Garlic and Castor Oil
I just finished treating a xanthoma with garlic (followed by castor oil) and I can't believe the results! I have never written an online review for something like this but had to share this with others suffering with xanthelasma. There is hope of improvement!
My history: two yellow spots appeared under my eyes in the corners after I had my children, when I was about 29. I asked a dermatologist friend, and he thought it was related to cholesterol ( I do have a heriditary high LDL). One eventually went away, and one hung around, and through the years became more yellow and more raised. Friends started pointing it out. I hadn't done any research on it- my mistake- and I let a dermatologist cauterize the xanthoma- WHICH WAS A BIG MISTAKE. It went away for a couple weeks, but came back and within two months and it was TWICE AS LARGE and now had an ugly white scar in the middle where she had treated it and it had scarred over- Ugh! It wasn't "huge"- maybe a cm across- but was very yellow and I have an olive complexion so it really stood out. A year later I was referred to a plastic surgeon who specialized in removing things in the eye area. She did NOT RECOMMEND SURGERY as she said it would most likely come back and maybe bigger, there would be scarring, she did not think it would be an improvement. I appreciated her honesty greatly, but left feeling very discouraged.
A few more months went by, and another xanthoma started showing on the other eye! I panicked and started googling: I had kind of gotten zen about the first, but the thought of it spreading made me extremely self conscious and paranoid almost. I worked hard at reminding myself daily that I was in good health and so many people are suffering with illness and in the grand scheme of the Universe this wasn't a big deal, but it was bothering me more and more. So glad I came across this website, and to the others who shared their stories!
I used fresh garlic applied directly to the spot for 5-10 minutes a day. It burned more and more as the days went on (the whole process took about 10-12 days), and the skin around it turned purple. At one point it was open and weeping and I panicked if I was really doing some damage- I WASN'T- PRESS ON if you are at this point! It will look really bad and maybe swollen, etc for a few days, but it will go away! I treated the area with castor oil overnight too at this stage, and am still doing that every night.
The Results: The xanthoma is still there, but it is about half the size, not raised, and it is NOT YELLOW which is the huge thing in terms of how much it stands out. I am thrilled! It had been there for 10 years, and I can't believe it has changed this much! I feel like if I had been more aggressive with treating it a little longer, it could have completely disappeared. I may go for round two, but want to take a break of the scabbing and stuff and just want to enjoy the fact my face looks better for a while. I am going to keep using the castor oil and hope it continues to fade, and that no new growth pops up, fingers crossed.
GOOD LUCK to ALL! THERE IS HOPE!
