Suddenly awful skin

[HandyBendySandy]

I'm lucky enough to have always had pretty good skin - the occasional spot or blemish of course, and it can get a bit dry in places, but I've always washed with a standard foaming face wash and chucked on a bit of Olay over the years. Never really had any trouble and the texture of my skin was fine.

I'm now 48, tipping into menopause and I'm on HRT (just oestrogen + mirena coil) - and in the last 6 months or so, my skin has really deteriorated. It started with a sort of pimply rash near my mouth that just wouldn't shift, then became gritty, rough textured skin along my chin and jawline and down my neck. I thought it was an allergy but having changed up various products, it has only got worse.

I get new tiny fluid filled pimples every day, on or around my nose and mouth and in my eyebrows, and random big red spots which disappear after 48 hours. I'm flaky in places and even E45 isn't doing much. I've tried everything from allergy creams to products for rosacea, went back to an enxfoliating wash which made it angrier, and I'm just trying Cerave.

I haven't worn a jot of makeup since the first lockdown, but I'm starting to look spotty and grey on Teams calls so I've had to dig my makeup out again!

Any ideas, is there a magical product? Maybe it's hormonal? My hair seems to be falling out as well which is horrifying.

I had something similar and the only thing to shift it was prescription acne meds from a private dermatologist.

I had spent loooads on all the lotions and potions available but it was only medication that stopped it

Oh bugger, I was really hoping it wouldn't need medication! Thanks Bean. How does one go about finding a private dermatologist - Google? How do you pick the good from the overpriced quacks?

I went to the dermatologist that was in the same clinic I get my tattoo removal (oh to be 17 and making bad tattoo choices again!). It's a skn clinic which is nationwide so that might be a good place to start?

I've just found one nearby that's part of the Spire hospital group, although the initial consultation is "from" £180.

I had similar. It was seborrheic dermatitis. Dermatologist prescribed nizoral shampoo and told me to allow the suds to wash down over my face in the shower. I didnt have bad dandruff hence hadnt considered it would be this.

That's interesting @homeschoolingyay (love the user name, poor you) - my googling indicated seborrheic dermatitis too. I bought the clinical strength Head and Shoulders because I do get an incredibly itchy scalp, and I wondered if the suds would help my face - but it hasn't really and I don't think the ingredients are the same as Nizoral anyway. My scalp is better though...

Worth a try, thanks!

The dermatologist told me nizoral was the best shampoo for this issue.. Now I think about it she also prescribed daktarin gold cream. It has to be the gold one as this treats both fungal and yeast infections. Obviously that isn't something you want near your eyes. The combination of those cleared up my skin very quickly.

Obviously I'm not a medic. It would sensible to speak to a GP to check those two products are ok for you to use.

Lots of people are very allergic eaters to e45 (me included) could it be a reaction to the e45. Also head and shoulders is for dandruff. If your scalp is really itchy I'd suggest something for and itchy/ sensitive scalp like aveeno shampoo.

(Not sure how the word eaters crept in to my post there )

Your skin sounds almost identical to mine. Has been fine for ever with basic products and all of a sudden, really bad, but mostly red lumps and white heads around my jaw and neck and ears.

I had an allergy to a shampoo last year and was prescribed a scalp steroid by a dermatologist and with that and not using the shampoo anymore, cleared my scalp up fine. The dermatologist recommended La Roche Posay Kerium DS shampoo and that seems to be fine for me.
I don't know what's going on with my face and neck though, am currently trying to use up all my existing products to see if I can identify another allergy.

thinkfast, do you know if it's something in e45 that causes the allergy?

I ended up ordering this, a non-steroidal cream;

[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0043BQM5O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_NDG0CZRF1X8M0VPP1QPM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1]

I used it for the first time last night, and that awful gritty, rough texture to my skin has vanished overnight. I'll keep using and report back!

Hmm well, 3 days of using Sebclair 3 times a day, and whilst the raised bumpy texture has improved a bit, there is still red scaly patches and dry flaky bits. Maybe it'll take a longer period of consistent use but the tube is small and the cream is very thick.

In desperation I pinched some of DH's hard core "itch relief" E45 cream, which was much nicer to apply and has made the worst scaly patches incredibly soft and improved the appearance - although even a bit of tinted BB cream still showed up some scaling.

I've also ordered some of that Bio-Oil gel cream to try. If all this fails then I'll have to approach the GP I suppose, although I hardly think that my manky skin is of great importance right now.

Have you googled perioral dermatitis to see if it looks like your rash? Worth checking as that requires antibiotics to shift.

Seeing as it's around you mouth and chin and it's only happened in the last 6 months or so, do you think it could be related to wearing a mask?

It certainly started like that @Terriergrrrrrrrr, but it's gone further since then - I've got some spotty dry scales on my forehead, temples, eyebrows, and cheeks.

I wondered that @MoltonSilver, but I'm lucky enough to not have to wear one for protracted periods of time, and besides, I think it started a bit before that.

I suddenly remembered having something similar many years ago, a pimply red rash round my chin that just wouldn't shift, and I DID see the doctor and got that topical antibiotic stuff (begins with a Z I think). I had to use it consistently for over a year.

I've had a tendency to dry patches on my cheeks for years, nothing has ever cleared those, but the rough texture and scaling everywhere else is new. I thought it was one of my hair products for a while.