Irritated skin very slowly clearing up

Skin, nail and hair health
1

Hi,

I had a bad reaction to something I applied on my forehead over 9 months and it caused very noticeable bright redness but no pain/itchiness and it just appeared to be redness on flat skin and I've never had any known skin issues except for dryness between fingers due to harsher handwashes/soaps.

Close-up I can see patches/lines of irritation, either 3 or 4 distinct levels of irritation, the worst lies/patches still having a reddish-pink where the least worst having a very light pink colour.

I'm still waiting for the normal skin to come through and the dermatologist I saw 3 months ago believes it should go back to normal eventually despite the outer layer of skin being affected.

The cause was definitely not an allergic reaction but more to the fact that ingredients within the product were too harsh and irritated the skin but I never expected it to last so long considering it didn't cause any blistering, pain etc.

Has anyone else experienced irritation due to a product that has lasted so long, where the  textured look has looked the same whilst slowly fading from red to pink...and eventual normal skin?

It will approach one year in November so it gets me down that despite the skin improving (never getting worse but have occasional flare-up for a  few mins if flustered) I guess I'm just looking for reassurance.

I have applied glycerin & water most days since my appointment and for a few weeks Elidel and Aveeno cream but to be honest this hasn't sped things and looks like time and natural healing is the only thing going for me right now.

Thanks for reading and I will appreciate some responses 

 

2

Hi,

Just to add notes since my post almost 2 weeks ago.

The colour does appear to be gradually improving week on week. At night I put the mirror directly below the light bulb and raised my head back and the skin is getting to a lighter shade of pink and the more red areas are edging towards a pinkish-red.

The worst affect areas are also appearing to becoming more smooth in terms of appearance whereas before they looked more red and deeper - please note the irritated skin is not very deep, just slightly as if it's missing one layer of skin compared to the other affected areas - I hope this makes sense in that it appears the normal layer of skin has been stripped off in small dots/lines.

I'm not expecting my skin to return to normal by November which will be the 12 month mark but any advice will be appreciated. 

thank you.