Lactic Acid burn on face - HELP!
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free skin care · Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:39 am

I am on holiday in Greece (on an island), and I have a problem which I hope you can help with.

I had a small brown spot on my cheek. I hadn't noticed it before. I have used lactic acid on my face and hands, and over time the brown spots disappear,

I used it on the spot. Not the face, but with a Qtip on the spot. I left it on for 5 minutes, and when I looked at it, I noticed a blister forming. About the size of a dime. It looked just like what you get if your shoe rubs. The skin was slightly raised, a tiny bit of the skin was removed.

I put some aloe oil (from the plant) and I covered it with antibiotic ointment. It did not hurt. This morning, the area of about a half dollar was RED and swollen and itchy. The blister looked worse with more skin missing. I thought maybe I had a reaction to the antibiotic ointment. I took that off, and put on some more aloe oil and vitamin e oil.

I have taken aspirin, for the swelling, but it is still bright red. Large, and swollen, and I am afraid I will get a scar.

There is not a regular ferry and no dermatologist. I am looking for advice from people who have done chemical peel -- if you got a blister, how was it treated - and did it scar?

thanks for any help!

free skin care · Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:07 pm

Hi!

Did you forget to neutralize the acid?

Did the antibiotic ointment include an ingredient for pain relief? That might be the reason for it looking more inflamed and swollen. I had a nurse tell me that antibiotic ointment w/ pain relief was one of the worse things you could put on an open wound! I honestly would not do anything to it other than the aloe and vit E, maybe manuka honey at night if you have some and are not allergic.

Please keep us updated on how you are doing, what ever you do dont try to drain or mess with the blister!

Good Luck!

free skin care · Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:21 pm

It did have pain relief in it. I think you are right, it was the worse thing to put on, as I think it is contact dermatitis (the big red ring) around the blister from the ointment. I keep on with the aloe.

It is the whole cheek now inflamed. It looks like a big bullseye - with the blister in the midlle and in the center of the blister - that brown spot.

I always took care of my skin, I can't believe I did this to myself!

free skin care · Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:34 pm

Gosh Swissmiss, ouch! I would keep it clean and dry and let it heal. Aloe should help, and maybe lavender oil if you can find some?

free skin care · Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:29 pm

swissmiss wrote:

It did have pain relief in it. I think you are right, it was the worse thing to put on, as I think it is contact dermatitis (the big red ring) around the blister from the ointment. I keep on with the aloe.

It is the whole cheek now inflamed. It looks like a big bullseye - with the blister in the midlle and in the center of the blister - that brown spot.

I always took care of my skin, I can't believe I did this to myself!

Well if it makes you feel better I think most of the reaction is to the ointment, which should subside in a few days or so. It should heal fine if cared for and left alone.

Feel lucky, I found out about the ointment when my son had his circumcision, AFTER I put it on the wound! I had to call the clinic in a panic b/c of the swelling! Poor little guy, at least yours is on your cheek and not somewhere more um, sensitive! Wink

free skin care · Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:17 am

just keep it clean- out of sun and MOIST with a mild antibiotic ointment. Plain vaseline or honey( without any added flavouring)

free skin care · Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:45 am

Thanks, no sun for me. It is still very bad. Very very red. The blister has gone down but it is brown skin there. I keep putting aloe on it. I will let you know if it scars.

free skin care · Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:48 am

I looked for honey but it all had flavorings in it. The only antibiotic creme I have is the one that caused the red rash.

free skin care · Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:10 am

Well day 3 - the little brown spot I was working on is gone. I woke up and I didn't see it so it must have shed.

I can now only put on aloe oil just on the burn. The dermatitis has spread to the whole left side of my face. It is bright red. I can put cold compresses on it but anything else makes it itch so much I can't take it.

Well this is quite the vacation and today we had an earthquake!

free skin care · Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:33 am

Look at it this way Swissmiss, at least this will be a vacation you wont soon forget! Razz

Maybe you could try some cooled tea (or the cooled tea bag) if you have it as a compress, like chamomile?

I would just keep doing what you are doing, the dermatitis may take a while to go away.

free skin care · Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:16 pm

Avoid the sun and keep up with the aloe...I would also avoid any ointments or oils. Are you using local water to wash your face? You may want to consider bottled water for that side of your face, or use a non-alcohol, simple toner instead, but avoid the original burn spot. Also, check your aloe container to make sure it doesn't contain all kinds of extra ingredients. Some aloe products are heavy on chemicals.

