How I Healed My Perioral Dermatitis without Using Prescriptions + Chocolatey Garden Smoothie
By Molly Patrick
Sep 26, 2020,
For the past year, I have battled a skin condition called Perioral Dermatitis. This is the unfortunate combination of acne and eczema that usually appears around the mouth, but in my case appeared around my mouth and other parts of my face.
Over the past year, I have tried just about everything to heal this condition. I put yogurt on my face. I saw a dermatologist. I used topical prescriptions. I tried apple cider vinegar. I endured a colonic. I had infrared sauna sessions. I saw a naturopath. I took medication for parasites. I tried clay masks. I used plain acne face wash. I tried tea tree oil. I took a month off from work to destress. I meditated. I did a healing face dance. I cried. I put frozen corn on my face. The rabbit hole was deep, and I was locked in.
I’ve always had clear skin, so when my skin started to break out in July of 2019, I knew something was up. At the time, I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I was just recovering from a month-long mystery illness that landed me in the hospital.
I’ve always had clear skin, so when my skin started to break out in July of 2019, I knew something was up.
I had a high fever for over a week, and I had zero energy (I had to shower while sitting on a stool). I had a scary low platelet count, and I had no appetite. I was admitted to the hospital where they thought I had dengue fever, but the tests kept coming back negative.
They ran more tests, but they never did figure out what was wrong with me. They gave me a huge dose of intravenous antibiotics and released me the next day when my fever went down. I still had weird symptoms for the next couple of months, but I never went back to the hospital.
Shortly after I was released from the hospital, pimples started to develop on and around my nose, which I assumed was from all the medication. I was also really stressed, not only because I had been so sick, but because we had been in Malaysia for almost three months helping Luanne’s dad who was dying of pancreatic cancer. It was a sad and intense period, so I was not surprised that my skin was out of balance.
But the weird thing was, the breakout never went away. It only got worse. Even months after we had returned home and I was back to my normal super healthy routine, my skin looked and felt awful.
This was problematic for two reasons. The first being it was really uncomfortable. Unlike run-of-the-mill annoying acne, my skin was super itchy, irritated, and painful, and there was never any relief. Even when I was sleeping, I would wake up from painful bleeding areas on my face that I had scratched open in my sleep.
One evening earlier this year, I was bringing my plate of food to the dinner table and my face was so itchy and painful that I just stopped in my tracks, closed my eyes, and started shaking and crying. I wanted to throw my food across the room and scratch my face off. I finally put my plate down and went upstairs to the bedroom where I had a cry and splashed cold water on my face.
The other reason my inflamed skin was problematic was that I am the face of a whole-food plant-based company, and I eat a whole-food plant-based diet. One of the common benefits of eating this way is clear skin, and up until this point, my skin had always been super clear. I don’t usually care what people think about me, but my skin was no longer a reflection of my healthy lifestyle and food choices, and honestly, it was embarrassing.
During this time, I found out that someone who I thought was a good friend had been telling people that I was a junk food addict, that I was drinking again, and that I did not eat a whole-food plant-based diet. According to them, this was why my skin was so bad.
Hearing these words cut like a knife, and punched me right in the gut. Of course, none of it was true, and I quickly ended that friendship, but I did wonder what people must think. If I ate a whole-food plant-based diet, exercised and meditated regularly, and didn’t drink alcohol, smoke, or do drugs, then why was my skin so irritated, inflamed, and horrible?
I kept digging for answers while trying numerous different creams, oils, face washes, and masks.
I first went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with Perioral Dermatitis (PD) and prescribed two topical prescription creams: Metronidazole and Clindamycin. He said these should start working within a couple of days. After a week my skin only got worse, so I stopped using them altogether.
I assumed that his diagnosis had been wrong since my skin did not respond to the medication. I kept looking for answers. I went to Clinique and bought some regular ol’ acne face wash. This totally dried out my skin and left it even redder, while adding a new flaky layer of skin on top of my already inflamed face.
Next, my desperate research led me to wonder if parasites were to blame for my skin issues. I booked an appointment with a naturopath and went into it with skeptical high hopes. I told him I thought I had parasites, so he hooked me up to an electro-acupuncture device and confirmed that yes, yes I did have parasites, several different types in different places in my body.
