Exclusive: Erin Jackson, Dr. Howard-Verovic & Beating Eczema

Medal Ceremony - Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Day 10 — Dean Mouhtaropoulos

As we move into the colder seasons ahead — a winter storm warning is already on the horizon in many states! — skin care should be at your utmost priority, especially for us melanated folk out here. However, there’s another very sizable group of individuals who have to work much harder than normal just to get their skin hydrated on a day-to-day basis; we’re talking about those who suffer with eczema.

One person who knows that struggle all too well is Olympic gold medalist Erin Jackson. Already making Black History at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport, the 33-year-old Florida native is making strides in more areas than on the ice rink. Not only is she currently cleaning up rather well by nabbing her second silver medal at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in the women’s 500m — her time was a personal best this past Sunday! — Erin is also one of the newest brand ambassadors for Lilly medicines and EBGLYSS in particular.

While she’s not taking EBGLYSS herself, the record-breaking ice queen still has a lot to share on dealing with, combatting and ultimately finding a system that heals her own eczema.

We got an up-close look into her story a few weeks back when we were invited to actually hit the ice with Erin at Chelsea Piers in New York City, where she also hosted a panel to discuss her new partnership with EBGLYSS, what it means to be a Black woman struggling with eczema and why we should always be one step ahead when it comes to seeking care. She was joined on the panel by Dr. Camille Howard-Verovic, eczema patient Justine and Eli Lilly and Company’s Senior Vice President of U.S. Immunology, Ashley Diaz-Granados, who moderated the conversation.

Take a look below at some of the facts on EBGLYSS shared at the event, via Lily:

“EBGLYSS® (EHB-glihs) is an injectable medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds (40 kg) with moderate-to-severe eczema (atopic dermatitis) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLYSS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids.

It is not known if EBGLYSS is safe and effective in children less than 12 years of age or in children 12 years to less than 18 years of age who weigh less than 88 pounds (40 kg).”

For Dr. Howard-Verovic, who also deals with eczema personally, she proved to be an expert on skincare and had a warm approach when it came to delivering the message. She’s the kind of woman who can back up everything she says with factual research and a smile to boot, and does it well enough to the point where you feel comfortable trusting her with, well, your life!

It’s for those reasons and more that we had to sit down with both Erin and Dr. Howard-Verovic for a deeper conversation on the topic at hand. From having some fun on the ice rink and going over drills with the pro herself to sitting down to discuss tips, tricks of the trade and a very interesting hot take on using wash cloths — uh oh, y’all! — that we think you’ll definitely want to take a look at.