★★★★★
My doctor diagnosed it as POD and gave me metronidizol, which made it worse, so I stopped using it. I eliminated soaps with Sodium Laurel Sulfates and parabens, started using organic baby products, and tried all of the "natural cures" in the following order: Apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, diaper rash cream, hydrogen peroxide. All of them seemed to irritate my skin further, and led to new outbreaks. Finally, I stopped using *all* face and tooth products. That's right: No soap, no lotion, no makeup, no toothpaste, no chapstick, nothing. I splashed my face with water, did goatsmilk yogurt masks at night, and brushed my teeth with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. When my lips felt chapped, I used olive oil. My skin started to heal, although I did continue to get smaller, localized outbreaks, much closer to the ones I experienced over the last several years. I read about Violet Extract and tried applying it to these areas, and it seemed to have no effect. I revisited my dermatologist, who gave me erythromycin gel for the skin around my mouth and muciprin ointment for the areas with active outbreaks. They went away! (I am actually scared to declare this out of fear that I will jinx myself and bring them back, but it has been over a month now of clear skin!)
My regimen these days is super simple. I wash my face with water at night, use ACV to tone my skin afterwards (it now seems to be handling ACV, which helps control the oil factor) and, occasionally, I apply goatsmilk yogurt masks -- that's it! No soap, no lotion, nothing. My skin has not looked this healthy in years! I actually used new mineral makeup the other day for an event and, the very next afternoon, had a small outbreak under my nose. That made things pretty clear to me. The only drawback to not being able to put product on my face is that I have to be really careful about staying out of the sun as I can no longer use sunblock...
So, for those of you who, like I did, feel like you are doomed to eternity to live with a seriously unsightly rash, keep up hope! I know it's hard to go without makeup when you feel ugly and rashy, or not to use soap and lotion, but it's essential! Once your skin gets used to living without products, and you notice the results, you really won't miss them at all... And air travel is hassle-free (no more plastic baggies).
Things to Avoid
★★★★★
Things to Avoid
