Today is a delightfully sunny day. Being from Singapore, you'd think I'd be happy. And I am. Sort of. But I've also just had my hair coloured (under normal light, it looks jet black, so, for the first time in years, I've got a whole head of black hair), and I also put on sunscreen (something I was allergic to when I was a teenager but not of late) so as to protect myself from the sun, and, guess what? My face and neck are now both bright red, as if I've been drinking. And, of course, I've a party to go to tonight. I've taken an antihistamine, so the itching has subsided just a little, but the redness remains. And my face and neck are both warm to the touch, swollen, tight and just that little bit sensitive, so I'm wary about putting on concealer and redness reducer even if I will be seen in public. And I'm not even sure if I can drink given that I've taken an antihistamine.

I went to the GP the other day to get it looked at. I'm not a hypochondriac, but this is really starting to get to me. I want it resolved so that I stop feeling so embarrassed of having others see me. My team-mates have told me they don't notice anything until I bring it up, but they now also know I bring it up because "it's painful, it's burning and my face hurts!"

Anyway, the GP wasn't of much help. "It looks like you're allergic to something," said he. "Try and narrow it down." Well, thanks, dude. Other than the facial in April which seems to have triggered everything off, and the products I purchased from the spa, nothing else has changed. I stopped using those products a few days after, and revamped my facial regime to use all sorts of products from Avene and A Derma which have been formulated for irritated and sensitive skin.

So far, those products have helped and haven't. I have several decent days - usually the middle of the week - and then some really bad days - usually the weekends. I don't know what exactly the difference has been... maybe it's been the sun and the warmth, because I'm not spending the day in the office as I do during the week. Maybe it's dust or something in my apartment, but wouldn't that be a constant factor throughout the week? Maybe it's just that my immune system has been broken down and it needs to be treated such that it can regain its former strength and fight everything off. I don't know. If I did, I wouldn't have needed to go to the doctor.

To add insult to injury, he prescribed me some antihistamines. That's not the bad part. I had some suspicions and checked with the pharmacist. Turns out I could get the antihistamines over-the-counter cheaper than if I had to pay for it as a prescription. Same with the antifungal medicine he prescribed for me to use on my neck because he said the rash on my neck looked more fungal (scaly skin and the fact that I mentioned it started when I flew to Singapore in September), while the one on my face looked more like an allergic reaction. Great. Even my own face is f****d up.

Maybe I'm allergic to the hair colour. But my scalp's not itchy in the slightest. Maybe my skin's just at a stage where it's so freakin' vulnerable to everything. And that sucks majorly.

And if it's the warmth that I'm susceptible to, then that's even worse. How on earth am I ever going to cope back in Singapore? It's getting to a point where I don't quite recall how it's like to have a face which isn't red!