Vet Needs Skin-Care Recommendations.
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:14 pm

Hello all. I never thought I'd ever be frequenting a makeup/skin care forum, but, well, maybe this signifies a new direction in my life. Smile

Seriously though, I've had an odd & maddening problem for well over a decade now. It came in stages up until a few years ago, maybe 2-4 major episodes + the same number of less severe ones each year, lasting a week or so at a time. But then it seemed to go semi-permanent & it only GOES AWAY for those few weeks per year. First I'll give some background & description of the problem, then some tidbits you'll probably need or want to know. Finally, I'll give some general ideas about what I'm looking for. But just remember, I'm wide open to ALL suggestions, even if they completely differ from what I have to say. That's exactly why I'm here, because I need help & haven't been able to find it yet.

Problem is, my facial skin, especially jaw-line, behind ears, & sometimes sides of nose become VERY red, often itchy, sometimes mildly burning. That's without using anything except mild soap, shower water, & Huggies baby-wipes with Shea Butter, no alcohol. Those seem to be the gentlest I've found & I use them for cleaning up like after mowing or anything else which gets my face lightly dirty. Sometimes when it starts burning, I'll use these just for a cooling relief. Note that I don't SCRUB with them, only gently wipe. None of the above seems to ever make the problem worse, so I don't think any of that is adding to the problem.

I'm a 2-time war veteran & got involved with some nasty stuff in Iraq, lots of us did. While the VA has been more than helpful, they've never actually been able to ID a definite cause, nor a for-sure cure. But they tried & are still trying. None of the "normal" diagnoses have fit yet ... rosacia, etc., & so far none of the meds, creams, lotions, etc. have done much. Some temporarily made it even worse. I don't know the exact cause either & never will. You all saw the pictures ... smoke from burning oil wells & stuff like that. What you didn't see, but may have heard about later, is that some of that sand we tramped through almost surely had some bad stuff in it. Nerve gas, various chemical weapons, Saddam-Special poison, I have no idea, other than the sand had junk in it. Whether it was put there intentionally for us is irrelevant, it was just there & we stirred it up & walked through it. Now we're paying the price. Please note that I'm NOT asking anyone to diagnose. The only reason I included the above was to give you a general idea of the type of skin problem many of us have. All I'm wanting is my face back ... or at least for it not to hurt anymore.

The main problem is the redness. I wear a short beard now just so people won't stare at me. I would rather NOT, but it embarasses me to have a clean but red face, like the worst sunburn you've ever seen. Sometimes it feels that way too, especially in hot weather (now). I've tried prescription meds & creams from the VA, aloe vera based brand-name lotions, Vaseline for Men lotion, Cocoa Butter lotion, a little bit of everything. All of it was well respected brands, nothing cheap and/or of questionable quality. Some of this stuff backfires big time, like the aloe vera. The next day my entire jaw will be flaky dry skin, like it dried up my entire outer layer ... exactly opposite of what it SHOULD do. This doesn't actually hurt, but when they peel off they leave REALLY red spots for a few days. A couple of the lotions, even ones labeled for sensitive skin, set my face on fire & were immediately removed with the Huggies, which cooled it back down pretty good.

But what I HAVEN'T yet tried, since I'm a guy, is any of the women's skin creams .... anti-aging/spot removing/whatever you gals use to make your face pretty & blemish free. I lost my wife to a car wreck 3 years ago & haven't gotten back into the steady dating scene yet (kinda because of the red face), so don't have the luxury of stealing from her make-up bag to try things out on me. I'd probably pick the wrong thing anyway & wind up looking even worse.

So does anyone have suggestions? Know anything which is good at taking away redness, moisturizing to keep it from peeling, & cooling it down so it feels good? I don't want to spend 100 bucks on a little bottle of cream, but if it really works wonders then I will. Help please. I'll be your friend forever, unless you already have plenty of them & don't want another one.

Any other stuff you need to know to help make a suggestion, just ask. I'll try to be as informative as I can. Thanks in advance.

Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:24 am

Aloe vera gel will stimulate ciruclation which is why it can also be aggravating for really sensitive skin, but it helps with skin regeneration and it's usually temporary so don't be afraid to stick with it a little longer, it's very hydrating.

Avoid heavy oils and occulsive ointments like vaseline, these will actually create heat in the skin which can worsen it and does not hydrate the skin. You should use coconut oil which is a cooling oil. Because your skin is often inflamed it is probably really dehydrated which can further aggravate it. For hydration, use a serum or a hydrosol, you could even just use water, but serums or hydrosols provide extra beneficial ingredients. Just look for products that are cooling, soothing, and anti-inflammatory.

Some ingredients to look for would be:
chamomile
rose water
lavender
calendula
cucumber
sandlewood
lemon balm
helichrysum
aloe vera
oat beta glucan
zinc oxide

So you would spray or apply serum to the skin then use a lotion/cream/oil immediately after to seal it in.

Some things you could do at home would be apply yogurt to the area, or an oatmeal mask. You could brew some chamomile tea and rub the tea bag on the area, you could use the tea to spray on your face. Or mix the tea into the oatmeal for the mask. Have you ever just used calamine lotion?

free skin care · Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:56 am

It seems like chronic inflammation. I give u a tip, which has worked wonders for my chronic inflammation, not related to skin though... but this has helped people with skin disorders... its Nopal cactus juice, no it's not the one being advertised on tele a lot, pls visit swansonvitamins.com or this link: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-organic-certified-organic-nopal-juice-16-fl-oz-474-ml-liquid

I would suggest to buy 3 bottles at first as each bottle last like 2.5 weeks or so... warning, it's very bitter but worth it!

feel free to use the Promo Code:4THOFJULY

Its $5 off $50 , $10 of 75, $20 off $125.

Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:29 am

Have you tried just a basic sorbolene cream?

My skin is really sensitive during winter and I use Paula's choice Recovery cleanser and Recovery mosturiser.

free skin care · Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:50 am

You sound like a really cool person. I hope this forum's able to help.

I'd recommend ditching the soap for sure, and maybe using coconut oil (since that was recommended above) as a cleanser mixed with polysorbate 20 or 80 so it can be rinsed off.
And trying the yogurt & oatmeal masks, the latter of which I ALWAYS hear is helpful for people with similar issues.
Oatmeal on its own as a gentle cleanser may be even better. The chamomile tea as a toner as well.

The ingredients in Huggies babywipes look like this:
Water
Polysorbate 20
Malic Acid
Vitamin E Acetate
Methyl Paraben
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyl Dimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate

So you may want to try vitamin e and glycerin, but those are a little thick and hard to apply.

A lot of people get relief from zinc/oxide ointment (often found in the baby section). Try to get one with the least amount of ingredients possible, keeping in mind that whatever makes up the "ointment" (see above re vaseline) may cause you trouble.

By the way, this red, itching skin is fairly common, so you may not have to jump to conclusions such as being poisoned, which may lead you to believe that you're stuck with it. Skim the forum for rosacea etc, and you'll see that a lot of people have similar issues. Changing your diet from one that's heavily acidic would probably help as well.

But yeah, ditch the soap, for sure, and try to keep any shampoo from running down your face.

All the best!

Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:41 pm

I suspected that the recommendations would go the natural DIY route, but I really didn't know where to start with that type stuff. Now have some good info here.

1. Calamine = It's never seemed to do a single thing for me, other than die my skin pink. So I think I'll skip that one.

2. Diet = While I'm not sure if I have an acidic diet or not, I've been a health food junkie & near vegetarian for 20+/- years. I eat meat, but only super-lean fresh stuff like turkey, lean beef steaks, & certain seafoods. 85% of my diet would be stuff like romaine, raddachio, carrots, celery, butternut potatoes, cheeses, field peas, green beans, grapes, coconut, mango, varieties of nuts, granola, & protein shakes. It would be difficult for me to completely change this, but small changes could be done.

