How to Heal a Damaged Skin Barrier/Red Burning Skin

Ever end up with a red burning face after using a new skincare product? Cause same. In my previous post, I talked about how I got a skin rash from taking oral antibiotics, and how one of the topical ointments that I was prescribed gave me a chemical burn. That burn was like none that I have ever had before, and I did give my self chemical burns from normal skincare a couple of times, but this was nothing like what I had experienced. One of the topical ointments that I was prescribed was Benzoyl Peroxide 5%…the culprit! I had spread a thin layer all over my face before bed, as advised. It burned from the beginning but I ignored it, no pain no gain right? Wrong! The next morning my face burned, my skin felt stiff, and anything that touched my face, even water, made it feel worse. I used a normal light moisturizer (CeraVe) to try and help cool my skin, and moisturize it, but not even 2 minutes later, my skin still burned and felt stiff. So I went to YouTube to find answers. I came across this video.

I used two products from the ones that she recommended and they truly did work. It took about two days to see a difference. But the difference was FELT immediately. I made sure to also follow her advise, I did not wash my face with cleanser (only a gentle cleanser when I showered) and I was not using any other skincare products. The two products from her video that I used were:

• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 – https://amzn.to/4hcxcQy
• AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 CERAMIDE Cream – https://amzn.to/3A2QRlt

(I earn commission for purchases made from links in this post) 🙂

This is how my skin looked two days after using the products I mentioned above. You can see where my skin was extremely dry and most likely dead. The La Roshe-Posay B5 Cream is very thick, when applied to skin that was extremely dry, it ends up looking white. Similar to how a sunscreen might leave a white cast. It looked weird, but when the dried skin becomes soft after a day or two because of the cream, when you wash your face, the dead skin that was peeling will mostly wash away. I kept on repeating this, I applied the B5 cream and the Aestura Ceramide Cream/Spray day and night after washing my face, and each time I showered, more and more of the peeling dried skin washed away. Then I was finally left with smooth skin, no more dry and peeling skin. It took about a week for my skin to be back to normal, as in no peeling and no dryness. Again, that horrible burning and redness left as soon as I applied the cream and the spray. Now just because my skin felt and looked better after a week does not mean I discontinued use. NOPE! I continued to only use those two products for a month. I made the mistake of going directly back to ingredients like salicylic acid, and other BHA’s, AHA’s, and PHA’s. The next day my skin was red, and was slightly burning, not as bad as before though. So I went back to using the cream and spray AGAIN, but only for 2-3 days. Now I am introducing back my old skincare routine, but I am going slowly. I am only using toners and serums that are light and cooling. I also use a normal moisturizer that only moisturizes. My skincare geared towards clearing acne will have to wait. When I do start introducing acne skincare, It will have to be done slowly, one product at a time, and layered with calming products until I am back to my old routine.

That is all for now, see you in my next post!