I have so many problems with my skin, I don't even know where to start with treating it.
I suffer from rosacea, severe eczema on my cheeks, and hypersensitive skin. I literally can't touch it without it going bright red and bumpy. My skin is allergic to almost everything. I can't use anything chemical based. Nothing citrus. Im sensitive to glycerin, cetearyl alcohol , tea tree. Etc etc. Even tap water, so I have to keep buying bottled water. Im very sensitive to aloe vera, mineral oil, honey, and I especially can't tolerate using any oils neat ... Jojoba, coconut, almond, rosehip, primrose, hemp, almond etc etc .. You name it, I've tried it. My dermatologist has said in 20 years of doing his job, he's never dealt with anyone with such sensitive skin and doesnt know how to advise me anymore. Ive had food allergy tests done about 3 years ago and it showed I was sensitive to cheese and cows milk, which I've avoided totally. I've spent over 3000 buying and trying every product you can think of and the only one that I can tolerate is Ultrabalm by Lush which contains only 3 ingredients ( jojoba oil, candellila wax, rose wax). Trouble is it's very heavy and greasy and just sits on my skin, I can't rub or pat it in because of how inflamed it gets from touching it or putting any pressure on it. This is also a huge problem when it comes to cleansing because I can't clean my face properly without rubbing. The lack of cleaning is causing me huge breakouts on my cheeks and there's nothing I can do to treat them or to prevent the clogging/outbreaks from happening. The breakouts are also flaring my other skin conditions up.
I'm so depressed over this I just don't know what to do any more. The itchyness is unbarable. And the added rosacea means it's very red and has burning feeling. It's been like this every day for over 4 years now.
I've tried every cream and medication that my derm gave me. All with very bad results.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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ive been going to the derms since the beginning of high school about- around 5 and a half years ago. And have been on many creams, and oral medications to treat my skin- which is super sensitive (like.... i cannot even explain) about a year and a half ago my derm said i may have rosacea (which i already knew i had) And all the creams were like acid to the skin- treating my acne while keeping my sensitive/rosacea skin in mind was a struggle. I just decided last winter i was going to jump on accutane (started end of may when i got back from school) and ended about two months ago.
The drug can be harmful- im not going to ignore that- but i was tired of just applying topicals month after month, hoping for some kind of "cure".
Before the course i stopped makeup, (which helped sooooooo much)
and found mouistrerizing my skin made my acne + rosacea even worse so stopped that.
All i do now is splash my face once with tepid water and apply cerave hydrating cleanser for like 10 seconds- pat dry with a *paper* towel and im ready.
My skin is dry (it doesnt feel it) but on my cheeks i can see scales but my skin hasn't felt better.
Im not recc accutane because i dont think its up to somebody like me to recommend a drug because i dont know your body/health- thats up to your personal dr or derm. But i just stated my experience being that my situtation was very close to yours.
Good luck!!
Thank you all for your replies. I have actually been on Accutane. it was prescribed to try treat my acne rosacea. It cleared the acne, but did nothing for the redness on my cheeks. I also believe Accutane caused my eczema. I wasn't born with it and I didn't have it before I started taking it. I did have dry skin. but not these red, raw, weepy and itchy patches that I permanently have now. I think trying it again would only cause more havok with the eczema. This is deffo a very awkward situation. Thank you for suggestions though.
natural oils only, like coconut oil, or jojoba oil alone (skip the waxes in the ultrabalm)....gentle washes
I only wish I could use plain oils neat on my face but unfortunately I can't. It's very bizarre I know and no dermatologist can understand why I can't tolerate using oils neat. I have tried plain coconut oil and jojoba oil and they both caused bad reactions. with the jojoba oil, I had redness after 2 days but stuck with it for near 2 weeks until it got so bad, I had to go round the hospital. It seems I can only use oils when they're mixed at the right amount with other ingredients that I can just about stand using. It's so bizarre and I've never heard of anyone suffering from this same problem. All my Drs are baffled by it.