Winter is notoriously rough on delicate skin, and I always have to ramp up my skincare routine during the cold, dry winter months. But this year I’ve developed a new and very irritating issue with dry skin patches on my eyelids. They itch, they burn, and they are unsightly.
After a bit of scientific research (ahem, Google, ahem) I have self-diagnosed contact dermatitis. It is usually the result of some allergen, be it food or environmental or perhaps cosmetics.
Since this is a new problem for me, I am assuming it is something new that I’m doing that is causing this. I don’t think it’s a food allergy because my diet hasn’t changed significantly this winter.
I originally thought that it was caused by the eyebrow growth cream I started using a few months ago. The eye that is the worst is the one that has the thinnest eyebrows so I was more liberal about applying the eyebrow growth cream on that eye.
It seems rather cruel to have to choose between having eyebrows and having unsightly red patches on my eyelids, dontcha think? I guess that’s what they call a “first world problem.”
I stopped using the eyebrow growth cream about a month ago, but my eye is still irritated and itchy and red.
So now what?
After speaking with Dr. Beckman, I learned that I’m on the right track. It is most likely being caused by some product that doesn’t agree with me. Unfortunately I try out new products all. the. time. It is going to be really hard to narrow it down.
Dr. Beckman advised trying a skin test with various products I suspect. By applying a small amount to the inside of your arm, right below the arm pit where your skin is very thin, you can see if a certain product is irritating you. I’m hoping that this testing method will shed some light on the problem and help me narrow down the culprit.
Beyond that, I am going to have to keep eliminating the use of products one by one.
There are topical treatments to help alleviate symptoms in the meantime. If you are experiencing contact dermatitis, you can consult your doctor.
Have you ever experienced contact dermatitis or skin rashes that resemble this? Did you figure out the cause? I’d love to hear about it.
Funny coincidence–I just went through this! I woke up one morning about a month ago with an alarming bright red splotchy & bumpy rash on my face. I went straight to my aesthetician and she was shocked by the sudden change in my skin. She asked if I was using any new beauty products that I could unknowingly be sensitive to. Unfortunately, I had recently tried several new beauty products… Therefore, she told me not to use ANYTHING on my face for an entire week other than my gentle Therapon cleaner & moisturizer (that I had been using for years with no problems) and pure organic aloe. I followed her advice and my skin began to show improvement by the next day and in about 4-5 days, my skin had completely cleared up.
She then told me to begin adding my old face products back in (serums, masks, eye creams, etc.) one by one, waiting at least 5 days in between each product. She said I would know right away when I found the “offending product” because I would likely have a worse reaction the next time. After following her advice and slowly adding my old products back in one at a time, I came to the day when I tried reintroducing a cucumber face mask that I had recently bought on a whim (ironically the ONLY drugstore beauty product I have bought in years). After leaving the mask on for 5 minutes and washing it off, my entire face was bright red and blotchy everywhere I had applied the mask! Only my mouth and eye area were unaffected. I had definitely found the offending product! The redness was so severe that I took a Benedryl and applied aloe all over my face. Fortunately, my face began to return to normal with half an hour.
Needless to say I will never use that product again, but I am glad to know what caused the reaction. After studying the ingredient list and doing a little online research, I believe I have a sensitivity to the preservative in the mask–phenoxyethanol–which is commonly used to replace parabens in “natural” beauty products. It has been well-linked to skin allergies/reactions. Anyway, I share this story because you may want to try what I did–cutting out ALL products except your most gentle cleanser & moisturizer for at least a week to see if your skin clears up like mine did. You can then slowly start adding products back in one at a time (waiting 5 days in between) so it will be obvious when you hit on the offending product. Good luck!