Simone Biles has conquered an Olympic floor routine in front of a global audience, but for years there was one thing she wasn’t ready to talk about—the redness, itching and flaking she was quietly dealing with under the spotlight.
After trying “all the topicals, all the over-the-counters, all the googling,” Biles finally saw a dermatologist and got a diagnosis—seborrheic dermatitis on her face and scalp, and eczema on her arms. Now, she’s turned that experience into advocacy, partnering on the Skin to Believe In campaign, which encourages the roughly 36 million Americans living with inflammatory skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis and eczema to talk to their doctor about long-term, steroid-free treatment options.
We caught up with Biles and New York dermatologist Angela Lamb, MD, for a candid conversation about getting diagnosed, building a routine that actually sticks and how she unwinds during one of the busiest stretches of her year.
How did you get linked up with this treatment, and what made you decide to try it out?
“From my own personal experience, I dealt with years of redness and itchiness before seeing a dermatologist and getting the proper diagnosis. I’d been dealing with it for a couple of years before the Olympics, and leading up to the Games it was getting really bad. I felt like I’d tried everything—all the topicals, the over-the-counters, all the googling and self-diagnosing. I got to the point where I was waking up every day so uncomfortable, itching all day long and I’m in the public eye, so I started getting nervous about people seeing the flaking and the patches. I felt a little embarrassed. But I was like, enough is enough. I need to go speak to someone.
I finally saw a dermatologist in Chicago and got the proper diagnosis. I already kind of knew what it was from my own research, but putting an actual name to it gave me the confidence to speak about it. And it made me realize how many other people are going through this too. I didn’t want them to suffer in silence, so let’s do a campaign about these chronic skin conditions and break the stigma—so people feel more comfortable going to speak with a dermatologist instead of dealing with it alone.”
How does it work in your day-to-day? Is it easy to fit into your routine?
“It’s a once-daily prescription cream or foam, depending on what you have. I have seborrheic dermatitis and eczema, so I actually use both, but it fits seamlessly into my routine. I can take it on the go. It’s just: get up, brush your teeth, wash your face, do your skin care, do my scalp care. It’s lightweight, not greasy, and it fits right in my purse.
I think a lot of people see the foam and get nervous, like, ‘Oh, I’m going to have to take another shower and rinse this out.’ You don’t have to rinse it out—you just put it on and you’re good to go. For me, it was instant relief from the itching and the redness. I think the hardest step is admitting it, and then taking the initiative to actually go see a dermatologist. That’s why we have trusted professionals…they’ve studied this their whole lives, so you might as well go see them.”
Dr. Angela Lamb: “Simone really summarized it so well, because what she’s describing matches exactly what I see with my patients. This is ZORYVE, or roflumilast, and it comes in a foam and a cream. The foam is a 0.3% concentration, FDA-approved for treatment of seborrheic dermatitis in patients nine and up. The cream is a 0.15% concentration, FDA-approved for treatment of mild to moderate eczema in patients six and up.
I love the once-a-day dosing, because for so many of my patients, one of the biggest factors in staying consistent with a treatment is ease of use. Something you use once a day, patients actually reach for and get relief from, because they’re using it the way it was studied—versus something twice a day, which is just harder for people to remember. As Simone said, patients find it easy to use because they don’t have to wash it out, it goes on easily, and you can incorporate it with the rest of your skin-care routine. Seborrheic dermatitis can also show up on the face, behind the ears, the chest, the back. You don’t have to stop using the rest of your routine to use it.”
Simone, you are a big beauty person. Besides this treatment, is there anything you’ve found recently that you love?
“My friend was asking me this yesterday! I love a lip stain right now, like the Benefit Cosmetics one. I love those because you don’t have to do a full face, you can just put it on and go. I think that’s also the beauty of this treatment, honestly—put it on and go!”
Travel, lack of sleep and stress are triggers for so much. How are you thinking about your wellness right now when you’re this busy?
“I feel like we plan everything out pretty strategically. When I was in Peru recently, every night I made sure to take a bath with some bubbles and just wind down. I find myself doing that whenever I’m in hotels. If we’ve had a long night, I come in, take a bath and it’s just something I can control rather than feeling like I need to do Pilates every day or something. Easy things that make me feel comfortable, confident and relaxed. Baths have been the easiest, because there’s usually a tub everywhere I go. It just puts me in a calm, chill headspace.”
