Flaxseed oil has ruined my life after I applied it topically on the face, can anyone help me??
I ordered "Waihi Bush: Flaxseed oil (original)" off the internet to try on my eczema as an alternative to the stelroid ointments I use, so I started taking it orally 1 to 2 tablespoons a day for a couple of days.. But then i tried it directly on my skin with the thinking that because it is very good for the skin when you drink it it must be good for the skin when applied topically.. Oh how I was so wrong.. I put it on my face before going to sleep and woke up next morning looking completely horrid; I had red arcs under both my eyes and they had a starring appearance to them. What the oil had done is made the skin around my eyes so tight and thin that I struggled to close them.
But it gets worse, a week after applying it to my skin my eyes started to hurt when looking around and the only way to make it less painful was to shut them and as I started to feel pressure building up around my eyes I went to see the doctors about 3 days after i first started getting it at which point was bordering close to unbearable and he prescribed me "eye drops eye lubricant" which I used as soon as I got home and made the pain subside after about 2 days. 3 to 4 weeks later I begun getting these wierd pressure headaches (I don't know how to describe it properly because it does not hurt but it drive me nuts) which gradually got worse over a 7 month period which has just started settling down now and what I think the cause is, is the flaxseed oil has made its way into my facial cavities around the eyes and behind the nose (sinuses and what have you) and caused them to close up and create chronic blockage. On top of all this my eyes protrude outwards and now when I sleep every night my eyes don't close properly, and to completely close it I have to try forcefully (think squinting).
As a result every morning I wake up with reddish eyes which are very dry and my facial appearance has continually changed over the past 10 months and not in a good way.
So right now as of the time of writing this 10 months since applying it to my face, this is what the flaxseed oil has done to me: the skin around my eyes has become extremely thin and hollow out (the flaxseed oil has had a tightening shrinking effect on the skin) the skin around my eyes and part of my cheek has lost most of its sensitivity to touch and now sag a bit, my eyes now protrude outwards, I get pressure headaches randomly in varying degress, I get dry eyes and a headache every morning I wake up all, these have caused me to look hideously ugly..
At the moment I have tried everything I can think of to try improve my appearance and restore my skin around my eyes back to their normal state (firmer, more volume and has feeling when you touch it) so this is what I have tried:
*eating really healthy eg. fruits (apples, oranges, tomatoes, avacados, lemons etc.), vegetables (cabages, lettice, bok choy, spinach, potatoes, pumpkin etc.), fish like salmon, olive oil, eggs, so far I havent found any improvement eating these types of foods so I also tried eating just fatty foods like deep fried chips atc. on a regular basis but also have found little to no improvement..
*exercise like jogging for 30mins or walking for 1 hour 2 to 3 times a week
*using moisturing lotion with vitaman E and elastin actually made my skin more worse..
So far I havent seen any improvement to my skins texture it is still tight and soft.. (it has a rubbery texture), can someone help me? is there something im missing that I could do? I'm at the conclusion that the flaxseed oil has permanently altered my skin and it will remain like this for the rest of my life. this experience has ruined my life in that I have terrible social anxiety and do not leave the house much if at all some days. So my message to others who may be considering using flaxseed oil topically on their face is DO NOT! it is not worth the risk, unless you know what you are doing and know EXACTLY what it will do to you.