I had a horrible horrible day today! Over the holidays, I bought the Clean & Clear Persa Gel 10 for my occasional breakouts and yucky painful pimples. I thought it would work great because of all the reviews but I had a very VERY bad reaction to it :( I spot treated two of my pimples the night before and this morning I woke up to a dry, swollen and itchy face! I went to work with loads of concealer on...and twiddling my fingers because I want to scratch my face out! I know it's bad to put anything over it, but I didn't want to look like I took the night off and went to get my ass kicked at a boxing ring. =p
Persal-gel 10 has 10% of Benzoyl Peroxide.
My face is itchy (still itchy now!), dry, and red.
This is what I found online:
Benzoyl peroxide generates free radicals in the skin. Its effect is similar to unprotected sun exposure. The redness of the skin (erythema), caused by sun exposure and benzoyl peroxide, are both the result of free radicals (oxidative stress) upon the skin. Repeated sun exposure or benzoyl peroxide use generates free radicals that damage the skin's structure and cellular DNA, resulting in premature aging of the skin. The extent of the damage and aging from benzoyl peroxide is determined by the concentration of benzoyl peroxide, the frequency of application and the duration of its use.
Holy F---!
The thing is that it did get rid of my pimples overnight, but I had 'excess' cream on my finger so I didn't think and spread the cream around some other blemishes...and yeah. Not good. This is truly only meant to be used on the pimple itself, and not anywhere else.
I have some pics below...
This is after some concealer already =/ It's on my chin as well, but my camera didn't get that.
The ITCH! :(
What can I put on to make it better?!?
29 comments:
I put moisturizer on after I use this and I haven't had a problem with itching so far...this is one of my must-have drugstore items!
oh no! im so sorry to hear about your experience. i guess it pays to really read the label and see the ingredients of a product! you know DEET which is commonly used on insect repellants, omg it can burn through styro overnight!!! crazy scary. i hope your skin gets better. any aloe very juice available or lying around might help. maybe pause on your skincare too. you wont know maybe other ingredients would react to it!
So sorry to hear what happened! :(
Personally I use benzyl peroxide too for pimples/milia but it's been amazing for my skin.
I used a water-based formula (not as strong, no itchy sensation)
From my personal use, I know that starting out on such a high concentration of BP can be more adverse than helpful. I once put too much and i had itchy/painful, dry and flaking skin like you described.
I suggest cleansing gently, maybe use a light moisturizer/aloe gel to fight the effects from the gel.
The best way to use any benzyl peroxide is very thinly and as you mention on the pimple only. This is worked very well for me the past 3 months.
Otherwise consider using tea tree oil gel! Or just tea tree oil for pimples! All natural/strong smell but it works nicely.
I go between a water based BP gel of 2 1/2 % and 5%...depending on the pimples. I don't want my skin to get too 'use' to the medication and as you found out...too much will have negative effects in the future. I hope this helped! :)
Try Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping gel? You poor thing D:
Oh my goodness! So sorry to see this. I don't use Clean and Clear, and now I will never use it.
Have you tried Biore? It's a very nice pimple killer and feels nice on your skin.
www.thegirlieblog.com
Sorry to hear about your skin reaction! Maybe putting on some very mild moisturizer (like your vitamin e oil) will help as to not irritate it further and hydrate it as BP is very drying. Ibuprofen reduces inflammation. Hope this helps! Feel better. :)
Oh no!! That does look itchy :( Kiehls do a really moisturising face cream but I can't remember what it is called.. it comes in the white pot... :( I'm sorry I can't be of more help! :( Or maybe Oilatum Face Repair Cream?
I was using the Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask as a cleanser everyday. It contains 3.5% Benzoyl Peroxide. After a week, I developed a dry, red and patchy area right below my lips. I avoided using toners, masks, exfoliants, cleansers in that area because those products just irritate the skin more. I also used a heavy moisturizing cream from Bobbi Brown on that area. The dry spot was gone in 3 days.
I've also used the Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream, which contains 10% Benzoyl Peroxide, as a spot treatment for blemishes & cystic acne. I haven't gotten any bad skin reaction, yet. However, after reading what you found online, I may have to stop using products that contain Benzoyl Peroxide.
thanks for sharing! hope you find something to calm the itch!
