When the skin needs a time out

 It begins every year at the end of the autumn season. The alarm is sounded by my skin. Every year, I make a new attempt to cream against it. Everything, however, was different last fall. I'll explain why I was given a dermatological time-out in this post. In a sense, it's a "zero therapy" for the skin.

We take care of our skin with creams, peels, and soaps. What we want to achieve is the finest possible results for our skin. But I've had to see firsthand - or rather, face to face - how this may backfire. Year after year, the same thing happens. It's not a nice sight. Quite the opposite is true.

Much helps a lot, but not for my skin, which I notice right away. It irritates, constricts, scrapes, and burns. It begins at the bridge of the nose and progresses to the mouth and chin. You can see it at some point. Pustules with red spots, occasionally inflammatory, that are not only unsightly but sometimes painful. That depresses me, so I try to make myself feel better. With creams, of course, the pharmacy's most expensive ones. I've tried everything: natural care products, thermal water, and cortisone. As a result, it continues to deteriorate. As is customary each year, the annual visit to the dermatologist is made. I've already been diagnosed with everything from fungus to eczema to neurodermatitis.

I have already received many diagnoses. Whether one of them was accurate? Possibly. But it hasn't helped me so far, just as little as the remedies I was supposed to use.

Last year I went to another dermatologist, who gave me a completely different diagnosis: perioral dermatitis, also called erysipelas.

Many women suffer from perioral dermatitis.

For the search term "perioral dermatitis," Google returns over 86,500 results. Dr. Google offers in-depth information about causes, symptoms, and treatment options. However, the deluge of knowledge about it isn't really helpful for me, especially because perioral dermatitis, despite being well-studied, is still a highly personal condition. As a result, the symptoms, causes, and treatments can all be quite diverse. Last year, my doctor recommended zero therapy as the first and most significant treatment.

Zero cosmetic products, zero cleansing, zero care. For six weeks. At least. Because perioral dermatitis can be made worse by increased use of skincare products.

Everything is set to zero (-therapy). I discarded of the pricey anti-redness cream I had purchased shortly before the doctor's appointment, and I also bid goodbye to my daily skincare routine. And I braced myself for the stiff, uncomfortable, scratchy sensation that follows each facial washing. It's not a pleasant experience. And believe me when I say that it only got better after a few weeks. The motto was "perseverance." I stopped using lotions and solely used water to cleanse. I also avoided using makeup, powder, foundation, and other similar products as much as possible. For several weeks.

Goodbye, red spots? I haven't used any creams since my visit to the doctor, which was almost five months ago. I experiment with oils from time to time, such as pure coconut oil. As a result, the red patches reappear. It's aggravating, and it doesn't feel good, but it appears that the only thing keeping my perioral dermatitis away is zero therapy. For me, it's not a long-term solution. At some time, I'd like to be able to use creams again. But, until then, I'm going to have to stick to the zero therapy. Then gradually resume utilizing skincare products, potentially with the assistance of a dermatologist.