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Melissa (Kirkland, Wa) on 07/02/2010
5 out of 5 stars

My second outbreak of Perioral Dermatitis began in Dec. 2009. I visited a dermatologist in January who confirmed the Perioral Dermatitis diagnosis and prescribed oral antibiotics as well as a topical steroid cream (same treatment used in my first outbreak seven years earlier). After completion of a one month round of oral antibiotics the Perioral Dermatitis seemed to come back with a vengeance. Being an individual opposed to taking antibiotics unless absolutely necessary I began researching alternative therapies for said diagnosis. I read on this website...earth clinic...that sometimes the chemical Sodium Laureth Sulfate can be responsible for said Perioral Dermatitis breakouts and by simply removing products containing this chemical from ones daily routine the issue will clear itself. This sounded simple enough until I realized that Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) is a common ingredient in many, many personal hygiene products. However...persistence and a desire to cure this condition without the use of antibiotics and/or steroid creams paid off. There are many natural products...especially for babies/children...which are SLS free. I managed to replace everything from my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste etc. with SLS free products. I began to notice a reduction in the redness and flaking within 7 to 10 days and now 45 days out from the elimination of my SLS containing hygiene products my Perioral Dermatitis is completely gone! I am absolutely ecstatic to have a clear, flake free complexion without sacrificing my body to unnecessary antibiotics and steroidal creams. I would highly recommend to anyone who is/has suffered from Perioral Dermatitis to try this treatment. I am convinced SLS was the cause of my Perioral Dermatitis and will continue to be a supporter and user of SLS free products from now on.
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Replied By Tracy (Fort Worth, Texas) on 12/19/2010

Would you mind compiling a list of certain products you switched to and where one could find them? I am in the midst of the absolute worst break out in my life. I have suffered off and on for 8 years and now it is beyond out of control :(
I look unsightly and can't even finish my Christmas shopping because of all the stares, not to mention my face is in so much pain, cracking, flaking. My husband doesn't quite get how severe this is emotionally and lolligags in going out to get treatment for me. I am starting to get depressed.
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Replied By Brendan (Adelaide, South Australia) on 12/22/2010

Hey Tracy, My name is Brendan and I know exactly what your going through, I too have dermatitis all over my face and no matter what I do it seems to get worse. I hate going out and only really ever go out to the organic shop to get my vege's. It's ruining my life and I am so scared that I have to go back to uni in feb and endure the staring again. I have found stress is a major cause too as I am doing architecture which is full on and as the semester goes on it gets worse and worse. I never believed it before but I know stress is a major factor as when I went to Fiji this year for my bros wedding, my face cleared up in a couple of days, it was like magic. Im convinced the mud bath I went to when I was there had a healing effect but you cant bring the mud back so theres no way of proving that. After I got home to Adelaide and back to uni it progressively got worse and is now worse than its ever been. I've tried every remedy, natural or not, I could find and every med my dermatologist has ever reccomended which is a lot but im done with that now because I figure everything he's given me has only ever made it worse.

I am now just trying my very hardest to just eat as healthy as possible and supplement what I think could help, all I eat is basically raw organic veges and a bit of organic chicken as well as gluten free cereal in the morning with organic rice milk. Actually tonight I went crazy for the first time in months and had some green and blacks organic dark choc. It's my christmas gift to myself. I figure youve got to give your body the best chance to heal itself so feeding it well is the first step. Anyway, enough about me, I could go on all day about what ive done so far. All I really wanted to say was that ive found something a few days ago which has helped me somewhat, the first thing in ages which has had a positive effect. Its called Aveeno, daily moisturising lotion or theres another Aveeno skin relief moisturising lotion but that has menthol in it which may aggrivate your skin as it did to mine a little. It's made by johnson and johnson and im sure youll be able to find it in the states. If your like me you will read the ingredients and think "oh I dont know about this" as it contains things like alchohol and other chem sounding stuff which I would usually steer away from but Seriously it is the only thing in ages which has actually kept my skin moisturised for a decent amount of time, like overnight. My skin is still red but less so, it is more a pinky colour but still stands out as I am fair skinned irish australian. It still looks pretty bad but it is no longer so dry and tight and is a lot less flakey, almost not at all actually. I can now crinkle my forehead without it feeling tight and dry.

Anyway it is a step in the right direction, and has given me some glimps of hope for my condition. I know everyones skin is different but I thought it's definately worth mentioning and maybe you can do a test patch first before you go and use it full on. I would love to have a decent chat with you and maybe discuss things further as I have not found anyone with the same problem as me in all my searching and I think ive blabbered on for long enough on here, I tend to babble on a bit lol. My email is austmade(at)live(dot)com(dot)au Email me anytime for a chat. Dont give up, I know its so hard and I know exactly how alone you feel as nobody knows what it's like to have this constant burden on your mind. But I know there is a cure out there somewhere and I will not stop till I find it. It's so discouraging when doctor say "there is no cure" but all that means is they dont have it and they'd rather give you there bs meds which prolong your suffering and keep you poor. The way I figure it, the answer is something we need to find ourselves. The big pharm cos are making billions of dollars a year on skin condition meds which dont work so why would they cure us, that means less profit for them, somehow I doubt theyre gonna do it. They are afterall a buisness. Sorry, for going on and on. Try to have a merry xmas. Hope to hear from you soon, Brendan.

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Replied By Melissa (Kirkland, Wa) on 01/09/2011

Hi Tracy from Fort Worth... Sorry for such a slow response I have not checked back on this website in quite some time... As far as SLS free brands I have been using either California Baby Products or Burt's Bees Products. I am able to find both brands at Target stores in my area also both brands have websites where one may purchase said products. As far as my Perioral Dermatitis it continues to remain a thing of the past. I feel blessed to have been able to cure this problem with such simple small changes and wish you the best of luck.
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