13 replies to this topic

[Kturner1990]

Has anyone ever heard of any underlying issues for super dry skin? My skin started going downhill at about 23-24. mostly only my face. I have some hyper-pigmentation on my arm but that's it. I have very pale skin, light eyes, and dark hair. I would assume it came from years of being out in the sun unprotected or minimally protected. My facial skin is thin, droopy in areas and wrinkled, and is constantly dry and peeling. It looks worse than people my age that I know. (27) No matter what I do my nose peels. I got an rx for the.25 dose of retin-a which I am aware can make skin more dry so I just applied it to certain wrinkled areas, and it was like my skin was immune to it and I was just applying any regular cream. I have tried exfoliating with my clarisonic ( very soon after flakes are noticable). I don't overdo the exfoliating. I've tried a deep moisturizer by several expensive brands like Dermalogica with no success. I drink plenty of water, and have tried fish oil supplements which somehow made me oily and breakout prone and also dry and flaky at the same time. I'm starting to think there is some underlying problem.  

[aconita]

Expensive doesn't mean good.

 

There might be some underlying cause, hormonal maybe, checking DHEA and testosterone might be worth.

 

Leave alone retin A.

 

In order to stimulate skin renewal, collagen, elastin, etc....you might try one of the following:

 

- everyday glycolic acid 8-10%

- dermarolling 1,5mm once a week for 6 times, must cause petecchia

Chose one of the above, not both at the same time.

 

Coupled with:

 

- everyday methilene blue (see tread in "supplements")

- everyday hyaluronic acid gel (1%)

- everyday ALA (in DMSO and/or hyaluronic acid or granular soy lecithin in a blender for 2 minutes)

- a mix of the above

 

or maybe:

 

- everyday coconut oil

- everyday emu oil 

- everyday red palm oil

- a mix of the above

 

Oils tends to be comedogenic, if you have tendency to pimples and/or black heads they might not suit you.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

Hey, Kt

Is the Retin A Rx from a dermatologist? I'm surprised that if you had seen a dermatologist that he/she wouldn't have offered some possible diagnosis. But, unfortunately some doctors are more focused on treating symptoms rather than trying to determine causation.

As you probably know, there are a myriad of conditions than can result in dry skin. You are a young woman, so low-estrogen-associated dry skin might not be a contributing factor for you. However, just to be certain, checking hormone levels shouldn't be discounted merely because of your age.

Out of the myriad of conditions that can result in your symptoms my shot-in-the-dark offering would be to suggest that you get thyroid function tests to rule out hypothyroidism. I have several hundred more suggestions to proffer, but I'm afraid I'd use up the entire world's supply of electronic alphanumerics if I presented them at this time.   

If you do get thyroid function tests it's always a good idea to ask the doctor who received the test results to give you the actual numbers of the results and not settle for "It's within the normal range" as an answer--because the reference ranges given by the various labs are too broad due to the fact that the "normal" ranges are skewed to be broader than they should be owing to the number of people with sub-clinical or undiagnosed hypothyroidism among the sample population used to develop the normal 95% range.

Some doctors will prescribe only a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. TSH is insufficient to get a full picture of thyroid functioning. Tests should include free T3 and T4, as well as Hashimoto antibodies, among others (full info on what should be tested can be googled).

 

Good luck in getting resolution.

Edited by hypnos, 09 June 2017 - 11:10 PM.

[aconita]

TSH is insufficient to get a full picture of thyroid functioning. Tests should include free T3 and T4, as well as Hashimoto antibodies

 

Yet not enough or accurate, a symptoms based and/or basal temperature diagnosis would be better or a iodine load urine test (the most accurate but only available at one or two laboratories in all US).

 

Anyway yes, hypothyroidism is worth to be checked out as well since it is a possible and likely cause.

[Kturner1990]

Thanks. Ill have to check those supplements out. I have a military doctor so she prescribes for an array of things. She gave me the Retin-a when I asked for it. I don't really plan on using it again unless I can figure out why my skin is peeling and dry already. And yes, she seems to only treat symptoms. I would have to explicitly ask for a test usually. I was considering getting a blood panel done to check everything, but I work so much so I've been putting it off for a long time. I'm contemplating buying a basal thermometer and doing that experiment first. 

[Advocatus Diaboli]

Since you have a military doctor that might imply that you're in the military. You say that your condition started going downhill when you were 23-24--is that the time that you might have entered the military, if you are indeed, in the military? Because, any changes in your environment also need to be considered as possible factors contributing to your condition.

 

You might be exposed to substances at your work location, contamination in your living quarters (was 23-24 the age where you might have moved to a new residence). or perhaps dietary changes, gaining or losing weight, drinking water quality where you drink water, proximity to possible sources of pollution--nearby chemical factories etc., starting or stopping any medications when you were 23-24. I could go on, but the point I'm making doesn't need exhaustive enumeration.

 

The point is that any changes in your life from 23-24 YO are worthy of consideration for trying to determine root causes along with the ideas mentioned in the above posts.

