Advice Please! Skin peeling on eyelids, around mouth...why?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Thu Apr 25, 2013 8:50 am

I just found this forum and am hoping for your help. My skin is lightly peeling on my eyelids, around my eyes as well as around my mouth and nose. This is my skin regime: morning: wash with Cetaphil cleanser. Put on Timeless Skin Care 20% Vit. C + E Ferulic Acid. Put on Elta MD sunscreen, than Stila tinted moisturizer. Evening: wash face with Cetaphil and Pro X cleansing brush. Every other night I use Tretinoin 0.1% cream (a pea size) I use this after 30 minutes of cleansing my face. I then put on moisturizer (either Cerave PM or Pro X Micro Sculpting Cream) about 10 minutes after using Tretinoin. Twice a week (not on the nights I use Tretinoin) I use Alpha Hydrox 12% souffle. I have been using the Tretinoin since February, but this is the first time these areas have started peeling. Am I over exfoliating? Skin is really shiny, but not oily? Any advice or ideas on my regime or changing it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

free skin care · Thu Apr 25, 2013 10:49 am

Sounds like a pretty normal reaction to Tretinoin. It has taken me almost a year of every other day usage of .025% to get over the random peelies.

free skin care · Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:35 pm

Lauralizzie is right, you will peel using tretinoin. Could you switch to the less aggressive 0.025% which she uses, then gradually reintroduce the stronger?

I do agree you are overexfoliating.

Please tell me you are NOT washing your face every night for thirty minutes - the pro x brush should not be used for more than a minute!
The tretinoin, the pro x, Timeless Skincare 20% etc. (this actally has a warning regarding exfoliation, and is specifically contraindicated for use on oily skin) and the Alphahydrox souffle are ALL exfoliants.
Slow it right down!
For now, cut out the Timeless Skincare and the Alphahydrox. Do you really need two sunscreens? (stila is also a sunscreen). Cetaphil is gentle and not likely to cause a reaction, but over zealous scrubbing will. Keep the tretinoin away from your immediate eye area, and the nostril creases. Your evening moisturisers should be fine; you can reintroduce the other creams as your skin gets more used to the tretinoin.
Good luck.

free skin care · Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:32 pm

Also consider seasonal allergies. It happens to my little daughter every spring time. The skin on her lids, nose and around her mouth starts to peel. It goes away after a while, but with her I know it's due to seasonal allergies because she is little and doesn't use any cosmetics.

free skin care · Fri Apr 26, 2013 2:51 am

There seems to be a spate of problems coming to the board from people over exfoliating and using too much acid on their faces. I do find it somewhat alarming. Its easier to disrupt the skin barrier than to re establish it.

Go light handed, with skincare!

free skin care · Fri Apr 26, 2013 3:35 am

Using 0.1% on the eyes as a starting point is a mistake, that most derms wouldn't advise. I used 0.25 for at least a year on my eyes, in fact my derm told me not to apply Retin A on my eyelids for at least 6-8 months into my retin A routine so that's most definitely part of the problem.

That's an awful lot of exfoliation, why do you need to do so much?

eahrold wrote:

I just found this forum and am hoping for your help. My skin is lightly peeling on my eyelids, around my eyes as well as around my mouth and nose. This is my skin regime: morning: wash with Cetaphil cleanser. Put on Timeless Skin Care 20% Vit. C + E Ferulic Acid. Put on Elta MD sunscreen, than Stila tinted moisturizer. Evening: wash face with Cetaphil and Pro X cleansing brush. Every other night I use Tretinoin 0.1% cream (a pea size) I use this after 30 minutes of cleansing my face. I then put on moisturizer (either Cerave PM or Pro X Micro Sculpting Cream) about 10 minutes after using Tretinoin. Twice a week (not on the nights I use Tretinoin) I use Alpha Hydrox 12% souffle. I have been using the Tretinoin since February, but this is the first time these areas have started peeling. Am I over exfoliating? Skin is really shiny, but not oily? Any advice or ideas on my regime or changing it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

Fri Apr 26, 2013 1:57 pm

Thank you very much for the replies. I do want to clarify that I am not cleansing my face for 30 minutes Laughing

I wait 30 minutes after cleansing to put on the tretinoin. I don't know why I didn't realize the 20% Vitamin C + Ferulic acid was an exfoliater. Of course it is...it's an acid! Thank you Billybob for pointing that out. This serum is actually the newest addition to my regime. The skin on my eyelid was never peely, flaky before using this serum. I do really like it,for anyone who is curious about it. Definately has brightened my skin tone, but I think I will use it every other morning and just a few drops. Thank you again and I love this forum! So much good information and advice!

free skin care · Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:46 am

eahrold - Thank you for starting this thread! I may be 52, but I'm new to all this skincare stuff and it appears that I am most definitely over exfoliating too.

My dermatologist told me to use the Clarisonic twice a day (I was just using it once). And I love using my Vit C + Ferulic acid serum every morning. I'm also using the Neocutis Bio-Serum most mornings (dermatologist's advice), which supposedly has a high concentration of hyaluronic acids. All that in addition to 0.05% tretinoin gel (Kinerase Pro + Therapy) almost every night! Shock

Oh, and I'm also embarrassed to say it, for the last three weeks, I've done a low % lactic acid peel once a week (but I don't use the tretinoin that night).

catski - what are the signs that one has disrupted the skin barrier? (I'm so ignorant, I'm not even sure what the skin barrier is!)

free skin care · Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:20 am

The best way to tell if you are being too hard with your skin is to think about how it feels after the CE Ferulic. If it stings a lot, then you are doing too much.

The Bio Serum is soothing and repairing. If you are stinging after the CE F then use less retina and maybe use the Clarisonic once a day or just not twice a day, every day. Or maybe your skin is fine with all that!

free skin care · Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:28 pm

LauraLizzie wrote:

The best way to tell if you are being too hard with your skin is to think about how it feels after the CE Ferulic. If it stings a lot, then you are doing too much.

Thank you, LauraLizzie!

Oh, no, the Vit C + Ferulic doesn't sting at all. In fact, I love the feeling of it on my face (sometimes I even use it at night too *blush*). Put it on my hands too. Feels good!

It's the Mad Hippie brand, so maybe it's not as strong as some others? http://www.madhippie.com/shop/vitamin-c-serum/

free skin care · Sat Apr 27, 2013 2:51 pm

Pinot, I didn't realize that I'd gotten myself in trouble for some time after slowly incorporating one product after another. My skin seemed to be handling everything just fine, and then it suddenly started freaking out - thinning, sensitivity, inflamation. It was scary!

I think skin is normally pretty resilient, but if you start taking that for granted and adding more and more, it all becomes too much for it to cope with.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but now I follow a rule where I only use one acid or treatment (meaning physical exfoliation or other product) a night. It gives my skin a chance to adjust and let it do its magic, and then recover before I'm on to the next thing. That's my thinking, anyway. And my skin is much happier!

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.