little white truths

I realised yesterday that I'd completely forgotten to do an update post for my contact dermatitis last week so I'm rolling two weeks into one today and we'll talk about what's been going on with my skin for the last fortnight.

When we last spoke, my dermatologist had told me to stop using the DermAid 1% because it wasn't working, and instead he asked me to try a heavy-duty moisturiser in the form of QV's Intensive Cream. 

Let's have a look at what's happened between now and then.

As you may remember, the DermAid left my skin very dry and dehydrated (even more so than usual), and it also caused me to break out in larger blemishes all over my face. The blemishes were an odd one for me because I don't normally get those, and I couldn't put anything on them because I wasn't meant to be using anything but the DermAid and plain moisturiser on my face.

Thankfully stopping the DermAid also stopped the breakouts from appearing, and while I still have a few more than I normally would (and in different places than I would normally get them), at least I can definitely say that things have calmed down and my skin appears to be on the mend.

Stopping the DermAid also stopped my face from looking as parched and ashen as it looked when I was on it. My skin really didn't like that stuff - it sucked the life from me - so I'm pleased to report that it's looking a lot better and healthier now that it's been out of circulation for a while.

Unfortunately, though, the white patches are still there and I haven't noticed any improvement. My dermatologist hoped that the heavy-duty cream would help change the texture of the patches at least so they would start holding makeup better (at the moment my blush and bronzer look patchy because the white areas of skin won't hold onto powder), but alas it hasn't happened.

So I'm not sure what the future of my skin is at the moment. I'm seeing my doctor on Friday next week so I may have news after that and I'll certainly check in once I've seen him and let you know what he says.

It could be that the patches aren't contact dermatitis at all and are instead something else, although we've already ruled out vitiligo and sun damage so I'm not sure what else they could be. Perhaps it's still contact dermatitis, but my skin needs something stronger to treat it.

Anyhoo. All that's left to say is that at least I've been able to reintroduce some of my normal skincare after stopping the DermAid, so I've been bringing back things like oils and serums slowly.

And while I've been told to hold off on the active ingredients for now, I'm hoping the doctor tells me I can use those again when I see him next Friday because my skin is missing them.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com