 

Best of luck

 

 

Edited by hypnos, 16 June 2017 - 04:23 PM.

[Matt]

Please try 50 mg Now Foods Zinc Picolinate and wait 3 - 4 weeks. Zinc deficiency can cause acne, dry / flaky, and irritated skin  If you are in fact, low in zinc, this will help you resume products to moisturize your skin without causing breakouts.

 

I've had experience with this where my acne came back after 10 years (just recently) and nothing worked. Started Zinc initially at 100 mg a day and almost right away my spots started to heal and go away, and now I've had zero spots since the 3rd week on zinc (lowered to 50 mg a day). It seemed resistant to any other treatments I was using for months..  I had 3 viral infections in a row  earlier this year, which was really unusual for me.. and dry skin in other areas like feet/toes.. My skin became combination of dry/oily and just a mess for months... D:  My skin is amazing now since I started the zinc.

 

Take vitamin C 

 

Get back on Fish oil after a few weeks trying the above.

Try lutein supplement and take with food.

 

[Matt]

Please try 50 mg Now Foods Zinc Picolinate and wait 3 - 4 weeks. Zinc deficiency can cause acne, dry / flaky, and irritated skin  If you are in fact, low in zinc, this will help you resume products to moisturize your skin without causing breakouts.

 

I've had experience with this where my acne came back after 10 years (just recently) and nothing worked. Started Zinc initially at 100 mg a day and almost right away my spots started to heal and go away, and now I've had zero spots since the 3rd week on zinc (lowered to 50 mg a day). It seemed resistant to any other treatments I was using for months..  I had 3 viral infections in a row  earlier this year, which was really unusual for me.. and dry skin in other areas like feet/toes.. My skin became combination of dry/oily and just a mess for months... D:  My skin is amazing now since I started the zinc.

 

Take vitamin C 

 

Get back on Fish oil after a few weeks trying the above.

Try lutein supplement and take with food.

 

[Kturner1990]

I did just order some various vitamin supplements including that one from Youngagain.com. They seem to be a reputable source. I've been looking at various ones for days now. And good point that I should take everything into account. I used to be in the military, but at that time I wasn't. Honestly who knows what I was exposed to during that time. An insane amount of sunlight with no protection that's for sure. I do remember the exact day I noticed my skin had taken a turn for the worst. I was in nursing school and taking a picture for my license. I look in the mirror quite often so not sure why I just noticed it then. I'm not sure what the possibilities are of stress affecting me like that. I broke out in full body hives several times in nursing school. I've never been allergic to anything so they diagnosed them as stress induced. Kind of scary to think about what stress can do to you. So, good point to remember when creating a routine for longevity.. avoiding stress should be at the top of the list. 

[YOLF]

Can you post some pictures so we can see what you're talking about?

[YOLF]

My thoughts:

A Facial Toner containing Vit C and enzymes, willow bark extract is a plus, but may make you more sun sensitive.

Polypodium Leucotomos (Heliocare's active ingredient), preferably the 4:1 extract, though with a high enough dose, you might want to cut back on dietary antioxidants or antioxidant supplements as this will make smaller amounts MUCH more effective and persistent. 

Skin Cream containing elastin. Jergens and St. Ives are good.

 

As for supplement quality, just look for the ones that contain a long list of "No 'allergens.'" Those tend to be the best quality.

 

 

 

[Kturner1990]

I am pretty certain it was yeast. Coating my face in Niazoral shampoo almost completely removed the flakes. The rest seems to be hormonal from lab results. Still trying to figure out the rest but assuming it's sun damage and just treating with restylane. I was under the impression elastin couldn't be recreated so I've never paid attention to anything pertaining to it. Will have to look into that more.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

KT, it's interesting that you also mention hyper-pigmentation on your arm in your original post. Did it appear at about the same time as your facial symptoms and has the area of the hyper-pigmentation changed in size (bigger, smaller) or increased or decreased in intensity of shade?

 

There may be several things going on simultaneously which could be related (or not), but it seems that the appearance of the skin discoloration on your arm should also be investigated.

 

You wrote: "My facial skin is thin, droopy in areas and wrinkled, and is constantly dry and peeling." If you are correct about yeast being the mechanism for the dryness and peeling that leaves thinness, drooping, and wrinkling to diagnose. Here is a link to a comprehensive site devoted to dermatology which has thousands of pictures showing various dermatological conditions:

 

http://www.dermis.ne...osis/search.htm

 

If you could select a picture(s) from among the ones on that site that approximates what your facial symptoms looked like at their peak and link us to it/them it might help us to better understand what you had suffered from (as per YOLF's suggestion in post #10). Same for the arm hyper-pigmentation.

 

Also, a simple determination of fungus can be made with a KOH (potassium hydroxide) test if you have any residual facial flakiness available to test. A dermatologist's office will be equipped to perform that test.

Edited by hypnos, 07 July 2017 - 05:43 AM.

[kurdishfella]

dead builtup skin can be caused by vitamin b deficency. Vitamins like b2 helps the clear the skin before it builds up. But if you have dead skin piled up it will fall off.