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Today I want to tell you guys about the lip rash that almost ruined my life, and how I completely cured it after 7+ long, dreadful years living with this embarrassing and painful condition.
Now I know this sounds dramatic, but if you’re someone who is experiencing cheilitis, eczema, contact dermatitis, or an unknown, mysterious rash on your lip, face, hands, neck, or other body areas- a rash that just won’t budge no matter what you do: I’m sure you can relate!
It’s the worst feeling when your skin is burning, itching, and flaking off everywhere. And not only that, but everyone around you can see it, so you never want anyone to get too close to you, and using makeup products to cover it? Forget about it!
I can hardly remember a time I applied a lipstick, foundation, or concealer to cover my skin problems that didn’t immediately make the problem worse. And then I spent every moment paranoid, checking my face in every reflective surface I could find. I always needed to know if I was looking as insane to other people as I felt.
My Mysterious, Undiagnosed Lip Rash
Here are some photos of the “mysterious” lip rash. As I was looking back through my photos, it struck me just how many favors good lighting and photos filters can do for a girl. Based on pictures alone, I’m not sure people would have fully understood what I was really dealing with for 7+ years.
Not to mention how painful it was, and how much anxiety is caused me. I wanted to hide away from the world, and many times I did.
In fact, while it was most visible & embarrassing on my lip, I had this eczema-like rash on my neck, elbow creases, and hands as well. True story: I quit cosmetology school because of it!
And here’s an AFTER picture I took during the healing phase.. it looks even better than this now!
Diagnosing the Lip Rash
Now that you’ve seen the pictures, are you ready to diagnose me?
Eczema, Contact Dermatitis, Perioral Dermatitis, and Cheilitis are all diagnoses I gave myself based off my internet research, and if you’re reading this- maybe you’ve done the same thing. And here’s the deal: I think you & I are absolutely right. It was either one of those skin conditions, or a combination of them.
So let’s talk treatment options.
The Creams
How many of you were fooled into using products such as Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream, LaRoche Posay Cicaplast Cream, Cortizone-10 or other steroid creams? How about Aquaphor? That one especially is overly-recommended. None of them did a thing! At best, they would provide some very-temporary relief: like twenty minutes before I needed to reapply.
The All-Natural, Homeopathic Remedies
Of course when traditional creams didn’t work, my next logical step was to try all of the natural remedies. Everything from applying raw coconut oil to my face to placing brewed green tea bags on my skin for 20 minutes at a time in an effort to “soothe” the burning, itchy rash.
I also switched all of my fancy lip products to natural ones like Bite Beauty (which is gluten free), or anything I could get my hands on at Earth Fare or Whole Foods.
Everything I encountered was a silly solution that didn’t work, and I was tired of it. And then…
The Big Secret
If you’ve read my blog before, I bet you’ll see this big secret-solution coming, but if you’re new around here…
Nothing changed about my lip condition until I was browsing on the internet one day and stumbled across something called FUNGAL ACNE.
Ok, if I’m about to lose you here, just hold tight for a minute. You’re going to want to hear what comes next.
Malassezia Folliculitis aka Fungal Acne
Having fungal acne doesn’t mean that you have pimples all over your face (though it could). In fact, fungal acne isn’t technically acne at all. It’s an often bumpy-looking, flesh-colored rash caused by the fungus called malassezia furfur.
And here’s the real kicker: that nasty little yeast-booger called malassezia furfur is also responsible for skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and cheilitis.
And that, my lovely readers, is where the answer lies!
How to Cure Skin Conditions Caused by Malassezia Furfur
So now that we know what’s causing the problem, let’s talk about treatment options. I like to take the most gentle approach, and this is the one that has worked for me.
This is exactly how you cure your burning, itching, flaking rash once & for all: Quit using products that contain ingredients that feed the malassezia furfur yeast. It is literally that simple.
3 Steps You Can Take RIGHT NOW To Cure Your Skin Condition
Okay, I know I just said it’s simple, but you may be thinking: how in the world will I ever know which ingredients are causing this problem? How do I know if they’re in my products? This sounds like the elimination skin-diet from hell.
This is where I can help! I’m going to give you 3 Steps you can take right now to start curing your eczema/cheilitis/contact dermatitis/mysterious undiagnosed lip rash.
Step 1: Be Open & Break Up with Your Old Products
You are going to be making some major changes to your makeup and skincare, so you need to get in the right headspace. I can guarantee you there are many products that you use and love (well, you think you love them) that are only making your condition worse.
This is hard, because if you’re an Ulta/Sephora addict like me, you are going to be breaking up with most of your beloved fancy, high-end products.
Don’t worry, I have plenty of recommendations for replacement products, and you can browse them right here. All of these products are 100% safe for those of us with fungal acne or other skin rashes caused by malassezia furfur.
Step 2: Check Out Your Products in an Ingredient Checker
Step 2 is a super-practical tip: check all your products in a Fungal Acne Ingredient Checker. Lucky for us, some lovely humans on the internet have done the hard part for us.
My favorite skincare & makeup ingredient checker is sezia.co. I use it all the time, but there is one caveat: you must format your ingredients list perfectly. These ingredient checkers are not perfect, and it is very easy to get a false result. So double check that your list of ingredients is correctly formatted if you want the truth about whether your product is fungal acne safe or not!
Free Shopping Guides for Walmart & Target
If you don’t want to go through all the trouble of checking your own products, start with my FREE Fungal Acne Shopping Guides – I have one for Target and another one for Walmart. Both contain lists of all the skincare and makeup products you can buy locally at these stores that are fungal acne safe.
Download them and take them with you next time you go shopping!
Step 3: Commit to the Process!
Step 3 may be obvious, but it still has to be said. In reality, it’s often the hardest step to follow-through on. If you expect to see results, you must commit to this process. You must stick to safe products and discontinue use of the products that are creating this problem.
I know that once you see results, you’re no longer going to miss your Nars Sheerglow Foundation or any other product that no longer works for you. Trust me, I’ve been there.
And when can you expect to see results, anyway?
I literally saw results instantly. And within a few days, I had no more burning or itching. But it still took a few weeks for the skin to completely heal itself.
That’s why I shout about fungal acne and malassezia from the rooftops! That’s why I am passionate about finding & reviewing makeup and skincare to replace your old favorites. Because this process healed the lip rash that no doctor, no fancy cream, and no prescription ointment ever could for 7 whole years.
Are You In?
If you give this a try, I want to hear from you! Bookmark this post so you can come back & leave a comment about how your skin changes, and whether your “weird rash” heals like mine did.
You can also Subscribe to me on Youtube, where I make even more beauty, makeup, and skincare content surrounding my fungal acne journey.
If you know someone suffering from a skin condition potentially caused by malassezia furfur, why not share this blog post with your friends & family? After all, knowledge is power!
I’m on a mission to show the world that clear skin + amazing makeup can co-exist, so help me out? Pin this Image to Pinterest.
