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E. (New York, New York, Usa) on 06/01/2011
1 out of 5 stars

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.

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Replied By Rattlewood (Willits, Ca) on 06/02/2011

Hi there, I just wanted to say I had Perioral dermatitis also & tried many herbal solutions. I finally took a round of antibiotics after almost a year of struggle & it cleared up quickly & completly. It was the one time I was very happy with going the Western route.
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Replied By El (New South Wales, AU) on 08/17/2014

I had perioral dermatitis for months with many failed attempts to cure it -
I first of all swapped all detergents to all natural SLS-free ones, stopped the use of all cosmetics apart from coconut oil (which I had been using as a facial moisturiser for a month or so previously) I tried zinc, evening primrose oil, ACV, calendula cream, green tea, Elidel cream, cut out dairy, ate a vegetable based diet - and nothing worked, the rash was stubborn, itchy and raw and had spread to around my eyes, on my eyelids and between my eyebrows. THEN - in the last week I have stopped using coconut oil and have been moisturising with an all natural moisturiser for sensitive skin. Within a day I noticed the rash no longer felt 'active', and now after five days the bumps have almost disappeared and my skin is healing before my eyes, just a little pinkness remains. It might be worth a try if you're at a loss for reasons and, like me, had cut out all other possible causes. Every forum I read had said that coconut oil would be beneficial for dermatitis so I may just be the unlucky one who has an allergy.
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Replied By Faith (Damascus, Md) on 09/19/2017

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.

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