Holistically Katie

Around August of this year, I started to notice a few red bumps crop up around the left quadrant of my mouth, near my chin. I knew immediately what it was —perioral dermatitis. In the months following, the rash has gotten better, then worse, then better again. I am trying to stay positive throughout this journey and identify what really helps my skin + stick with that.

I’ve posted about this topic a couple times on my blog, so I wanted to link those for reference:

1. Perioral Dermitis Experience (2016)
2. Perioral Dermatitis Update (2017)
3. Perioral Dermatitis Came Back (2024)

Pictures~ What does it look like?

Perioral dermatitis tends to appear around the nose and mouth area. It can also appear around the eyes and forehead. Mine tends to stick around my nose and mouth.

Some Background

I suffered from a horrible bout of perioral dermatitis when I was in my freshman year of college. It was the perfect storm- I was getting off hormonal birth control, trying to make friends and get accustomed to dorm life, missing home, stressed with schoolwork etc. My immune system was weak, nervous system shot, always stressed out, and constantly felt in flight or fight mode. As a result, my skin started reacting. I like how the owner of Osmia Organics Sarah Villafranco puts it when she gets dermatitis flares~ “it’s like my barometer of health.” Although I apparently did not cure my perioral dermatitis forever since I am getting flares again, I know it’s my body telling me that I need a reset and need to really focus on my health and well being.

The last couple of months have been amazing, eventful, but albeit ~ stressful and sad. Our family lost someone extremely close to us recently- my incredible aunt who I miss dearly and was very close with. She fought a valiant fight against lung cancer these past few months and it has been deeply sad and tragic. I have been traveling, had a birthday party with my little brother, got engaged, and much more. I think my body is essentially saying, wow! This is a lot ~ like all at once. We are overwhelmed, and therefore my perioral dermatitis coming back is a sign that things need to shift.

Current Protocol

Here is my current protocol and how I am addressing the root cause of my dermatitis. Please note~ I am not an expert on this topic and have relied on a lot of information externally. Since I’ve has perioral dermatitis before, I knew immediately what it was. I did not go to a dermatologist because I’ve done that in the past and was given an immunesuppresent cream and a round of antibiotics. Don’t get me wrong- it works like a charm and especially the antibiotics always knock out my PD. But, the rash returns when I get off of the antibiotics and I do worry what the long-term effects of being on antibiotics for months could have on my body. It’s important to note that some people including close friends of mine tolerant the antibiotics just fine and their PD hasn’t come back. It’s just for me personally, I don’t have a great reaction to the antibiotics and my PD always returns with vegenance after I stop the medication. With that said, if you are unsure of what you are dealing with and think it may be PD, definitely go to a dermatologist. They have certain tests where they can tell you for sure what is going on and what kind of dermatitis it is. For example, some PD is actually fungal, and you want to know what you are dealing with.

Below is what I am doing to try and knock my PD naturally. I am not completely clear but I am seeing improvement each and everyday. It is very important to be patient. I sometimes have flare ups but I don’t get discouraged, because in some cases the PD flaring is actually a sign it is healing.

