Bad Acne or Perioral Dermatitis?
I ended up discovering what it was—from self-diagnosing based on all I had read and my own observation of what was occurring on my face—and it was something called Perioral Dermatitis.
What is Perioral Dermatitis?
Basically it’s a skin condition wherein these small, red, pus-filled bumps appear around the mouth. With a basic Google search, they say the exact cause of it is unknown but other articles have also said that steroid creams may play a part in causing it. I also read that if it is not treated soon enough, it can spread and affect the skin around the nose, cheeks and the eyes! Generally, it can affect children as well as women between the ages of 19-40. Sucks big time!
How Most Say to Treat It
I was getting really worried because it wasn’t going away! Also in my exact case, I was NOT using steroid creams of any sort, so I ruled out that possibility. Almost every article I read also stated that one would need a medical diagnosis and a combination of at-home treatments and medications—which include topical agents—to handle it. I was disheartened. The last thing I wanted to read was that I needed to go to a clinic to fix my face. As I read more into how to treat it with at-home products, I learned that some simple methods weren’t working for my face. Some people tried plain yogurt, and/or apple cider vinegar. I tried the vinegar and it only made it burn more and made it even REDDER! I knew there had to be another way to fix this other than what I had been reading, so I kept digging.
My Realization
I realized that a lot of infections occur due to a weakened immune system. I had also done some research and discovered that a lot of acne can occur from bad bacteria in the gut, which turned on a lightbulb in my head because I had previously taken a lot of antibiotics back in 2015 for an infection and never repopulated the friendly bacteria in my gut!
So it only made sense that I needed to boost my immune system again to not only prevent more serious illnesses or infections from forming, but to also hopefully handle my face situation! So I went on a mission to fix my face and formulated a detox plan from a lot of different sites describing a multitude of things to do to handle serious acne situations. Keep in mind that I basically had to create this detox myself because no two sites described the same method of going about handling perioral dermatitis for good. So, I am going to share my method with you below!
Also, in no way by me posting this am I claiming to have cured any diseases, nor am I liable for any bad outcome others may experience when trying what I have laid out and am suggesting. This is also no overnight fix as it took about 22 days to clear up my face fully!
How I Handled Perioral Dermatitis Naturally Without Medication
What You’ll Need:
- I bought two different probiotics: one being 90 billion and the other 100 billion.
I also bought some fiber for the stomach. The brand I went with was Heather’s Tummy Fiber for IBS.
- Pure Chlorella Blue-Green Algae Powder, I bought the one by BulkSupplements. This has great health benefits which you can read the full PDF on this site here if you’d like.
- Cilantro (you can buy this at any grocery store), preferably organic.
Tip: During this detox I really made sure to stay away from alcohol and sugar. I also minimized my dairy intake as I wanted to eat as cleanly as possible for the detox to work and clear up my face. I drank plenty of water too and got as much restful sleep as possible.
Optional Items to Use:
I used these externally to stop the burning/itching feeling during the detox I have laid out below. Feel free to use or not use these if you wish to.
My Method:
I started on the 2nd of January, 2017.
Below is a new video I just made to show you my method visually in case you’re interested in watching! The method instructions are written below this video here for easy reference!
- In the morning about 30 minutes before breakfast, I took 1 tsp of the fiber mixed into lukewarm water and 1 capsule of the 90 billion probiotics (go ahead and follow the daily dose instructions on the labels for both if you don’t feel comfortable doing what I did).
- Then at some point in the afternoon did another 1 tsp dose of the fiber before food.
- In the evening about 45 minutes to an hour before dinner, I took 2 tsp of the chlorella powder mixed in lukewarm water (it tastes like seaweed, FYI!).
- Then at dinnertime, I halved one bunch of cilantro and ate it with my dinner. Tip: If you don’t want to feel like a rabbit, I strongly suggest blending it in a blender with some water so that it’s easier to gulp down.
I did this for days 1-14 and then on days 15-20 (5 days) I increased the doses by 3 times.
Example:
Mornings I took 3 tsp of the fiber and took 3 capsules of the 100 billion probiotics (again, feel free to stick with the 90 billion probiotics and follow the directions on the label if you are unsure).
Afternoons I took 3 tsp of the fiber again.
Evenings I took 6 tsp of the chlorella before dinner.