He prescribed five days of Praziquantel and a colonic on day six. The naturopath told me I would probably get very sick from the medication as the parasites were dying off. After five days of the medication, I didn’t feel a thing. I felt totally normal. I went for my colonic on day six, and it was pretty fucking horrific. You can read ALL about it here.
As it turns out, most people have parasites of some kind or another, including me (as was disgustingly evident during my colonic), but parasites were not the cause of my inflamed, angry, irritated skin. I felt defeated, and I was ready to give up.
Trying to find an answer when you don’t even know the problem is incredibly frustrating. But it isn’t like me to give up, so I decided to take a month off from work so I could unplug, and create space for the problem and the answer to arrive. And that’s exactly what happened.
In the Sweary Love Letter I sent out on Saturday, May 23rd, I told our awesome community of Dirties that I would be taking the next month off to decompress and really figure out what was going on with my skin. Within an hour I had hundreds of responses in my inbox with ideas of what it could be. I read every single email because I was open to anything. And it’s a good thing I did because the answer was in one of those emails.
One of the emails I got was from a dear woman named Mary. She asked if I had ever been diagnosed with Perioral Dermatitis. She told me that she had struggled with it for a year before she found a skincare company called Osmia based in Colorado whose founder, Sarah, had battled Perioral Dermatitis for years before she quit being an ER doctor to make soap and create a solution for her skin.
It was the first time in a year that I felt like I might be able to get a handle on this.
Mary had been using their products and following their advice for PD for six months, and she had experienced amazing results.
As soon as I got done reading Mary’s email I felt a full body YES come over me. I remembered that the dermatologist I had seen months ago DID diagnose me with PD, but I had written it off since the prescribed medication didn’t work. I quickly went to Osmia’s website and started reading.
It was the first time in a year that I felt like I might be able to get a handle on this. I placed an order on their website and waited with giddy anticipation. The package arrived the following week and within using their products for three or four days there was a noticeable shift in my skin. It wasn’t as angry and inflamed. It wasn’t as painful.
I kept using the products and following Sarah’s suggestions. Little by little, my skin started to heal. I was overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it was actually working. I should probably stop right here and tell you that I am in no way affiliated with Osmia. I did not get paid to write this blog post, nor have I ever received free products from them. I am a paying customer with absolutely nothing to gain from tooting their horn except the hope that it will help someone else who is suffering from Perioral Dermatitis.
A month after I started using their products and following their suggestions my skin had drastically improved, both with how it felt and how it looked. But I was still getting some painful flare ups and it had yet to go away completely.
One of Sarah’s suggestions is to cut gluten out of the diet and see if it helps improve things. I was really fucking resistant to this suggestion. REALLY fucking resistant. But I gave it a shot because I was curious to see if my skin would respond. So, out the gluten went. And you know what? It fucking WORKED. My skin went from much better to almost totally healed within two weeks.
And then one morning after a hike, I went out to breakfast and ordered a vegan breakfast burrito without even thinking about the tortilla. Halfway through eating I remembered that I wasn’t eating gluten, and so I emptied the contents of the burrito onto my plate and ate it like that.
I kid you not, within a couple of hours my face flared up, and I broke out. This was enough for me to keep gluten out of my diet. I was both pissed that I could no longer eat it and overjoyed that my face was so clear. It was confusing. I went with it. I will be writing a blog post about going gluten-free because it’s something that I never thought I would do, and I have lots to say about it.
I have been using Osmia’s products and following Sarah’s recommendations for 4 months now. I have been eating gluten-free for 3 months. For the past month my skin has been almost completely clear. I’ve had a few small flare ups but they don’t last long and they don’t spread out over my entire face. I believe I still have Perioral Dermatitis, but by using Osmia skincare and implementing a few modifications to my routine, the condition is dormant and no longer bothering me.
There were a few things that I was already doing that help to calm PD, like eating a healthy plant-based diet, staying hydrated, avoiding coffee, and getting plenty of good sleep. There were other things however that I definitely needed to adjust. Here’s a list of everything I did to heal Perioral Dermatitis without the use of prescriptions.
