Discovering I have PD and how I was able to treat it
Long story short, after starting tretinoin to initially treat my acne and acne scars, what I thought was a purging phase after upping the frequency was actually perioral dermatitis!
The skin around my mouth, chin, and nose was the WORSE it’s ever been. It was so BAD. Everything was inflamed and angry. I had pustules popping up everyday and developing within hours and was absolutely distraught and the state of my skin.
I immediately stopped using tret and went down the rabbit hole in this sub to figure out how to recover. I’m happy to report that it’s under control and I’m just dealing with the PIE marks left behind.
I’m making this post because this sub was so helpful and wanted to give back to anyone going through the same thing. Below I outlined what I tried out when it was the most severe to what I’m doing now.
What’s listed isn’t necessarily a routine but products and steps that worked for me over time when my PD was at its worst:
- Spray face with Hypochlorous acid spray
- De La Cruz Sulfur Face Mask for 10 minutes
- Inkey list 10% Azelaic acid twice a day. This made the most difference for me with calming my skin.
- Bourdreaux’s Butt paste overnight. This brought a lot of my pustules to a head where I could apply a pimple patch to absorb it. Also helped with how dry my skin got.
- Only rinsed face with water in the morning
- ProActiv clean mineral sulfur face wash in the evening.
- Avoiding using any skincare products with niacinamide.
What was the most effective for me was Azelaic Acid. I used the Inkey list 10% AA before I was able to see a derm who gave me 15% gel AA.
I was already using an SLS-free toothpaste so that didn’t factor in.
Once I got it relatively under control (i.e. no new breakouts) I stopped using the butt paste and sulfur face mask.
Current routine AM:
- Wash face with only water.
- Spray Prequel Hypochlorous acid spray
- Apply 15% gel Azelaic Acid
- Moisturize with Purito Oat in Calming gel cream
- I’m still looking for a good mineral sunscreen so I’m between SPFs.
Current Pm Routine:
- Wash face with ProActiv clean mineral sulfur face wash.
- Spray Prequel Hypochlorous acid spray
- Apply 15% gel Azelaic Acid
- Spot treatment with innbeauty pimple paste
- Moisturize with Purito Oat in Calming gel cream (avoiding areas with the spot treatment)
Other things I did that could have helped but YMMV:
- Didn’t wear makeup for 2 weeks (wfh).
- Air dry my face instead of using towels
- Slept on a silk pillowcase, changing it out every few days.
- 20 minutes of red light therapy every other day
I hope this helps! My next steps will be to slowly integrate some actives back in to tackle the PIE/PIH marks left behind.