"chemical burn" on face...help?

[Zaphirah]

ouch. ouchy ouchy ouch.

Yesterday I washed my face w/ Dessert Essence's Thoroughly Clean Face Wash. It felt tingly while I was washing, but when I rinsed my face off I realized that I had had some kind of reaction to it-but only in 1 area of my face-my chin/mouth. I look like I got a sunburn only on my chin and under my mouth. it hurts so friggin' bad that I had to sleep with the fan on my face! I tried to put coconut oil on it, but that made it worse, so I wiped it off. Do you know of *anything* I can do. It huts so bad and looks frightening.

and I can't imagine what I am reacting to? I have ridicoulsy oil AND HYPER-sensitive skin, that's why I picked this particular face wash. The ingredients are:
Castile Soap
Coconut oil
Olive Oil
Tea Tree Oil
Chammomile
Goldenseal
Awapuhi
Bladderwrack (?)
Palmarosa (?)
Petitgrain (?)
Lavender
Peppermint

It did wonders on the REST of my face and my acne prone back....



ouch.

[lavendarJ]

It might have been the tea tree oil or peppermint...I don't know why though since there were mixed in the soap and it wasn't like you applied them separately (like as a essential oil) - you do have sensitive skin.

I had a burn in the exact same area and I recommend aloe vera... if you can get the plant, then that would be the best but let me tell you, I didn't have the plant on hand (I burned my face in that area-my chin area) and I used some 99% aloe vera at the recommendation of a friend who swore it the next best thing to a plant. Let me tell you, I put some hair removal cream on my face and left it on for the max time since these little hairs are so stubborn..when I wiped it off, I also wiped off my skin and was left with bright pink and red (blood) where skin was. I thought I would be scarred for life. I'm a chocolate girl:) and sometimes we tend to end up with scars that are darker than our natural color. I used that product and I tell you in less than a week my face healed (using it in the morning and at night and sometimes in the middle of the day if I was at home). My skin returned to it's color, with no scarring, no rough skin or anything - it was like I never had a burn. So I always use aloe vera for burns now.

Also recommended this for a friend who is a foster parent (her little boy went home for a visit with his birth mother and ended up in the hospital with severe 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over his little back)......

This stuff really works...I hope you find what works for you. :)

[lavendarJ]

http://www.vitacost.com/Store/Images/Images100/026395001163.jpg
Ingredients: Certified Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Ultrasil Copolyol, Carbomer, DMDM Hydantoin, Disodium EDTA, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Sodium Hydroxide.

Free Of
Parabens, Artificial Colors, Synthetic Fragrances. No animal testing.

Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Just wanted to give you a visual of the product that I raved about. On the down side, it is not the plant-which would be best but it worked for me at a time when I was desparate. I used this on my nephew's face when he fell and burned the skin off his face on the concrete..his bright red circle went away in less than 3 days...I wanted you to see the ingredients though because of the sensitivity of your skin. All I know is that I had that bright pink and red blotches all along my chin area-imagine tracing my face with bright red lipstick from earlobe to earlobe (along the hairline). In a matter of a few days it was as if it had never been. This was before my raw journey. I wish I had took pictures..I was too embarrased at the time. The website below appears to sell it rather cheap - wonder what the catch it because it cost me about $6 bucks at my local HFS.

Anyway, I believe you will heal and will find what is best for you..let me know what ended up working for you.

http://www.vitacost.com/Lily-of-the-Desert-99-Aloe-Vera-Gelly#IngredientFacts

[cara4art]

I feel your pain! Nearly a month ago, I was suffering from the same thing due to the combined effects of applying a product I had no business using due to my history of sensitive skin, plus too strong of a sunblock! I had both red, itchy, burn-y patches plus a break-out or two(despite the fact that I'm decades past teen years - LOL!). My skin hadn't been THAT bad since an earlier episode of sensitivity 20-odd years ago when I was under a lot of inner stress and it seemed that EVERYTHING I put on my skin aggravated it!
I agree, the aloe would be very helpful, but the addition of a couple of other known soothers would power that up even more, in the form of a daily mask. Anyhow, here's what I did this time around, apply this daily mask for 10 days:

2 tsp. finely-ground oat flakes(I keep a batch pre-ground in a little jar so I'm ready to go) - this is a known anti-itch, soothing anti-inflammatory
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. local honey
1/2 - 1 tsp. aloe vera(known healer and pain-reliever for burns)
Add the water to the ground oats, mashing into a thick paste, then add the honey, and lastly the aloe, stirring until smooth. This should only take a minute or less. Apply to clean dry face, leave on for 20 minutes or so, and rinse off. Afterwards, you could apply more aloe gel, or shea butter. Interesting that the coconut oil made your skin feel worse, as it often helps people with sensitive skin. I personally used as my soothing cream my own shea butter-coconut oil combo that I had made up as a body butter but it worked wonders on my poor face. Now I use it as my exclusive face cream!
Hope this helps, and do this mask daily until your skin is all better!

[queenfluff]

It's the tea tree oil. Some peoples skin are very sensitive to it. I remember once I put straight tea tree ol (the Dessert Essence brand too) on one of my big zits because I read that tea tree oil was good for acne. I figured it was so natural so it had to be gentle.

Ouch! I had a spot that looked like a sunburn.

Tea tree oil needs to be diluted - some peoples skin can't handle it straight. Since you say you have Hyper-sensitive skin, that was definatley the wrong pick. I would stay away from tea tree oil anything if I were you.

What has happened is that your skin had been very "dryed" out by the tea tree oil. Start using some heavy moisturizing oils - either straight coconut oil or shea butter is great.

My area was on my neck and I swear I still have a slight red mark from it and this was years and years ago! I used something with shea butter in it and it really helped the best. I had tried aloe vera to get it of it too but it do anywhere near as good as the shea butter.