I started by reading this article from Osmia, and then reading this guide from Osmia. Those two articles really spoke to me and gave me hope.
I immediately stopped using facial oil to moisturize with (as you will read in the article and guide above, PD hates oil, and that’s exactly what I was using to moisturize my face for months before I found Osmia!).
I use the following Osmia products:
Black Clay Facial Soap
Purely Simple Face Cream
These were the ONLY two things I used on my face for two months. After my skin was on its way to recovery I added in these items that I love:
Nectar Nourishing Drops
Gentle Mud Cleanser (I use this in the morning and the Black Clay Soap at night.)
I stopped using fluoride toothpaste.
I stopped eating cinnamon (a trigger for PD).
I started taking evening primrose oil capsules.
I stopped using all products with sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (SLS) (I am loving Molly’s Suds laundry soap!).
I chilled out and stopped taking pictures of my skin everyday.
It’s true that Osmia does an incredible job catering to skin with special needs, but anyone can use their products. If I didn’t have PD I would absolutely use their skincare. I cannot say enough good things about them. Their products smell amazing and feel so good. My skin is happy again and I will forever be grateful for Mary who pointed me in the right direction when she pointed me to Osmia. Osmia is an incredible company, and Sarah, the founder is the real deal. I reached out to Sarah a while back to see if she would be up for chatting with me for this blog post and she said YES!
Here is my chat with Sarah, the founder of Osmia and fellow Perioral Dermatitis warrior.
I meant to ask her more about PD, but our conversation flowed to other fantastic topics. For more specific info on PD, refer to the two Osmia articles I linked above.
Closed captioning available.
Thank you for chatting with me, Sarah! And thank you for creating Osmia, it truly is the best skincare I have ever used.
If you’re suffering from Perioral Dermatitis, know that there is hope! It will take some adjustments to your routine, but it is so worth it. I am overjoyed that after a year, my skin is back to normal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 packed cup leafy greens (like spinach or kale) (50 g)
- ½ cup cucumber, chopped (75 g)
- 1 celery stalk, cut into quarters or smaller to fit into your blender (45 g)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cacao or cocoa powder (more if you want more chocolatey flavor / cacao powder will be bitter, cocoa powder will be smoother)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (can substitute ground chia or hemp seeds)
- 2 big ripe frozen bananas (or 4 small ripe frozen bananas) (200 g / add more if you'd like it sweeter)
Instructions
- Place everything in the blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Notes
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with a clear path forward.
Xo
Molly
32 Comments
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I’m so happy you have found relief ! I am 3 months into hives. I have never had allergies to anything except antibiotics. I am itchy, in pain, lacking sleep and pretty generally miserable. I am meditating and open to whatever the message is my body is giving me. I have eliminated gluten, tomatoes, spinach, bananas, strawberries and more. I hope I am as fortunate as you to find the answer(s) I need. Soon please!
I know how uncomfortable and irritating this is!
Sending you lots of love. Here’s to finding the solution! I know you will!
xo
Molly
So glad you found a solution, Molly! Love your “Vote” shirt!
Hugs, Erik
Thanks Erik!
Molly
I love how you share everything with your readers in efforts to help people.
So happy for your great results, and I also LOVE your VOTE shirt!
Yes! I believe that we go through things so we can help others go through things.
We are all on this planet together for a reason.
xo
Molly
I’m so glad you are feeling better! I’m looking forward to your blog post about going gluten free. My current hobby is baking with my sourdough starter, which at least has a lot less gluten, but I’d be sad if I had to give it up.
Any suggestions for a celery replacement? I think I have everything in the house for this smoothie but that.
Just leave out the celery!
I miss sourdough like crazy.
xo
Molly
I have terrible itchy hands that started probably a year ago. I have scratched the skin off them, amd like you wake up in the morning b,eeding from scratching at night! Its awful, uncomfortable, and intensely itchy! Reading your story has given me hope. I have also been told it is dermatitus, given steriods that dont seem to work. I am off to google this company.
I hear ya re gluten! I make seitan all the time and the thought of giving that up pisses me off! So happy for you to find relief Molly! Great news!! Xxxx
Yes, please check out Osmia.
