteriorated. My skin was irritated, textured and uneven.”
As her skin worsened, the budding singer says she suffered a major blow to her confidence and self-esteem.
“I had to make a real effort to push through and keep working towards my dream of releasing my own music,” she said.
“It was scary to put myself out there, especially with the negative impact it was having on my mental health.”
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Now 25, Annika visited several doctors and dermatologists in her home city of Tampere, Finland.
However, she says the only advice she was given was to use topical steroids – something she later stopped, as her skin “never really got better”.
“I developed a mild topical steroid withdrawal that affected my daily life tremendously,” she said.
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“My skin still has issues, but as corny as it sounds, the challenges I faced actually made me more confident.”
In her fourth year at university, Annika says she never received a clear explanation of what was really causing her skin problems.
After reaching breaking point, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I eventually came across videos about leaky gut syndrome, which explained how skin problems can stem from gut imbalance,” she said.
“That’s when I realised that if I wanted to heal my skin, I first needed to heal my gut.”
She began closely examining her diet, cutting out what she calls “bad ingredients” and improving her eating habits.
“I completely cut out sugar, wheat and ultra-processed foods. It made a huge difference to my skin.”
Annika now encourages others to reduce sugar and focus on “healthy, nutritious food that supports inner health”.
“It takes a lot of self-discipline, but the results make it worth it,” she said – while acknowledging that “creams and lotions are things I’ll probably always need”.
She also learnt to better manage her stress levels after noticing how strongly her skin reacted.
“Understanding how stress affects cortisol in my body was a huge eye-opener – not just for puffiness and fluid retention, but also for the hives I struggled with,” she said.
“Studying in a new city, living alone for the first time and being in my first serious relationship were all massive changes.
“Even things I thought were harmless – like higher chlorine levels in the water or dry air in my flat – were actually making my skin worse.
“Learning how to handle different situations, face new emotions and heal yourself takes a lot of time and patience.”
Annika shares skincare tips on social media under the handle @notesbyaili and is currently working on new music.
“Dealing with skin issues while building my singing career has been challenging,” she added, “but it’s also made me stronger.”
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