Success Story: HG Azelaic acid. Haven't experienced flareup ever since quitting cortisol creams. I feel I finally won this battle, especially against a chronic flareup. Detailed post with lots of tips
Hi everyone,
*sorry for crappy English, its not my native language*
I feel like I have finally won my battle against my facial sebderm and the chronic flare-up that would NOT calm down no matter what (and if it did, it would return in less than 24 hours) since march 2022.
Thanks to all of you here in this sub doing the lords work, my current dermatologist (who is NOT from my country The Netherlands, where I have only experienced them ascribing cortisone creams; they seem so disinterested in actually helping you), r/SkinCareScience and r/tretinoin, I feel like I got to understand how my skin worked and what it needed. I want to give back to this community by clearly sharing my insights and results.
Problem
Sebderm in face for 10+ years. Started with strong hydrocortisone cream for the first few years, until I realized I wanted to heal it from within. Stopped using hormonal cream and focussed mostly on diet, gut health and hormone balance, which has been somewhat successful until last year. I moved to a dyryer and colder country for a while and had a crush on someone.. Was desperate and started applying hydrocortisone cream for another year since Oktober 2021.
Fast forward to March 2022, when I got covid and my skin was probably used to the hydrocortisone cream. My skin was UNCONTROLLABLE. Acne, perioral dermatitis, sebderm. Nothing would calm it down, including all the things it did before to cure flare-ups:
What cured flare-ups before this problem
- Exercising
- Good amount of sleep / rest / no stress / watch coffee intake (cortisol)
- Celery juice on empty stomach in the morning (see medical medium protocol)
- Gluten, dairy and sugar free diet
- Low carb diet and high in consuming GREEN BITTER vegetables and herbs: rocket!!!, spinach, all green salads, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots,
- Herbal teas: dandelion leaves tea, peau d'arco (for yeast imbalance)
- Estroblock for rebalancing female hormones (estrogen dominance) : I used this on and off. Please only try this under the guidance of a practitioner. It helped clear the toxic hormone residues left in my liver after I quit taking the pill. It got rid of chronic sebderm flare-ups and chronic vaginal yeast infections. I kinda suspect there was candida thriving on that residue, and the Estroblock got rid of it.
This lifestyle helped me quickly address flare-ups, but they would always come back often. I felt I had it under CONTROL but still it wreaked havoc on my life here and there. My flareups would last for week(s).
What got rid of my chronic flare up (and what I suspect caused it)
As you can see, I already knew how to adjust my lifestyle and did some gut healing beforehand, but it just wasn't enough. Nothing soothed my skin during this chronic flare-up. After my dermatologist recommended I should give Azaleic Acid and tretinoin a chance, I decided to dive into skincare science and read stories by people who had used actives such as retinoids and Azaleic acid have success. The thought of using actives gave me the shudders. YIKES, putting exfoliating acids on my inflamed sebderm skin? No thanks. However, one person in this sub had great results using Azelaic Acid 10% on her sebderm and with her advice I got rid of mine too.
After only three applications, I noticed a difference in my skin texture and have NOT experienced sebderm flareups and its a pretty dry winter over here! What I suspect happened is that the hydrocortisone thinned my skin, even after using it for less than a YEAR!!! I can not believe how this cream damaged my skin barrier in such a short amount of time, making it even MORE susceptible to infections and inflammation. I think I was stuck in a vicious cycle, and now I finally understand how your skin gets super addicted to that stuff. After quitting the hydrocortisone it felt like nothing could ever heal my skin and I had to apply my moisturizers and occlusives every hour just to make sure my skin wouldn't crack. Now here's the thing: not only does azeleic acid have anti fungal properties, it also RENEWS the skin cells (aka makes the barrier thicker). Something I feel is very much needed when your skin barrier has been THINNED by all the hormone creams we've been told to put on our skin! The result is, I believe, that my skin is back in its old shape and working as it's supposed to: it's a healthy, strong barrier that keeps all the nasty gunk outside.
\**In sum: please don't smear hormonal creams on your face, opt for azelaic acid instead.**\**
What to expect when you start using it
Please note that there are some side effects when using it for the first time. Your skin needs to get used to it, so you can expect some burning, itching. This is completely normal. There are many guides and articles online that might help you understand how to apply it and when, and HOW TO BUILD UP the frequency of application. Some tips:
- Opt for malassassezia friendly / fungal acne safe routine
- Use the "sandwich method" (cleanser, moisturizer, azelaic acid, moisturizer, occlusive if needed)
- You will probably experience flaking and burning first. focus on healing the skin barrier before applying again
- If you CAN use La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 during these times, I highly recommend you to apply it to heal the skin barrier (it is not Malassezia safe but doesn't cause any flareups or breakouts on my own skin).
- There's creams versus gels. Creams are less irritating, but might clog your pores if you experience break outs. Gels are acne friendly, but cause more flaking and exfoliation.
- Start with the lowest dosage: 10% first. Ask your dermatologist for a prescription or get one from The Ordinary for example (this version is a cream and not Malassezia safe, however. Still worth the try)
TLDR; YOUR SKIN BARRIER IS EVERYTHING. DO NOT MESS WITH IT!
Important additional personal information:
- 30F, half European half asian
- Born with a Caesarian cut and didn't get breastfed (perfect foundation for gut dysbiosis and weakened immune system)
- My mother has sebderm too, but mine was always worse and chronic.
- I recently got some important stool test results back and I apparently have mild to severe gut dysbiosis and a leaky gut (now fixing with diet under the guidance of a practitioner). I think Covid messed up all the healing I've done prior to getting infected
- I also have acne, which I now think is caused by putting on products that aggravate Malassezia on my skin. My routine and skin is getting better every month ever since using Fungal safe products.
- I have done SO MUCH internal work in order to heal my sebderm: FMT (fecal microbiota transplant), paleo diet, paleo aip diet, vegan diet, liver detox, gut detox, candida diet, acupuncture, 100000s of supplements, numerous colon cleanses.. I believe the gut healing has helped in many ways, but not the external part (skin barrier)
I hope this dump will help SOMEONE out there. This process is changing my life and helped me realize that WE CAN HEAL THIS SHIT. We just need to invest our time in doing the research and understanding our bodies. Good luck, you've got this.
You can find my routine in the comments!!
Comments
Post a Comment