Oh, also, keep applying it to the burned areas as many times a day as you can.

MSM also works well for burns - if you get an MSM lotion make sure there is no tea tree oil in it.

[Coconutcutie]

I had the exact same reaction this same product about 3 years ago...at the time I think they were including lemongrass in the formula and I think it was that ingredient that bothered me...I can get away with using tea tree oil on its own but this face wash definitely tore up my face!

[RawHeaven]

^^^ I agree with Lavendar's aloe vera recommendation. It's great for cooling burns and great for the skin period. Hope you experience relief.

Castor oil is another one.

[Zaphirah]

thanks-it's been a couple of days and it's getting better. Now it's just all dry and itchy. I wasn't able to procure Aloe Vera sans icky additives, so I got a cocoa butter stick and have been applying that. I think the coconut oil hurt the first night because it felt like it was keeping the heat in, ya know?

I didn't know that about castor oil-I have some of that on hand maybe I will try it today and see which helps more-castor oil or cocoa butter...

thank you everyone. Now let's just hope it doesn't scar too badly....:eek:

[GlimR]

I'm so glad you are getting some relief. I use Aloe Skin Gel by AloeLife, it is an amazing product to have on hand for so many things....

"The Skin Gel is made from fresh Certified Organic Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Juice. Thickened naturally with seaweed. The formula contains 1% skin nutrients of Vitamin E, A and C combined with herbal extracts of Azulene from Chamomile and Allantoin from Comfrey. The therapeutic value of Skin Gel is unmatched by any other topical Aloe Vera today. The golden yellow color shows the presence of the therapeutic yellow sap used traditionally for healing. Safe for putting on any scrape, wound, bite , burn, acne, stretch marks, scars, damaged hair & scalp, thinning hair, post surgical reconstruction, athletes foot, psoriasis, eczema, itching skin, sunburned and damaged skin, after shave, brushing teeth for gum support, vaginal irritation and baby rash. The Skin Gel is a natural astringent perfect to apply to clean washed skin to tighten and regenerate the cells."

http://www.aloelife.com/ezStore123/DTProductZoom.asp?productID=6

[Zaphirah]

huh. I have a lot of comfrey, and I did consider crushing it and applying it to my face, but it hurt so badly at first that I was afraid to try ANYTHING.

[Zaphirah]

oh and I considered common plantain too. My yard is a gold mine of the stuff! LOL!

[RawKnitster]

Sounds like the burning rash I got on my chin and under the corners of my mouth when I used Ballard Organics soap. Love it for a body soap. Awful on my face. I've also tried the oil cleansing/steaming and using oils for a moisturizer. That was a disaster for my troubled skin. Brought on massive blackheads and a bout of roseacea.

I also have oily, ultra-sensitive skin. It can be dry, yet prone to blackheads and pimples, and not just in the T zone. I had given up trying to find something natural to use on my skin, then I meet a woman selling her product line called Bella di Terra at the Farmer's Market. So glad I stopped to talk with her about my skin. I've been using her products for 3-4 weeks. The difference is truly amazing. My skin is smooth and soft. Clogged pores and bumps are almost gone. My daughter is using her acne soap, it's the only acne soap that she has ever liked enough to use everyday.

I use the oily/normal skin line; bar face soap, Lavandin and Naouli, then moisturize with Face Potion #19. Several times a week I wash with Oatmeal/Almond Exfoliant and apply the French Clay Masque.

Organic, vegetable based, hypoallergenic.

I should do a testimonial for her web site.

http://www.belladiterra.com/

[Zaphirah]

your skin sounds like mine. I call my look "Hormonal Teenage Angst" dusted with "3 Days After A Wicked Sun Burn" If you picture that-you know what I look like! BWAHAHAHA!

[beckx]

zaphirah, have you tried oil cleansing? i have really dry hypersensitive skin and have had awesome results with oil cleansing... i've heard the same from people with oily skin (although it takes a little time to adjust where your skin is a little extra oily).

[RawKnitster]

Zaphirah, I can picture that. I've seen that in the mirror everyday of my adult life, and that's a long time. :rolleyes:

[cara4art]

"your skin sounds like mine. I call my look "Hormonal Teenage Angst" dusted with "3 Days After A Wicked Sun Burn" - Zapirah

Yup, my skin kinda looked like that, except it was in patches all over my face, and it also REALLY itched and burned, too. Seems like the breaking-out part is part of chemical burn too as the skin is really trying to defend itself against something that is hurting it. Then I had the areas that were both red AND rough/dry like sand-paper too, again signs of the skin reacting badly to assault. But I'll tell you, my mask REALLY helped, along with the shea butter-coconut oil combo. If your skin will take it, the purest aloe slathered on a couple of times a day at least will help too. And, yes, it did take a FULL 10 days of daily treatments to get past this too. I have so-o learned my lesson about what and what not to put on my skin, and these days, my regimen is natural and simple and my skin is thanking me for it, as it is a sensitive normal-to-slightly oily type(even at age 61)but not an acneic type. Another healing item is calendula - it comes in ointment, oil, or cream. It is often used for skin irritations. But I'd strongly recommend more of a burn treatment approach to what you have going on, and the combo I used really saved me!
Hope this helps!

[queenfluff]

If you are worried about scarring and can't get fresh Aloe Vera, get some MSM lotion. MSM prevents scarring. Aloe Vera is high in it.

The best MSM lotion is on the raw sites but you can buy at WF or other HFS too. Try to get the most natural one you can. It wil also help falicilate the healing of the burns and the dry itchiness.

For me, it helped significantly reduce old pitted acne scars when I first started using it. I also put it on zits and bruises and they go away much quicker! :)