They have been pivotal for me.
Best of luck, may you be itch-free soon!
xo
Molly
I have PD and tried over several years to find a solution. I tried changing my toothpaste, face wash, moisturizer, sunblock, using nothing, burying a potato and praying to the skin care gods, eliminating food triggers which include dairy, cinnamon, gluten, hot sauce/red pepper, etc. I really tried everything. It took years to figure it out. I was prescribed a low dose oral antibiotic to help, but never took it.
I’ve been vegan for years. You can control what you eat in your house, but you can’t always control what you get when you’re out. If I get daired, I get an upset stomach and a PD flare up.
What finally worked for me was eliminating cinnamon, gluten (which is super hard), and using Boudreaux’s butt paste whenever I have a flare up. Not kidding. It works for me.
Glad you found a solution. PD is so hard to manage. Thanks for your post today.
Interesting!
So glad you found relief.
xo
Molly
I’ve had many forms of dermatitis and still use a steroid. It’s a never ending battle! I will definitely check out these products and (gasp!) try going gluten free. I have a sensitivity to gluten, but I ignore that fact because the thought of being vegan AND gluten free seems too difficult. I look forward to reading how you’re managing this change. Thank you as always for making my life better!
Hi Jennifer!
Do check out Osmia, I can’t say enough good things about them.
Keep me posted!
xo
Molly
I love the shirt as well! I saw it when Molly posted it on Instagram. I am crossing my fingers that we will get rid of that ugly stain very soon : “Poof”, gone into thin air to never come back again!
Great read, thank you for sharing, glad your skin is back to equilibrium also thanks for the recipe, just what I’ve been looking for.
Such a wonderful interview with so much life wisdom dropped in amongst the specific PD info. Thank you! I especially loved the tidbits about not getting into the all or nothing mode and the tip on Gregory Alan Isakov music.
When I first began my journey toward WFPB eating, I started treating my auto-immune condition with an anti-inflammatory diet developed by someone who had created the program when she was working on her own IBS issues. So I immediately went off sugar, wheat/gluten, dairy, most meats and a number of other things. Only a month or so into this, I went to a vegan restaurant and ordered what I thought would be a healthy wrap, forgetting about the whole wheat tortilla. In less than 15 minutes of consuming that, I began to sneeze and my sinuses remained congested for almost 24 hours. When I reported this to the diet’s creator, she laughed and said, “I just love it when people’s bodies prove me right. You won’t be forgetting that anytime soon.” And I haven’t. It is so important to learn/remember to listen to our bodies; and I love that you emphasized this in your journey. Thank you for your rigorous honesty and walking your talk. We all have to keep on trudging, one day or one moment at a time.
I am so happy your skin is responding to the regimen! Your face is glowing now! Hugs to you <3
This former ER doc is a fucking rock star!! Glad for you Molly, and thanks for sharing your journey back to skin wellness, and for this interview.
I am so glad you found relief! Thank you for sharing your journey and discoveries. Loved the video with Sarah!
I, too, had PD (episodic for over ten years) – at its worst, when I was about 44, I had itchy, painful bumps even under my eyes on occasion. Your description was exactly what I encountered — so painful and frustrating. After years of using oral minocycline, Elidel/pimecrolimus, and triamcinolone – and finally even getting a skin patch test for allergies/sensitivities, I had a few surprising discoveries after much research (which finally led me down a path of healing):
— I never knew that the skin had a protective acid mantle that acts as a barrier to bacteria, viruses and other potential contaminants that might penetrate the skin. I was using products that were over exfoliating and disrupting my skin’s natural pH levels.
— Like you, I discovered a great line of clean, clinical products that let my skin heal by focusing on healthy pH levels and formulations that support and maintain the skin’s acid mantle (while also leaving out essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes, and SLS).
— When I started to eat a WFPB diet about two years ago, it made a HUGE difference. I’ve not noticed a problem with gluten, but I will definitely be in tune if I encounter any issues in the future.
I really appreciate the tip on Osmia and will definitely bookmark them and check them out further!
XO,
Leigh
What can you sub the bananas with? My body does not like them.
