u/CheckSeparate7114

I need help figuring out what this is around my lips. For context, around last October, I started going to this new esthetician and we decided to do a monthly enzyme chemical peel to help treat my acne. I can't find the exact name, but she described it as gentle enough that it could be left on for at least 6 hours then it would self-neutralized and stop working after that. I never had any breakouts/irritation post peel.

Around December-January, I started noticing the pigmentation (last picture), only near the right corner of my lips. It was much smaller then, but now it has spread and a new spot also appeared on the left corner of my lips. I thought and was also told by the esthetician that it was probably my saliva causing it, so I started using vaseline/aquafor/cicaplast balm on the corners of my lips before bed. This did not help and most mornings when I wake up sometimes one or both sides flake, however it's not itchy or sensitive to touch.

Over the past few months, I've tried:

• De la Cruz 10% sulfur ointment mask (left for 10 min then rinsed off) for ~5 consecutive days to see if it was fungal
• The Ordinary Azaleic Acid suspension 10% every other day for about 2 weeks
• Face Reality 5% L-Mandelic acid
• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast balm B5
• Aquafor/vaseline

Over the past 2 weeks or so, I've stopped all actives and have only been using vaseline/cicaplast/aquafor. My last peel was back in early April, but I decided to stop and see if maybe that's what's been causing this issue. I've gone to a dermatologist recently and she wasn't quite sure what it could be. She thinks it might be an immune system response to either my saliva or something else, and this could have potentially triggered some form of eczema. I was prescribed Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment, but have not used it yet since it's not yet approved by my insurance.

I'm going to get a second opinion but still wanted to post on here to see if anyone has ever dealt with this before since I haven't seen any similar cases online.