Coconut Oil for Perioral Dermatitis

My story is very similar to yours, except my PD persisted for 3 years! I'd have a breakout every 3-4 months (that only responded to Doxycycline, but it would always return.) I was at a loss all that time because everything I used on my body was as near to homemade as possible and I put very few, if any, unnatural substances on my body. My diet is much healthier than most as well.

Well, pure serendipity brought me to a dermatologist with a personal opinion... "Stop with the coconut oil already! " I made my own toothpaste with it, my bar soap had it as it's second ingredient, my moisturizer was pure coconut oil, and I took 1tbsp of it each day in my coffee. It's then that I realized that PD started shortly after switching to pure coconut oil for my face moisturizer.

What?????!!! So simple yet I overlooked it because I thought, "it's natural and unrefined. It couldn't be that."

I was wrong.

WARNING!

I have been battling PD (perioral dermatitis) for about 2 months now and have been racking my brain trying to figure out what has caused it. I have not been doing anything differently with my hygiene routine, nothing out of the ordinary with my diet, no changes in supplements, no birth control or other hormones, no steroids of any sort....then I came across just one mentioning of how using too much oil on your face, more than your skin can absorb, can trap bacteria in your pores and cause PD.

I then realized that might be the cause. I had started slathering my face with some type of oil...usually coconut, almond, or apricot kernel, both day and night. My face would be shiny for hours after because I thought the more the better right? Wrong. I immediately stopped with the oil altogether and almost instantly my PD has gone away...knock on wood. I have also been doing Apple Cider Vinegar as everyone suggests. I usually don't post things like this but it is such a depressing issue that I want to help anyone desperate for answers

I know that coconut oil can be your skin's best friend. But I just wanted to put out there that it makes my skin breakout with very sore pimples. I also have PoD and it doesn't seem to make it any worse, but I had to stop using it because of the painful pimples. I use CO for so many other things and just wanted to let you know that some things work and some do not.

Hi Earthclinic, I have been battling perioral dermatitis for three months now. I am at a loss as to what caused it, since I stopped using commercial soaps/face creams/detergents for over a year before the POD outbreak happened, and I've never before had issues with sensitive skin. Some posters on this site claim that coconut oil has alleviated their symptoms, but in my case, I suspect it may be exacerbating or even causing them.

1. About two weeks before the outbreak, I experimented with coconut oil as a facial moisturizer. I can't be sure whether this alone triggered the breakout, but I have used other natural oils -- olive oil, shea butter -- for over a year without any problems.

2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is cited as a common irritant for those suffering from POD. I noticed that some "natural" products contain an ingredient called "Sodium Coco Sulfate", a compound which to my understanding may be essentially a diluted form of SLS. (See: http://longhair.livejournal.com/2356788.html"

It seems wise for me to avoid Sodium Coco Sulfate just as I would SLS. However, seeing as these two compounds are chemically similar to one another, could other coconut and coconut-derived substances also be an irritant for those with POD? I've noticed that many other products I thought to be eco-friendly and thus okay to use, such as my conditioner and laundry detergent, have some sort of coconut-derived cream and/or chemical in them. I would like to find out whether I need to avoid these types of coconut-based substances.

Has any significant number of individuals with POD experienced an adverse reaction to coconut oil/coconut-derived substances?

Thank you.