Help! I think I ruined my skin.
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free skin care · Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:19 pm

Sofina Sunscreen is around US$30.00 which is relatively expensive for me to buy because I live in Australia and have to buy it on the web. However, it does last a long time - maybe about 4-6 months.

According to the experts you're supposed to wear sunscreen all the time (even inside) because the UV rays come through the windows. Don't know whether this is a bit over-the-top but I guess it's a case of being safe rather than sorry. Sunscreens tend to be the most contentious issue on this Forum - everyone has a different opinion on which is the best. So really it's just a matter of finding one that you like and, of course, expensive doesn't necessarily mean best.

free skin care · Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:45 pm

i guess i am facing the same problems too.

i guess i should not have strayed too. my skin was doing well on a routine of cleanser, ahava mosturiser, sunblock , retinoid and aha/bha. i went to try out liz earle's superskin and skin repair for sensitive skin and now i am facing the same prob as you. but i am worst. i can only use a cleanser now. i cannot use a moisturiser or sunblock because as long as i apply, my face skin becomes, red, combination of painful, itchy and burning. my lips feel painful and tender. even moisturisers which i have used in the past i cannot use it now.

same here. i cannot use those products what do i do?
evil liz earle moisturiser should never have strayed.

i have tried aloe vera gel, elomet, desonide and elidel all with no help.

someone please help me

free skin care · Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:51 pm

You need to repair your skin barrier. CeraVe is an economical option. If you feel it is extreme, check out Epionce.

free skin care · Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:52 pm

bethany wrote:

You need to repair your skin barrier. CeraVe is an economical option.

which one?

thecream made my skin worst

free skin care · Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:01 pm

Salome_B wrote:

bethany wrote:

You need to repair your skin barrier. CeraVe is an economical option.

which one?

thecream made my skin worst

Hopefully you didn't use the one with Niacinamide in it.

If CeraVe didn't work, try the Epionce Medical Barrier Cream.

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=25773

Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:50 pm

Do not do any skin care, and let her get better now, more water, more exercise

Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:54 pm

Sounds like your skin needs lots of nourishment. I much prefer natural remedies and prefer to make my own. One I've had success with for awhile now is a natural mix of egg white, avocado and almond oil.
I got the recipe here - femaleproblems.org. Results weren't instant but after a few months use, my skin is much softer and just feels better.

Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:54 pm

Sounds like your skin needs lots of nourishment. I much prefer natural remedies and prefer to make my own. One I've had success with for awhile now is a natural mix of egg white, avocado and almond oil.
I got the recipe here - femaleproblems.org. Results weren't instant but after a few months use, my skin is much softer and just feels better.

Thu Mar 27, 2014 8:21 am

MY OVEREXFOLIATION STORY:

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

It all began last year, when I wanted to have my skin more plummier, smoother and wrinkle free. At the age of 28, I thought, It was time to invest into myself and into my beauty regime more.

So I got myself a Rio Sonic Care Brush, cheaper counterpart of Clarisonic. I was very excited about the device, because of its rave reviews on the internet that promised baby smooth and healthy glowing skin. I start using the device, fairly vigorously, as if my life depended on it.

In all honesty, I haven't noticed much of a difference, so I thought, I just need to persevere and the results will come. The whole sonic care experience was not exactly a pleasant one. It seemed that the brush was not rotating at all when applied to the skin, instead, it felt like only it dabbed my skin. After every use, my skin felt and looked red raw, but no smoother nevertheless.

Then after only a couple of weeks use, I noticed something shocking and unusual on my skin. When I looked into the mirror, under certain lighting, there was a large dent/ sunken area forming on my chin. I could not explain where it came from, but I knew I didn't have it before I started to use a SonicCare.

At this point I knew, that this caused by the brush which I never touched again!

WHAT I TRIED OUT

In a meantime, I thought, I should give go to new products which claim incredible benefits for your skin. I thought to myself, at this point of my life, I should enrich my beauty care regime by introducing more powerful beauty products. I began to try out new face creams, natural face masks and oils.

Each night, I religiously exfoliated my face in pursue of beautiful skin. Even worse, I would then scrubbed my face dry using a towel. Then I would apply a generous amount of rosehip oil.

WHAT I FOUND OUT

Whenever I found myself home, I would be cleaning and cleansing my skin each day and everyday. All of sudden, I experienced tingling and burning on my face, which I just brushed off as something unimportant.

Then my skin began badly deteriorating for some unknown reason. My pores started to connect and random dents and sunken areas began to appear on my skin.

I quickly googled out some articles and found out that I was over exfoliating. But by that time, I had no idea, how much damage I already caused and how much I will suffer for it in the future.

So I quit exfoliation entirely, in the hope, that my protective skin barrier, will be quickly healed and restored, but it couldn't be further from the truth...

WHAT WAS THE DAMAGE

Although, my skin did not look raw and red, it became very inflammated and sore to the touch.

My skin looked all lined, old, with random dents, sunken areas here and there which were deepening, connecting pores and scratch like scars appearing all over my face.

Even though, I quit exfoliating, I did not quit my vigorous daily routine. I cleansed and washed my face from 3 - 4 times a day and always applied plenty of any product that I used that week.

Yes, you heard me well. As I was trying to find the best product, I would purchase and then use different products each week. I didn't know how badly I damaged my skin and how damaging sun can be, until I travelled to work one day, fully exposed to sun. By the time I arrived, further damage was already visible on my skin and it was terrifying.

HOW FOR WEEKS I WAS NOT GETTING BETTER

The weeks to come were probably the worse in terms of my underminded confidence. I could not believe how stupid I was and how far I was willing to go in a bid of a beautiful and flawless skin.

