Overuse of facial scrub

Hello,

I'm 24 years old male and I have a bit of a problem with my skin care routine. It seems that I have been overusing my facial scrub for far too long (and extrenely often) which ultimately led to my face being quite rubbed off and "damaged". I even got acne (black/whiteheads) from using it and my forehead skin (where I applied the most pressure) is redish and rugged. I recently (one week ago) stopped using any facial products because my skin obviously needs a rest. My question is will my skin heal and will the acne fade away after taking these measures?

Thank you for your answer.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
What you seem to be having is dermatitis of the skin due to overuse of facial scrubs. Avoid using any lotions and creams over the face for the meantime. Wash your face with a mild cleanser with moisturizing properties like Cetaphil. Pat your face dry. Then apply a good hypoallergenic moisturizer over the area and see if this improves. If the symptoms still persist then you can apply mild steroid like dermacort.

If the irritation persists then please get it evaluated from a dermatologist. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[redemption2501]

Hello again,

Thank you for your response.

Like I said it's been a week since I've stopped using any facial creams/scrubs and I think that I'm already seeing improvement in my skin. The redness is fading and my oil secretion is back to normal. Believe it or not my skin became more oily "thanks" to these facial scrubs and my face was sweating more often. Anyway, I would be as gentle as possible with my face and would keep this road of treatment.

If anything pops up I will right back.

Thank you again.