Sarah has warned other people not to make the same mistake she did
A woman says sitting too close to her electric heater caused her to develop ‘toasted skin’ syndrome. Sarah Maxwell is an aesthetician who shares skincare hacks and ASMR videos.
The 26-year-old also often gives her viewers tips on what is good and bad for your skin. But earlier this year, while she was treating a client, she spotted something horrifying developing on her own leg. A strange-looking print – “looking like a slice of toasted bread” – had started to form on her shin.
“It was while I was using a space heater in my facial studio just a few months ago,” Sarah, said. “I was giving a facial with the heater on the left side of my facial bed and it was blowing directly onto my left calf.
“After a few days, I started to notice a laced blotchy rash appear on my calf.” Sarah quickly realised it had been caused by the heater and she had accidentally given herself toasted skin syndrome.
The skin condition, also called erythema ab igne EAI, is caused by long-term exposure to heat. Prolonged thermal radiation exposure to the skin can lead to the development of reticulated erythema, hyperpigmentation, scaling, and telangiectasias in the affected area.
Sarah said: “I had accidentally given myself toasted skin syndrome while working on helping clients with their skin, it was a very ironic realisation. At first when I noticed it, I was disappointed in myself as I pride myself as an aesthetician who is quite aware of different external factors and how they affect the skin.
“I was a bit taken back by the rash and felt like I had created damage to my own skin unintentionally. Thankfully the rash itself did not itch or have any pain associated with it. It felt exactly like my normal skin, but the appearance of it was so discoloured.”
Eventually, the marks began to fade. Sarah said: “My family’s first reaction when I showed it to them was a bit of shock. They had never heard of toasted skin syndrome, let alone seen it first hand, so I think they were scared for me.
“Thankfully with toasted skin, it will typically go away on its own once you stop using the heat source that caused it. For me, it took about two months to go away.”
Sarah shared a clip of her leg to social media and it quickly gathered over 689,000 views. She says he hasn’t used the heater since. She said: “After this happened, I realised how easily toasted skin can occur and decided to make a video about it.
“The comment section was flooded with people who have experienced it in a similar way with space heaters, heated blankets and hot water bottles. As an aesthetician, my goal is to educate people on how to best care for their skin and enjoy healthy skin for a lifetime.
“I hope that by sharing my experience with toasted skin syndrome, it can bring awareness to it and hopefully encourage people to use heat sources on their skin with caution.” In the clip, Sarah can be seen speaking to the camera as recalls the incident.
She explains how and why she got toasted skin, before also sharing clips of her left leg. It can be seen covered with a blotchy, red rash and small white dots. She captioned the post: “A very sad realisation because I can’t live without my space heater. I am now using it at a safer distance and covering my legs.”
Lambske said: “Me with my toasted skin on my stomach.” Someone else wrote: “This came up right as I turned on my heating pad.” Another user added: “Cries in endometriosis.”
Mandi commented: “Girl, you’re too late, I got this on my stomach from a hot water bottle.” Keema said: “I had it really bad on my legs it finally left after four months once I stopped using my space heater.” Saruh wrote: “Me sitting here with a heating pad.”
