My skin was smooth with tiny, barely visible lines three weeks ago; now it’s as if it has aged 10 years overnight! Why would this happen, and will my skin ever go back to the way it was before? Could this be an allergic reaction?
Based
on your symptoms, I would say this is a classic allergic reaction.
Crepey skin, especially when you find wrinkles overnight, is definitely a
symptom of an intolerance to something used, and is probably a
dermatitis called eczema. The eyes are so sensitive, and many times an
allergic reaction to a new skin care product will occur near the eyes,
even if the offending product was used on the entire face.
Depending
on the severity of the reaction, you may need to see your dermatologist
and get a prescription cream to help calm your skin down. First you
could try a topical cortisone cream (found at any drug or grocery store)
and see if this helps. You must, however, read the directions and be
very careful about how close to your eyes you apply the cream. The
doctor will be able to prescribe a higher strength steroid cream if the
over the counter type isn’t effective enough.
Look
at the ingredients of the offending product and see if you can find
anything you know you are allergic to. Sometimes just fragrance in
products can cause reactions like the kind mentioned above. Your skin,
once calmed down, should resume its natural, normal state. How long this
will take varies with the individual. But surely within a week or
perhaps a bit longer, you will have your old skin back.
Recently
I went to purchase some new products—an experience that turned out to
be a living nightmare! First, I got my skin analyzed and was told that I
have normal, combination skin. I purchased a papaya exfoliant, clay
mask, and a moisturizing mask for dehydrated skin.
After
several weeks of exfoliating and masking, to my horror I woke up one
day with welts all over my face, redness, burning, and itching. My eyes
we re almost swollen shut! I have never reacted like this to
anything before. Needless to say, I am mortified that my skin may have
been permanently ruined.
My
doctor has prescribed methylprednisolone [cortisone] for six days. It
has brought the swelling down a bit, but I still have redness and
itchiness, not to mention that my skin feels very taut and dry—appearing
to have wrinkled up (I didn’t have any wrinkles before this!!!!).
Everything
I have tried on my face to alleviate the burning and itching has not
worked, except for petroleum jelly, which soothed it considerably. I am
worried and don’t know what to do next. I am thinking of going to an
allergist.
Would
you have any advice for me? Is my skin ruined forever? Please respond
as soon as possible because I desperately need your expert advice. I am
afraid of the cortisone I am taking, but feel I have no choice since my
symptoms are severe. I am desperate!
Your
reactions sound like a dermatitis, probably eczema: red, itchy skin
that feels like it is burning, along with severe dryness and crinkling. A
topical cortisone cream will probably relieve the symptoms, but that
doesn’t tell you why you had the reaction in the first place. If you are
game, you could also take The 72-Hour Test (see below) to help narrow down which
product caused the problems. It may have been all of the products, but
maybe not.
Of course, you may not be willing to develop those reactions in order to figure out which products you can or cannot use. In that case, an allergist will probably be able to figure it out for you. There may be common allergens contained in one or all of those products that the specialist can tell you about. If you are going to do the 72-Hour Test, I highly recommend you wait until your skin has completely recovered and even wait a few more weeks to be sure you aren’t still in reaction mode.
Of course, you may not be willing to develop those reactions in order to figure out which products you can or cannot use. In that case, an allergist will probably be able to figure it out for you. There may be common allergens contained in one or all of those products that the specialist can tell you about. If you are going to do the 72-Hour Test, I highly recommend you wait until your skin has completely recovered and even wait a few more weeks to be sure you aren’t still in reaction mode.
This
client told me that after about a week of severe redness, itching,
swelling, and pain her skin did finally calm down. She made an
appointment to see an allergist, but wasn’t able to get in to see
someone for almost four months.
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