I get asked a lot of questions at AMPERNA® HQ regarding all skin concerns. So, I thought it was a good time to re-visit a few popular questions that get asked regularly in relation to redness around the mouth:
- What causes perioral dermatitis
- What products to stop using during the flared stage of P.D?
- Bust some perioral dermatitis ‘treatment’ myths?
- My knowledge on ingredients/formulations and what I do not recommend you use when your skin barrier is compromised.
But first, let’s start from the beginning.
Your Skin Microbiome
Just like our gut, our skin has its own microbiome. A healthy, diverse but balanced skin microbiome helps maintain a stable skin barrier function, protecting it against pathogens and environmental stressors.
Balancing the good bacterial and fungal communities on our skin is crucial for the overall health of our skin. When there is an imbalance you may be welcoming unwanted side effects that cause skin inflammation, irritation, dryness, redness, and itchy skin.
The principles of caring for your skin barrier function include:
- Hygiene and personal care routines - Getting the right balance of general hygiene verses over-use/excessive use of beauty and personal care products is a key factor that can modify the skin microbiome.
- Maintaining a healthy skin pH - Our skin has a naturally acidic skin pH at 4.1–5.8 and this should be considered when thinking about skin hygiene and personal care practices.
- Gut health - The gut has a direct influence on the skin microbiome, via an intimate relationship known as the gut–skin axis. The gut and its own microbiome is linked to skin health and homeostasis in numerous studies.
What Causes Perioral Dermatitis
Perioral Dermatitis is an inflammatory rash occurring around the mouth, chin, nose and can even occur around the eyes. It typically causes dry, flaky and itchy skin, resembling small, red, acne-like breakouts.
Common triggers for PD may include:
- Allergies (topical/contact)
- Make-up
- Topical steroids such as hydrocortisone
- Cosmetic procedures such as microdermabrasion
- Environmental exposure
- Misusing chemical and physical exfoliators
- Sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate in hair care, laundry detergent, and toothpaste
- Fluoride in toothpaste
- Topical application of high percentages of essential oils
- Heavy creams and facial oils
- Hormonal fluctuations
- Stress
- Oral antibiotics
LET’S BUST A MYTH:
Q: Is Perioral Dermatitis linked to demodex mites?
A: No, not all cases of PD are linked to demodex mites. In fact, perioral dermatitis has only been linked to an over-abundance of mites in topical steroid/PD cases.
What is the Best Way to Help Perioral Dermatitis?
STOP EVERYTHING!
Literally stop using everything you normally would on your skin.
Why?
Because your skin barrier is compromised, and the angry red flaring is the way your skin is trying to indicate to you that it needs time to repair and breathe.
Here is what I suggest you do to help your skin while it is red:
- Stop wearing makeup
- Use water-only to cleanse your skin during the flared stage
- Stop using exfoliating or active products
- Avoid topical sulfur
- Stop using topical steroid creams
- Audit your personal care products
- Switch over your toothpaste to a perioral dermatitis friendly alternative. I recommend the Keeko range Keeko Oral Care - Natural Toothpaste
- Use AMPERNA®'s Soothing Duo only – your skin is desperate for barrier friendly products and this duo is just that.
LET’S BUST A MYTH:
Q: Can I use tea tree oil and sulphur to treat perioral dermatitis?
A: NO. Sulphur together with tea tree oil are too harsh for the skin biome. In isolation they can be ok - but the thing is that many of the formulas I see people creating are not formulated with biome supporting ingredients as well.
Sulphur is stripping. Tea tree oil needs to be diluted as high percentages of essential oils are also stripping to the skin. These are strong topicals which you should not use on a compromised barrier.
Sometimes people use Tea tree oil for treating acne because of its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. However, it may cause further skin irritation, itching, burning, and swelling for people suffering from perioral dermatitis.
Let’s Explore Ingredients a Little Bit Further
Natural ingredients aren’t always better for you, and man-made ingredients are not always bad. There is a lot of scare marketing and misinformation surrounding ingredients. You need to look at the scientific data and cases for everything. In terms of skincare formulas you also need to look at how ingredients are put into products and whether the products have been formulated by a cosmetic chemist and manufactured to ISO standards. Australian skincare manufacturing has one of the best in the world.
The importation, manufacture, and use of chemicals - including those used in cosmetics - are regulated by the Australian Government’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). NICNAS works to ensure that chemicals used in consumer products do not cause significant harm to users or to the environment.
Ingredients at the top of the ingredients list are the ones of the highest concentrations and the ones at the bottom of the list are least concentration. Ingredients can be naturally occurring or artificial. The doses of potentially dangerous chemicals found in cosmetics are considered too small to pose a risk to human health.
In the case of cosmetics, every ingredient contained within the product must be scientifically assessed and approved by NICNAS before being manufactured or imported into Australia and before they can be used in consumer products.
I manufacture and hire a cosmetic chemist in Australia and had to comply with all the above safety standards for AMPERNA® Skincare products.
In summary:
Skin health takes time.
Gut health is an ongoing journey.
Finding your skin trigger is essential to be able to edit out the cause and start implementing your skin barrier recovery.
Consistency and patience is key, trust the process.
And please, do not get swayed by people on the internet or social media forums saying they have treated their perioral dermatitis with skin-stripping products… It is more about gently caring for your Skin Microbiome, not destroying it.