Dinnertime I ate one whole bunch of cilantro plus another half a bunch (rabbit mode activated).
Then I returned to the normal doses for the remaining 2 days. And that concludes the detox! Total length of time was 22 days.
Some Before and After Shots:
Below I have lots of pictures showing before the detox, during, and after.
And there we have it! Dealing with perioral dermatitis was exceptionally difficult for me, and I am sure anyone who has ever suffered from bad acne would know how damaging it is to one’s physical outlook. I stayed indoors as much as possible due to it, even though sunlight is supposed to be good for the skin and reducing acne in general. My social life also became very, very limited because no matter how much cover-up I used, it would not hide the bumps on my face. I felt embarrassed, extremely self-conscious, and very ugly from late November 2016 to February 2017. It really sucked so that’s why I am happy to share with you what worked for me in hopes that it may help you, too.
I truly hope this helps in some way for you, especially if you’re battling with some bad acne and no other solutions up till now have seemed to work for you. From personal experience, I know that any form of acne or redness can be very harmful to your self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s never good! Feel free to comment and share any other methods you have tried yourself that seemed to help with permanently clearing up acne. I’d be glad to hear it! And also, please let me know if you have tried this and how it went for you!
Best,
Mariah
Every Day Do It Yourself
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Hi,
Thank you very much for sharing the photos where you know your face at the beginning and end of the detox. I’m going to try the recommended products.
How did you find out? Did an expert advise you?
Hi Radka,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Yes, I thought that displaying before and after images of my face would help others understand how the detox works.
I actually didn’t have any expert advice; I had simply done some deep research on the internet on acne and other infections and discovered chlorella and cilantro were great for cleansing the body of unwanted toxins.
My father had also sent me an article he had from when he was younger on how to treat hormonal acne, which helped further my investigation on how to improve gut flora to help clear up the skin.
I hope you have great results with trying out the products! Please let me know how it goes for you!
I really want to try this and want to make sure I’m understanding the dosing right; on days 15-20 you took 3 tsp of fiber and took 3 of the 90 billion pills in the morning, 3 tsp of fiber in the afternoon, 6tsp of chlorella before dinner, and with dinner you ate 1.5 bunches of cilantro? Or did you use the 100 billion capsules during this time? Thanks in advance!
Hi Sarah!
Thanks so much for reaching out! Yes, I tripled the doses on those five days (days 15-20), so 3 tsp of fiber in the morning, you should be fine taking 1 or 2 of the 100 billion probiotic capsules with the fiber here, too. Then in the afternoon, it was another 3 tsp of the fiber and 6 tsp of chlorella before dinner, and then loads of cilantro!
Hope this helps! Sorry it wasn’t super clear in the post. I’d love to hear how it goes for you! Best of luck!
I want to ask that it goes permanently or temporarily ? Plz tell me I am suffering from perioral dermatitis… It appears again when I leave medicine … Plz tell me what should I do.
Hello there! Thank you so much for reaching out! I am sorry for my very late reply! I did this whole procedure only once and the perioral dermatitis has never come back. I hope you were able to handle this as I know it is very uncomfortable! The only other thing I can think of is just really rebuild your gut flora and make sure your immune system is at its best and be sure to drink plenty of water and this should help with your skin as well. Best of luck!
Mariah, I used this blog as a jumping off point. I wanted to share what worked for me. Totally agree that it’s mostly about diet. I’m always surprised when doctors don’t even suggest this! I did do the cilantro supplement and probiotic which helped but in the end it was an OTC antifungal cream 2x daily and for the redness and itching I used plain organic greek yogurt (2%) slathered all over for about 15 minutes at a time. Thanks for sharing though!!
Hi Penni!
Glad to hear you used cilantro supplements and probiotics to help your skin! That’s also great that an OTC antifungal cream and yogurt worked for you, I had used a few different topical creams that were meant to treat serious rashes and they didn’t work for me; that’s why I was forced to fix my gut instead. I guess it’s whatever works, right? Thanks for sharing what you used to help your skin!
Hi there! My rash I have is very similar to yours and I have had it for few weeks now and it is spreading and I am very scared! I also have IBS like other people’s comments so maybe it is a flare up and to do with my gut etc. was just wondering what you ate for the 22days? Did you still eat eggs and did you eat yoghurt? Also wondering why you only had the chorella and cilantro in the afternoon and evenings. Also did you just continue to use minimal products on face and just use a mild cleanser? Any information be so helpful!