In my thinking, the more good things I applied to my skin and with higher frequency, the better. I was vigorously washing, cleansing, scrubbing and overapplying and overusing all sort of face products within short amount of time.

I was getting rather desperate, as I quit exfoliating, I was definitely not getting better. At the point, I was still using plenty of products and overwashing my face.

One by one, I would avoid all the products altogether.

HOW I HEALED

On the internet I found out, that what happened to me, happens 1000's women all over the world. Although, I haven't used any chemical peels or haven't had dermabrasion done, the damage I caused to my skin by recklessly scrubbing, cleansing and creaming was very visible.

I understood that to let your skin heal completely and let your moist barrier be rebuilt again, you need to let your skin on its own. That, personally was the hardest bit for me.

IT TOOK ABOUT 5 WEEKS FOR MY SKIN BARRIER TO REBUILD AND FOR SKIN CELLS TO TURN OVER.

This was my emergency basic routine:

1. gently cleansing with lukewarm chamomile tea, to get rid of dirt and oil on the skin

2. second round gently cleansing with lukewarm chamomile tea to calm down inflammated and irritated skin

3. let it dry on its own

4. when completely dried, very gently apply face cream with very high SPF to protect from the sun

These were the things that were happening to me whilst healing:

1. Not even a towel could touch my face, so I couldn't pat dry, this would promote new scratch like scars

2. No sleeping on the side and pillow touching my skin.
At this point, my skin felt like plasticine - anything left the mark on it. Once when I slept on my side with, the pillow touching my skin, following morning, there would be dent marks on my skin

3. Even gentlest touch caused me damage, so no kissing or touching my face for my husband for weeks to come
(that was a hard one for him)

4. No wearing glasses. Yes, even wearing glasses was painful and even more left marks on my nose ( sunken areas, which were getting more pronounced)

5. not using even the gentlest face wash. At this point your skin barrier has been stripped off and is in a sense like an open wound. I once tried Garnier's face wash with catastrophic consequences.

6. no wearing makeup, even the lightest stroke with a brush was brushing off the layers of my skin.

7.no massaging your skin: it would too cause me scratch like scars on the skin. I would usually roughly apply the cream and then I would let it sink in on it's own

8. no sun exposure and I mean it! When you have to go, wear the hat all the time, the damage it caused me on the skin whilst my skin barrier was damaged was immense!

You just have to be peserverant. It will probably get worse before it gets better. For the evening skin care routine, I would too gently wash my face with chamomile tea. Once it all dried off, I used E45 cream, which was my life - saver!

Very moisturising, pure and gentle.
I would just like to advise all the ladies, who've overdone it, there is a hope for you!

I remember a week ago, I applied my spf daily cream as usual and a couple of hours later a balls of cream starting to form on my skin. As I gently run the fingers through my skin, I have noticed that the cream was coming off and along with small particles of dead skin, forming little balls.

That day, when I gently wiped my face, quite a lot of stuff came off my face. Upon closely inspecting my skin. I found out, that all the scars, lines and sunken areas were much less pronounced as the old dead skin cells came off on their own!

As you can see here, the skin took care on its own and it exfoliated itself, when the time was right.

It took about 5 weeks to heal, with the minimum facial care.
I am so grateful to God that my skin is healed again.

Never again, will I be so reckless and ruthless with my skin.
I just wanted to encourage all the ladies out there and reassure you that your skin will heal and won't look as bad and raw as it looks now =)

free skin care · Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:13 am

janulik85,

Thanks for your cautionary story. I agree that disrupted the skin barrier by cleansing or exfoliating too much is a big issue that a lot of people don't even realize they do.

Just curious: have you started exfoliating again at all (e.g., even once a week), and if so, what you are doing now?

Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:11 pm

cm5597 wrote:

janulik85,

Thanks for your cautionary story. I agree that disrupted the skin barrier by cleansing or exfoliating too much is a big issue that a lot of people don't even realize they do.

Just curious: have you started exfoliating again at all (e.g., even once a week), and if so, what you are doing now?

HI, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.

NO, I HAVEN'T EXFOLIATED EVER SINCE, AS I AM RATHER CAUTIOUS.IT HAS TAKEN SUCH A LONG TIME TO HEAL AND I THOUGHT, I WILL NEVER HAVE MY LOVELY SKIN BACK.

I HAVEN'T EXFOLIATED FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS AND I DON'T MIND IT AT ALL. I AM IN NO RUSH. I PRETTY MUCH CONTINUE WITH MY BASIC BEAUTY REGIME WHICH I INTRODUCED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. CLEANSING WITH WARM CHAMOMILA TEA, FOLLOWED BY NIVEA 30 SPF CREAM IN THE MORNING, WITH CHAMOMILA CLEANSING IN THE EVE AND GENEROUSLY APPLYING E45 CREAM. THIS HAS WORKED MIRACLES FOR ME.

ALSO, I SHOULD MENTION, THAT I HAVE BEEN USING COLLAGEN TABLETS, WHICH I BELIEVE CONTRIBUTED TO MY SKIN HEALING. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALSO PROTECT YOUR SKIN BY WEARING A HAT.

Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:20 am

is there anything that can be applied to help skin heal?

or repair the strum corneum faster?

Sun Mar 30, 2014 11:26 am

boyindistress wrote:

is there anything that can be applied to help skin heal?

or repair the strum corneum faster?

I don't know of any magical cure, and there isn't probably one.

At this stage, you just need to be patient and let it heal on it's own.

Avoid overcleansing/ overcleaning/ overexfoliating and using harsh products altogether.

You just need to find out what works for you.

How my damaged skin healed is described in my 'Overexfoliation Story' above these comments...

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