I only like Clean and Clear and their blotting papers! Sorry to hear about the bad reactions!
I am not a skin expert but aloe vera gel helps to calming the skin!
xx
Ouch! sorry that happened. Maybe you can try making a oat and honey/milk face mask that should help with the itching.
That's scary! I knew to put sunscreen on if I use benzoyl peroxide but I didn't know that it creates the same effect as if I didn't wear any :O Now I don't want to use my la roche posey anymore...! I didn't get as bad of a reaction but initially my skin became very dry and flakey...Hope your skin gets better soon! >__<;;
Oh no! Don't ever spread 10% benzoyl peroxide around your skin!! >_< It's really important to just put it on the spot and nowhere else. 10% is an extremely high dosage.
geez! that's horrible! I use this same product, but it works really well for me. I would say that my skin isn't really sensitive though. so sorry to hear about this bad experience! but thanks for sharing!
Eek! Benzoyl Peroxide sounds scary! I hope your skin heals up soon, I sometimes take an anti-histamine tablet to reduce itching and swelling cause my face can get really dry especially in the winter.
That thing happens (the same type of redness and flaking) to me when I spread it out to larger-than-pea-size, I am not sure if it helps but grape seed oil (I soak my whole face in it nightly during colder days) generally get rid of those flakes for me.
awww so sorry to hear this!!! i have heard that benzoyl peroxide is very harsh on the skin. ppl who have used proactive hv told me it even bleaches their clothes & towels!! i think for now it would be best to not wear any makeup & definitely see a doctor. i had an allergic rxn to something recently too & the doctor gave me a mild anti-itch cream that really helped.
hope u get better soon!!
Wow that is terrible! That is why, even though I get breakouts, I usually don't use spot treatments. My skin is really dry and these types of products dry that are like crazy. Have you ever tried MB Drying Lotion or the Bye Bye Blemish before? The Bye Bye Blemish works really great for me. And I can get it Rite Aid :D This one isn't harsh on my skin at all.
Oh no...poor you :( That looks very itchy and uncomfortable....have you tried putting some anti-itching cream on the spots? I really hope your skin clears up soon!
I never knew that about benzyl peroxide though - thank you so much for sharing this. I'm going to go through all of my products and throw everything out that contains it >.<
I'm sorry that this happened to you, hopefully it's getting better. Mild moisturizer like your vitamin e oil will help because BP is so drying. Also, taking ibuprofen will reduce the inflammation and pain. Hope this helps!
ahhh how did I miss this post? I hope the the swelling has gone down now but I totally had a similar reaction to bp. I had an even worse reaction tretinoin fyi :( I itched like crazy and actually had open sores on my face for about a year (long story). I couldn't do anything about it really except moisturize and slather on sunscreen so that the scars wouldn't be as bad :( The derm said cooling packs would help with the swelling and itchiness too.
Awww... I'm sorry to read about your allergy. :(
You might want to apply chilled aloe vera gel to soothe the irritation--but I hope it's much better now.
Oh man, I'm sorry it happened to you. I'll make sure to stay away from that product. But I'm glad to hear your skin is feeling much better now.
oh no. Benzoyl Peroxide is very very drying. i have trouble using it as well. remember to use a tiny amount on the spot and lots of moisturizer after.
Oh no...sympathies! I break out in rashes from various skincare products too but I have never broken out because of this product. In fact I think it works great as a zit buster. Will take heed to only spot treat with this product.
As for your rashes, don't put anything more on your face expect a cleanser and moisturizer for sensitive skin. I only use Hada Labo's es facial wash (their range for sensitive skin) and Physiogel cream when I get rashes.
Oops I forgot to mention that I got the physiogel tip from Bubzeauty when she had her severe rash breakout.
hope your skin has improved since..? I would probably have tried some aloe vera and skin healing cream like savlon. Hope you skin is okay now!
I had the same reaction you got with this product.
I know a lot of people rave about it but it's too strong for my skin.
My skin reacted the same way as yours! It was completely odd as I had been using it for a month or so when suddenly my entire face turned red and itched like nothing I've ever felt before. I thought I had just used too much so 2 weeks later (now) I tried it again with just dabbing it on two pimples, but it must have smeared across my face as I slept. Now, I once again am suffering from blotchy, itchy skin. :P
Post a Comment