1. Supplements from my Naturopath and topical repair gel applied to the area morning and night. For the topical gel, it’s amazing because it contains hypochlorous which is naturally produced by our bodies to support our own healing processes. It is a bit drying, but I love it because it is non-irritating. It never stings or bothers me, which other gels I’ve tried in the past have. I have been seeing Dr.Pillsbury at Boston Holistic Health center to figure out what is going on in my body. She thinks it is likey a yeast overgrowth causing gut issues, in turn making my skin flare. The current protocol is to take a high quality probiotic she prescribed me, and a candida yeast killer pill (2 capsules 2x day). I also take cod liver oil and freeze dried liver
2. Diet: The two main culprits are dairy and sugar. This has also been recommended by Dr.Pillsbury~ first to cut out is dairy and added sugar. I have completely cut out dairy from my diet and I am also trying to be as low-sugar as possible. What that means for me is no added, processed sugar. If some maple syrup sneaks into my protein shake, or a dash of honey is added into my tea at night, I don’t sweat it to much. Especially since these sugars are not considered refined sugars and contain some health benefits. I’ve also been loving this date syrup product for sweetening things naturally~ it’s literally just dates. I am still eating fruit and items that contain sugar naturally. I also downloaded this wonderful course by Zoe at WellBeingInBloom that has more tips about diet+healing PD that I wasn’t even aware of. For example, eggs and corn are often triggers. I am being very mindful about what I am eating at this time and watching myself closely for flares after consuming foods with these in them. In general, I am trying to stick mainly to nuts+seeds, meat, fish, leafy greens, fruit and healthy fats (like coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil)
3. Nervous System reset: During this time of healing, it has been absolutely crucial for me to limit stress as much as possible and what I am consuming- not just literally what I am consuming, but I mean content wise. I am trying to heavily restrict social media, scary movies, upsetting podcasts and things that disregulate my mood. Instead, I am taking walks outside throughout the day, using meditation, breathing exercises, EFT tapping and self-care like epsom baths. I am currently traveling to Hawaii where I plan on spending lots of time by the beach, relaxing, and soaking up the sun. This will also hopefully help my immune and nervous systems and therefore, my skin
4. Skin Care: I think one mistake people who suffer from this condition make is focusing too much on products and that one ‘quick fix’ item that can be applied to dermatitis to make it go away overnight. I can tell you from experience that this is a bad idea and will only make your skin worse. And- most importantly- AVOID STEROID CREAMS. At all costs. Avoid steroid products in general, including nose sprays like Flonase. It will absolutely make things so much worse. I tried diaper rash cream, sulfur, Manuka honey, tea tree oil, special expensive creams online, etc etc and it only made my PD much worse. Unfortunately, perioral dermatitis is often a complex and internal issue and you really need to focus not only on what you are applying to your skin, but what is going inward as well. This is why taking a ~holistic~ approach is best. I highly recommend avoiding harsh scrubs and exfoliants on the area, acids, intense serums with a lot of ingredients, strong essential oils~ you get the jist. You really want to strip back your skincare and be minimal. When in doubt, I always go back to Osmia Organics products because they tend to play really nicely with my PD. I am using the black clay facial soap once a day, squalene oil, Naked Chemist H20 shots and a gentle eye cream. For toner, I spritz my face with Avene spa water throughout the day and rose water, and I also use the Osmia Organics gel toner on my skin. Everything is very simple and focused on hydration + soothing. I’ve cut out getting harsh facials because it is way too irritating on my PD, but I did recently see Shannon at Noel Herbals in Somerville and she was absolutely incredible. The facial consisted of all natural products being used on my skin like clay, goats milk and sea moss + a heavenly facial lymphatic massage and Gua Sha. I left glowing after the treatment and my skin looked better than it had in weeks (attached a photo below). She was also kind enough to create a special herbal tea mix, that I can drink and also apply topically on my PD. I can’t recommend her enough and can’t wait to go back after Hawaii. Other than that, I also use a FilterBaby water filter installed on my sink which helps ensure the water being splashed on my skin does not have too many hard chemicals and flouride which can irritate skin. I plan on installing a shower filter soon as well~ if you have any recommendations, please let me know!
5. Other day to day items to pay attention to: Daily products and practices you may not even be aware of could be triggering your PD. For example, does your body wash or laundry detergent contain SLS (sodium laurel sulfate)? If so, you want to potentially remove those products from your life, at least for the time being. SLS can be very triggering to perioral dermatitis. Try to find a laundry detergent, body wash, perfume, etc without SLS. Additionally, pay attention to your toothpaste! Florida is something that can also trigger SLS. You may want to swap out your Crest for this Dr. Bronner mint toothpaste with all natural ingredients that will still leave your mouth fresh.
6. Stop staring in the mirror and DON’T PICK! Take it from someone who has ended up with extremely irritated, flaky, red, patchy skin from picking at my PD and was a mess afterwards- this is the worst thing you can do. If necessary, dim the lights in the mirror. Listen to affirmations and try to get out of your own head. Remember that when you are looking in the mirror, the first thing you are focusing on is your skin issue and not your beautiful overall face. Think about when you see another person with some kind of imperfection on his or her face~ do you even really notice it? No, probably not! But that might be the thing that the other person is super insecure about. Remember to be kind to yourself and others~ people are fighting battles that you do not know about. So lead with kindness.

So where am I today? I am doing the best I can. As I said earlier in this post, I recently lost someone who meant a lot to me to cancer. It has been a very difficult and stressful time. I miss her everyday. There are some things in life we just don’t always have control over. I am trying to give myself grace and be grateful every day for my overall health, even with this annoying rash cropping up. At the end of the day, I am so lucky to have my health, family, amazing friends and a roof over my head. I try to remind myself of this especially during times where my skin is bothering me. Everything will be okay and will get better if you are reading this. I will continue to update as my skin hopefully continues to heal. Thank you for reading 🙂