3. Never heard of sorbolene. Will have to read up on it.

4. Cactus juice. Interesting. I'll keep that in mind but would rather try the external route first.

5. Oatmeal, chamomile, & zinc oxide seem to be the highlights here, so I'll probably start with those first 2 & see what happens. I drink loads of Earl Grey, Spearmint, & Green Tea & always have. That's my alternative to sodas & sugary beverages which I haven't drank in years. But I've never gotten into the herbal teas, so don't have any chamomile to brew. I'll pick up some next time in town. I HAVE placed cold wet Green Tea bags on skin just as a cooling agent & they seemed to work well for that. Just haven't done it often.

6. Yogurt = Have to keep that one as a last resort. Just the smell disgusts me. But if nothing else works, I'll keep it in mind though.

Good info. Thanks. Don't be afraid to add more.

free skin care · Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:07 pm

Maybe eczema? I have redness and itching from excema on the side of my face, around my hairline, and the area between my eye and nose. The one product that has really worked for my redness is Neosporin Eczema daily moisturizing cream. This works in a few days and really takes the redness down. Have not had any issues with stinging.

Also, Replenix x3 cream works on the redness, but it will also make you peel/flake.

And lastly is a new product called Dermachromic by PrecisionMD. It is a copper and chlorophyllin product. This works but takes maybe a week or so. No issue with stinging with this product either.

Good luck!

Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:57 pm

I forgot also Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)is really good for reducing redness and hydration. I hear of a lot of success with that for people with rosacea or sensitive skin. You can look for the ingredient in a cream or toner, it's also pretty simple to make cause I'm sure the powder just mixes with water.

I would be careful drinking too much spearmint tea...it reduces testosterone. And I find the oatmeal mask to work best with chamomile tea, I've used milk or water before and it's still good, but seems to work best with the tea I noticed.

I thought calamine lotion had zinc oxide in it, I'm not sure of the concentration, maybe look for a sunscreen with a high concentration of it.

I've recently been using this cleanser, I find it leaves my skin feeling cool and refreshed, it's very gentle, it has neem in it which is used to treat skin rashes and all sorts of disorders, also tumeric which is a really good anti-inflammatory. It's soap free, and it's clear, it won't stain your skin yellow from the tumeric. It uses coconut oil, but its not an oily feel, it's more like a gel. My skin gets hot and red easily, so this is the best cleanser I've found for my skin type, and I've tried a lot of cleansers over the years.

http://www.vitacost.com/himalaya-herbal-healthcare-organique-face-wash-neem-and-turmeric

free skin care · Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:28 am

wishful skin wrote:

I forgot also Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)is really good for reducing redness and hydration. I hear of a lot of success with that for people with rosacea or sensitive skin. You can look for the ingredient in a cream or toner, it's also pretty simple to make cause I'm sure the powder just mixes with water.

I would be careful drinking too much spearmint tea...it reduces testosterone. And I find the oatmeal mask to work best with chamomile tea, I've used milk or water before and it's still good, but seems to work best with the tea I noticed.

I thought calamine lotion had zinc oxide in it, I'm not sure of the concentration, maybe look for a sunscreen with a high concentration of it.

I've recently been using this cleanser, I find it leaves my skin feeling cool and refreshed, it's very gentle, it has neem in it which is used to treat skin rashes and all sorts of disorders, also tumeric which is a really good anti-inflammatory. It's soap free, and it's clear, it won't stain your skin yellow from the tumeric. It uses coconut oil, but its not an oily feel, it's more like a gel. My skin gets hot and red easily, so this is the best cleanser I've found for my skin type, and I've tried a lot of cleansers over the years.

http://www.vitacost.com/himalaya-herbal-healthcare-organique-face-wash-neem-and-turmeric

Both of your posts have helpful information. I certainly hopes some of this will help our new member.

Good luck DavidLee and thank you for your service..

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.