Hi Joelle!
So glad you came across my post! It was a while ago but I do remember that I was eating a lot of pan-cooked chicken breast in sandwiches. I think if you pretty much eat vegetables and lean proteins and stay away from dairy, sugars, and alcohol the entire time you’re doing the detox you should be fine.
The reason I only had the chlorella and the cilantro in the afternoon and the evenings was to allow the fiber to work its way through my system earlier in the day and allow the probiotics to be absorbed and not eliminated immediately since the chlorella was meant to pull toxins and flush them out of the system. Hope that makes sense.
As far as my face, I still had to show my face in public so I was forced to wear some pretty heavy-duty cover-up on my skin to hide the marks. I was also tight on money at that time so I didn’t buy any cleansers although using a hypoallergenic cleanser would probably not be a bad idea. I just gently washed my face and tried to not agitate the skin too much.
I hope you’re able to fix your skin up! Let me know if you tried this method out and if it worked for you! Best of luck!
Mi stil suffering with it buh hope to put it into consideration
Hi Joan! I hope you’ve found a way to heal your skin! Let me know if you tried this method out and if it worked for you, or share what did work if you found another way of getting it under control.
Hi. Thank-you so much for this. I’ve been suffering with this rash for over a year and didn’t know what it was until I started googling rashes and finally discovered perioral dermatitis. For me it started when I tried lightening a patch of skin on my face with lemon juice last summer (thank-god I didn’t put it on my whole face!). I got a rash where the lemon juice was next to my mouth on the left, but then it got bigger and eventually spread to the other side of my face with patches of rash on my chin and the side of my face next to my hair. I also suffer from anxiety, I.B.S and extreme sugar sensitivity, and have been experimenting with fasting and going on fat based/low carb diet. I love the advice you give here about healing your gut and reducing inflammation in the body. Most doctors in the UK are useless when it comes to healing anything and flat out deny any connection with illness to what we eat. They are all about prescribing toxic chemicals and usually taking their advice makes things worse. I can’t wait to try this detox and I hope it gets rid of my rash.
Also, my mum was recently diagnosed with lead poisoning, and i had been looking for a way for her to detox, so because of you I learned about the chlorella/cilantro method xx
Oh wow! Thank you so much for reaching out to me! I’m so glad you came across this information too and am excited to hear about your progress with it! I agree with how some doctors deny the correlation between what we eat and health—that’s why I try to stick to as organic a diet as possible! Better to prevent illness than have to deal with it once it happens. This detox also helped minimize getting the occasional acne for me as well after doing it. I have not had to repeat it as perioral dermatitis has not come back and I am super happy about that.
I really hope the chlorella/cilantro method works out for your mother too, that would be fantastic. Please keep me updated on how it goes for you if you’d like! Best of luck!
How long did the treatment last and have you had to repeat it? Thanks
Hi there! Thanks for reading my blog post! I did the treatment for 22 days in early January and my face cleared up almost completely by mid-February. I have not had to do it again since; it totally handled perioral dermatitis for me for good. Hope this helps answer your questions!
This is absolutely BRILLIANT! I have battled perioral dermatitis for over 4 years, with a dermatologist recommending a variety of topical and oral remedies to no avail. It’s so embarrassing but I simply haven’t found a solution that works for me (although I go through brief periods when it is completely clear for no reason I can identify). Thank you so much for sharing your technique for this very challenging skin condition. I can’t wait to give it a go! Many blessings to you!
So glad to hear my post helped you! If you gave this a try please let me know if it worked for you to completely clear your skin! Best of luck!
REALLY INTERESTING BLOG IM SUFFERING FROM IT AND ITS ETTING TO ITS WORSE STAGE IM ABOUT TO START WITH ANTIBIOTIC FOR A 30 DAYS PLAN I DONT KNOW IF IT WILL WORK IM PRETTY SURE MY PROBLEM COMES FROM MY INMUNE SYSTEM AS WELL WILL BE INTERESTING DOING THIS DETOX PLAN AND SEE HOW IT GOES THANKS FOR SHARING
Thank you so much for reading my post! I hope it helps in some way. How did the antibiotics go for you? Did it handle the problem you were having? I’d love to hear about your progress!