dry skin patch help!

[samls324]

I have this patch next to mouth that is constantly dry and peeling. I have had it for months. It got better for about a week when we got a filtered shower head to help with the hard water. I use sulfate free cleansers.

It's like a crescent moon shape that surrounds the corner of my mouth, and is only on one side of my mouth. My skin in general has been dry over the past year. Not sure if its hormones or what.

Does anyone have any tips on how to help get rid of it or products that can alleviate the dryness? Sometimes i'm embarrassed to go out in public because i have this red raw patch on my face.

[PinkEvergreen]

@samls324 I used to have a similar skin condition. For me, it turned out to be contact dermatitis. Your situation may be different, but I can share how I identified and resolved mine. For me, it came down to a combination of four things:

1) The redness/rash was on the same side as my dominant hand. I realized that I tended to allow food to come in contact with the right side of my mouth because I would eat with my right hand and naturally angle it toward that side of my mouth. 

2) I discovered that I had developed a new allergy to certain foods, acidic fruit in particular. Although mild, I observed that it seemed to cause redness on my face and around my mouth. Often, the juice of apples, oranges, pineapple, tomatoes, etc. would come in contact with the side of my mouth that had the red patch. 

3) I’m a side sleeper. I realized that I occasionally drooled toward that side of my mouth at night. That caused the skin to stay exposed to moisture. 

4) I brush my teeth with my right hand. I noticed that toothpaste foam would often leak down that side of my mouth. 

In summary, the skin around the right side of my mouth just couldn’t catch a break and it got progressively redder and drier, until it actually started cracking and bleeding. It was very embarrassing, not to mention quite painful in the end 😕 

My solution involved a few things:

1) I began eating more carefully, taking smaller bites, placing food directly on my tongue, and cutting up fruit and other juicy or acidic foods instead of biting into them directly.

2) I took a full year off from the foods I noticed seemed to trigger the redness. I missed them (no Mandarin oranges at Christmas 😔) but now I’m able to eat small quantities without issue. 

3) To allow my skin to get a break from the toothpaste foam and my drool (lol), I applied zinc cream (the thick white stuff) before brushing my teeth, and before going to bed. This created a barrier against irritants I couldn’t easily control. Yep, I looked like Bozo the Clown but after about two months my skin was healed enough to take over on its own. 

4) When I got a sudden surge of prickly dryness because I had come in contact with an allergen, I found that a 1:1 mixture of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and water seemed to neutralize the prickling quickly. I kept this mixture in a water bottle in the fridge, so I could apply it quickly with a cotton round whenever my skin became irritated. Once my skin was calm and dry, I would apply a very gentle water-based moisturizer with no fragrance or colour. 

5) In addition to these things, I began cleansing my skin with gentle cleansing cloths every day, regardless of whether or not I was wearing makeup. I also began using a very thin layer of BB cream, but nothing else. It seemed to nourish my skin without overwhelming it. 

Eventually, I was able to heal my full face (I had rosacea and acne as well). Next thing I knew, I became a makeup addict because I finally had normal skin for the first time in my life 😁

Wishing you luck and support finding the key to your skin’s happiness ☘️💕