Hi Rachel, we got you! Bananas add creaminess, some fat, and sweetness to the smoothie, so substituting may require more than one ingredient. We suggest avocados, cooked sweet potatoes, or even beans for the creaminess. If you’re using sweet potatoes or beans, you may need to add a handful of nuts or seeds for their fat content, and if your smoothie needs to be sweeter, you can use a bit of maple syrup or soaked dates. Feel free to experiment and figure out your groove. We believe in you!
Molly, I just want to say thank you again for yet another wonderful, honest, inspiring post and doing all you do! I’m so thankful to have found CFDG years ago and integrated into my life, and your poignant sweary personal blogs always feel truthful and touching on a very deep level. Thanks again for sharing!
Molly,
Thank you so much for sharing. I have struggled with PD for years. It had almost cleared up when I went WFPB. Your timing is impeccable because for some reason it has come back. I had increase my cinnamon intake, b/c Dr. Greger said it’s a good spice to have in your diet. Had no idea it was a PB trigger. So I read the blog, ordered Osmia products and stoped the cinnamon. I am going to start there. This was so helpful and I am encouraged that there is hope for a clear face, without pain and redness.
RIP, gluten. It’s the one food I struggle to live without but I have to. I am so sorry you have to do it too, but I’m selfishly excited for the new world of recipe possibilities you will undoubtedly create and share.
So happy for you on your recovery!
Glad you found relief. Sorry you had to go through that. I too found a lady that makes all organic skin care products that are amazing. I’m looking forward to the Gluten article.
Although I don’t have PD, I do suffer from migraines and have discovered that a trigger for me is gluten. Needless to say I will be excited to read what you have discovered in your gluten free journey.
Very frustrating; I’m so sorry! I had a milder (just around the mouth) case of PD and it responded very well to metronidazole ointment…that is too bad that that did not work for you. Well done on finding a solution.
I’m so glad you shared this. 18 months ago, I *suddenly* developed painful, itchy, and oozing eczema on my arms and legs. (Yes, it was fucking gross.) Doctors weren’t much help, and the creams they prescribed didn’t work.
So, like you, I set about finding a way to cure myself. Starting with what kind of food I shoved in my face. I found CFDG, subscribed, and never looked back. Such. Amazing. Food. Even converted the omnivore hubster to eating all the plants. Every day. 100%.
But I had yet to find “the lotion” I needed to stop any outbreak.
And now you’ve given me that, too. THANKS just isn’t a big enough word.
I wish I would’ve seen this in September, because that’s when my first breakout happened at the age of 40, but luckily I found Osmia as well! Whoo Hoo!! I’m still dealing with it and coffee is the only thing left that I didn’t take out, but reading this gives me hope! I’ve been beating myself up for two months!! Thank you for sharing your journey!
Hi Molly – I too have suffered from PD. It is SO frustrating. I was able to clear mine with acupuncture, herbal medicine, and a restricted diet for a short period of time. I am also vegan so there’s only so much you can cut out and gluten wasn’t one of them. I strongly recommend turning to Eastern medicine as Western medicine wants to throw drugs/steroidal creams. Hope this helps someone out there.
I developed PD eight months ago, which I immediately recognized because I’d had it in my 20’s. Now nearly 50, I wasn’t willing to take antibiotics for it like I did back then. I happened to read this post not long before the PD flared and began using Osmia products. Like you, Molly, I was REALLY FUCKING RESISTANT to giving up gluten.
After changing up everything else I could, I decided I could at least experiment with going gluten-free. Know what happened? (1) the PD cleared up by about 60-70%–giving up dairy took care of the rest, (2) for the first time in my adult life, I don’t feel like I’ve been drugged when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, (3) my postnasal drip cough disappeared by giving up gluten and dairy, and (4) my asthma improved substantially.
I’ve recently experimented with adding gluten back into my diet. My face doesn’t freak out too much with small amounts, but now I get a hive or two on my neck and boy, does it affect my asthma. Clearly my body doesn’t like it!
I was really pissed off for a while, but finally told myself this wasn’t much different than going vegetarian 16 years ago. There was a learning curve, and my Clean Food Dirty Girl subscription was a godsend. Thank you for the site and for sharing your experience.