I used Erno Laszlo pHelityl Oil on a Lactic acid burn I got. It was very small (also on my cheek) and the pHelityl Oil is very soothing. I used it very sparingly though. It took about 2 weeks for that little spot to completely heal. You probably can't buy it where you are, though.
I've also used straight copper serum for burns but you probably can't buy that where you are, either. :/

free skin care · Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:31 pm

100% Shea butter if you can find it.

free skin care · Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:47 pm

Can I ask where did you get your lactic acid from?

free skin care · Sun Jul 05, 2009 5:28 am

I am back from Holiday, I went to the dermatologist, and he gave me some steroid creme - as my face had been bright red, but also lichened up with scales from the dermatitis

after the creme, it is now light red, and the lichenization is gone. It doesn't look like there is a scar and the dermatologist doesn't think it will. He said he could manage any scar with a laser if needed.

The spot I was looking to treat is gone but all in one go - which is not what I was looking for.

The lactic acid peel is from Makeup Artist Choice. I have used it before without problems. I also emailed with the problem and got prompt response for dealing with burn, so I do not fault them. The dermatologist told me that you can develop sensitivity or you could have immune system go into overdrive and that a patch test needs to be done EVERY time just to be sure. I will do this from now on.

MUAC products has really worked for me, as I am 50 and I truly have no spots or wrinkles - which is why I really was so worried what I had done. I will be more careful with patch tests from now on.

I want to thank everyone for their responses as I was alone - but really felt your support with me.

kind regards to all

free skin care · Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:33 pm

Hi swissmiss,

I, too, just got lactic acide burn yesterday. I left it on too long. I don't know what I was thinking. The side of my mouth (right side) and my right cheek were so red. I started to freak out and was applying the Dermalogica Multi Vitamin Recovery Masque to sooth the areas.

I tried applying the 100% aloe vera gel that I bought for sunburn but it further irritated it and my cheek and corner of mouth turned bright red and felt stinging after the color had changed to mild pink before. So I washed it off and went and got the real aloe gel from the plant I have in my yard. This one was much better and calmed the skin. I was so afraid to use any cream on my face last night and only used vit E oil. The cheek is now normal color, and the corner of mouth has turned brown. It looks like it will scab.

I emailed MUAC and received an immediate response. They recommended sunburn ointment or neosporin (both of which I did not use), and they also said the aloe gel from the plant should be good. They told me that for newbies, the lactic acid should be left on only 1-2 minutes and wash off with soap and water. Increase amount of time based no tolerance developed in the skin.

Lesson learned!

I will be much more careful with acid from now on. Thank god my face did not get permanently damaged from this.

Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:34 pm

I was using the lactic acid a wh the wile ago and at the beginning i used the 60 % solution i forgot to neutraize it after than after few months i went down on 20 % and neutralized it after but my skin is still sensitive and tight and its been a month of wait. any advise would be apreciated.

free skin care · Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:52 pm

delta47 wrote:

I was using the lactic acid a wh the wile ago and at the beginning i used the 60 % solution i forgot to neutraize it after than after few months i went down on 20 % and neutralized it after but my skin is still sensitive and tight and its been a month of wait. any advise would be apreciated.

Welcome!

How often were you using these, what was the pH of the product and how long were you leaving it? What is your full skincare routine at present?

free skin care · Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:48 pm

i never neutualize acid when i use bha or lactic acid i bought from muac. do i need to? i thought rinsing with soap will do the job, no?

Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:15 pm

I left it on for like 7 minutes I dunno what the ph i only the strength which was 60 % at that time. I have got the product of ebay. At the moment i was using moisturizer but now i am trying to combine it with Vaseline. Dunno just dunno if the peel is already neutralized.

free skin care · Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:49 pm

delta47 wrote:

I left it on for like 7 minutes I dunno what the ph i only the strength which was 60 % at that time. I have got the product of ebay. At the moment i was using moisturizer but now i am trying to combine it with Vaseline. Dunno just dunno if the peel is already neutralized.

What is your full skincare routine at present?

Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:16 am

In routine I understand how i treat my skin which, is I dont use anything for my face apart from moisturiser and shower gel.

free skin care · Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:50 pm

And all this time, I thought that lactic acid was a gentle AHA.

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