Dermatographia as Body Art.
March 19, 2008 by Liz Lewis
Filed under A Mother's Wisdom, Beauty, Health, Humor, Misc., Morning News, Oddities
Meet Ariana Page Russell.
Ariana suffers from dermatographia, a skin disorder that affects up to 5% of the population. But instead of hiding her skin disorder, which is what most people do, she has found a most unique way of dealing with it. She ‘paints’ with her dermatographia.
Dermatographia (’writing on the skin’) causes any scratched or rubbed skin to become reddened and raised. It looks and feels a lot like hives. And just like hives, the redness, itchiness, and swelling disappears, usually within 30 minutes.
Instead of wishing these raised and reddened areas away, Ariana activitly encourages them with the blunt end of a knitting needle. Her skin as a canvas, she creates interesting designs and patterns.
Ariana, who has a MFA in Photography from the University of Washington, then photographs these artistic creations before they disappear. Some photographs become prints, others are enlarged and become wallpaper.
Talk about utilizing your resources and minimizing your outlay. There is no money spent on paint and the canvas is reusable. It’s ingenious, creative, and apparently selling well. In fact, some of her art has sold for nearly $4,500.
(source)
(photos courtesy of Ariana Page Russell)
Great!
Amazing really…you can find art in the strangest places…
I’ve had dermatographia since I was seven and I have never met any one who’s had it too. I’m really happy that your proud of it. I find what you do really insipirig.
We are at least 3 then on this planet, Sofie
Greetings,
Juhani
i’ve never met anyone with dermatographia except me! i think it’s cool that she does this but with my experience with dermatographia, doesn’t it itch badly after she scrapes herself? anyway, now i’m not the only one!!
Well, now we are 4. One more so we are a handful of people
So have any of the rest of you tried drawing on the skin ? It’s quite amazing what Ariana has created…
i have let people write letters on my skin, but i try to refrain from that because it itches terribly!
do you have dermatographia Liz?
Hi Amanda,
no. have suffered from urticeria (hives) once and it nearly drove me crazy — sure wasn’t interested in trying any drawing — was to busy trying to scratch the skin away…
ya, try having it every day! ariana must have lots of restraint, or maybe it drives her crazy too.
Well, I usually write something or just draw x to show curious people that DG is not dangerous.
I have had this skin condition for at least 10 years. I inherited it from my mother. I never knew what it was until recently I went in for a regular dr visit and the dr noticed the raised welts and told me what it was. Now I have a name for it!
I am glad to find out there are others out there with it too.
thats amazing i just found out what i had was dermatographia and now i know im not the only one its been a good day lol
Well, our skins have spoken via Ariana
Maybe we could develop a skin-language e.g. help blind people to communicate 
Welcome to a kind of “mini-Heroes-show”, Josh
Well, I’m too joining the gang as I recently (one month back) got this problem
. I just hope that scientists/doctors get a full cure for it. It is too much annoying..
does dermatographia make your skin burn and itch dreadfully for any of you guys too?
Juhani,
that skin-language idea sounds interesting! people with dermatographia all over the globe could be famous!
Yes, I feel those burnings and itchings but dreadful is slightly too strong statement. Though occasionally dreadful is correct. Place for a study? I also forget the symptoms if I focus on other things i.e. not thinking about or looking at the actual skin area.
hi, most of the time is under control with help of antihystamines. kids think its funny to write on me. have one question if anyone knows the answer, im thinking of getting a tattoo, will i b able to or will the dg stop me
Your tattoo will be no problem. I have dg and have a tat and everything went fine. Granted, it was a very small one on my foot, but it was fine. Go for it. I plan to get more!
Hi bev,
I have no idea what happens and no knowledge about risks but if you’ll fix that
tattoo… let us know (with pic if possible).
Strongly recommend that you should talk with your doc about this before doing anything.
Hi Bev, I have had DG for as long as I can remember……. I’m mid 40’s and I have numerous tattoos. For me, no problem at all with them.
hya i think the body art looks fab n is a unique gift!
my 2year old son has just bn diagnosed with dermatographia and im tryin 2 find out as much as poss as it is so rare! does any1 have any tips on supportin him to feel comfy in his skin n not embarassed by it as he grows up because ive seen so many negative comments! he neva complains about it as hes so young but i wonder what the sensations his skin feels when touched as it welts often and the slightist touch causes dark reddeding! thanku 4 any replies x
Hi!
I have it too and to be honest I don’t know why people hide it! When I was younger my friends found it really cool because I could draw on myself and I like to do cool patterns on my hands. Now I’m older I still do the patterns when I’m bored but I find I have to be careful when it comes up on my wrists and lower arms, as teachers have asked if everything is ok because it looks like self harm scars from a distance! Otherwise I think it’s a really cool and interesting condition to have and I can’t believe I’ve only just found out just how many other people there are with it
Mr. Pogle…
I’m hoping you come back to this site and see my comment. I’d really like to get more information on tattooing and DG. I have a few tattoos in mind, but I’m concerned that DG will distort the ink.
wow, i never thought of turning this condition into art. i usually try not to scratch or rub against something, especially on my face. my mom and BF slap my hand for scratching. i’ve always wanted a tattoo and was planning on getting one for my 18th b-day but im super scared that something could go wrong because of the dermatographia. how would someone with this condition go about getting a tattoo???
I also have Dermatographia for a few years. My wife occasionally plays tic-tac-toe on my skin.
It does not bother me, but my wife says it looks scary when I scratched myself badly and the welts comes. Sometimes it looks like been flogged, with welts criss-crossing my back after my scratching.
I do not find it itching that much, but occasionally when it is really bad, I might take an anti-histamine.
I’ve had dermatographia since I was a kid, but just realized it had a name lol. I always thought it was funny when people freaked out after I barely scraped my skin and drew shapes and they welted up into pictures. It itches a little at first, but I’ve gotten so used to it I don’t even notice when I am welted up until people tell me. Maybe I should start selling pictures too
I had no idea what I have was called Dermatographia until I saw this blog posted today… Cool! The first time I had my legs waxed the lady doing the waxing just about had a heart attack. LOL I assured her it’s painless and goes away… I’m sure she thought I was going to sue… hahahaha
And imagine my abusive xh’s horror when he SAW what hitting me did! A large handprint welt scared just him a little.
I have this to I thought I was the only one until now!!!!!!!
my sister and i have had this as long as i can remember, we used to always play tic-tac-toe on each other. now i have a son and he has it also thats when i found out it’s an actual condition. i thought we were the only ones.
My dermatographia is itchy. I have cholinergic urticaria too, which is a hive-reaction to the body overheating/sweating. It’s been really miserable for me, so I take antihistamines virtually everyday–which is also miserable. Imagine having a whole body allergic reaction to a hot shower! LOL.
All things considered, my issues are still two of the most interesting skin conditions to have.
i dont like having this i get soooo itchy and i swell up and i feel my skin will sag more than its supposed to when im older.