After surviving a health scare Simone Biles described as “almost dying” a few months ago, she’s in a much better place.
Biles declined to go into detail, but tells TODAY.com that she’s “a lot better” these days. “Obviously, (I have) trusted professionals around me and great, great doctors, so I’m doing a lot better,” she explains. “It’s still an interesting road, but I am doing a lot better.”
And that’s not the only health issue the 7-time Olympic gold medal gymnast has been dealing with.
A little over two years ago, Biles noticed itchy, flaky red patches of skin on her scalp and skin. “I was really self-conscious of it at first, so I kind of brushed it to the side,” she says.
But as an athlete, the itchiness and flakes started to impact her in new ways, she says, recalling “standing at the chalk bucket, just itching until I’m bleeding.”
In Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, Biles started opening up about the flakes on her scalp on TikTok. “If people noticed on the TV, I didn’t want them to say something before me,” she says. “So I was like, I have to address this because you couldn’t just avoid it. If they zoomed in, you could probably see it.”
After the Olympics, she got even more self-conscious about the flaking amid a flurry of on-camera appearances and photoshoots. While her hairstylist at home knew about the issue, having to explain the state of her skin and scalp to a new hair and makeup crew every time was exhausting and took a toll on her mental health.
“That’s when I felt it was the worst,” she says.
Biles and her hairstylist tried over-the-counter products and all kinds of oils to no avail. She happened to have a dermatologist appointment for a “dent” in her arm, she explains, and she took the opportunity to ask about her skin issues while she was there.
Earlier this year, Biles was finally diagnosed with two skin conditions: eczema on her arms and seborrheic dermatitis on her scalp.
‘Cousin’ Inflammatory Conditions
Seborrheic dermatitis and eczema are different conditions, but can both cause itchiness, redness and flaking skin, Dr. Angela Lamb, board-certified dermatologist, tells TODAY.com.
In many cases, what most of us refer to as dandruff is actually caused by seborrheic dermatitis, Lamb explains.
“We really understand it to be an inflammatory response; it’s an over-response of your body to just natural things,” she says. In particular, the condition develops as a response to malassezia, a type of harmless yeast that occurs normally on the scalp. And that response leads to the greasy patches, itchiness, redness and flaking.
It’s not an infection, nor is it a sign of bad hygiene, Lamb explains, noting that misconceptions like these often prevent people from getting proper treatment.
Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, is considered a “cousin inflammatory condition” to seborrheic dermatitis, Lamb says. But eczema is typically triggered by other things in the environment, such as changes in weather or humidity, or exposure to allergens like dust mites.
Although Biles once suspected her symptoms were linked to stress, she hasn’t noticed any particular pattern or cycle to her flares that point to a consistent trigger, which Lamb notes is common. For seborrheic and atopic dermatitis, triggers can be “all over the map,” Lamb explains.
A Simple, Effective Routine to Prevent Flare-Ups
Today, Biles keeps her skin healthy with a simple routine revolving around prescription medication: Zoryve, a drug that blocks an enzyme involved in inflammatory skin responses.
She uses a foam version of the medication on her scalp and face to manage seborrheic dermatitis, and she uses a cream version on her arms to keep eczema in check. Biles is helping to launch the Skin to Believe In campaign, from the makers of Zoryve, which encourages those living with inflammatory skin conditions to talk to their doctors about their symptoms.
Otherwise, Biles keeps her skin-care routine pretty minimal “in a healthy way,” she says. Biles and her sister “do as much as we need to, but we’re never overdoing it, like trying all the new masks,” she explains. And she generally steers clear of perfume to avoid irritating her skin.
Cutting Through the Stigma
Biles hopes that speaking openly about her skin journey helps other people understand what they’re experiencing and get the professional guidance they need rather than feeling isolated or self-conscious.
“At first I was really embarrassed and ashamed,” she says. “But then once I owned it, I felt a little bit more confident because then I could tell people what I was going through and exactly what it was.”
That’s even extended to her husband, Indianapolis Colts safety Jonathan Owens. Biles noticed that he has similar seborrheic dermatitis symptoms and, at first, worried that she “gave” the condition to him. But, as she learned more about it (and that it’s not contagious), Biles also helped him see that it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“Like I was in denial, he was in denial,” she says. But the same way he started therapy after seeing her go through her mental health journey, “I think I have motivated him in some form, and he’s like, ‘Okay, this is a normal thing. A lot of people have it,’” Biles says.
And while taking that first step to get help might be “a little bit scary,” Biles says, once you’ve done it, you’ll look back and think, “Oh, that was easy. I don’t know why I suffered for so long.”