I'm so sorry that happened, girl. Keep your head up. I sometimes have a reaction to shea butter, and I definately don't recommend vaseline. Try just a plain oil for a while like sesame oil or jojoba or even olive. We are all still struggling to find out why these unexplained things happen. Please try not to be too hard on yourself. Hopefully someone else has some good answers. The melatonin seems to be working great for some of us. Maybe you could try it.

I love ya,

martin

morningdove,I am sorry to hear that again, infact, on my next appointment I was going to tell the derm your testimony and I was going to ask him to prescribe something like PREDISONE to fight the cortisol, but I think I wait for now, because it is a kind of dicouraging news, I thought that this would be the soultion, because I know mine started after severe anxiety and stress but no derm has offered me something to swallow but only creams with out any success and it is almost 20 yeas now since I have it, but anyway, regarding shea butter and olive oil:
a little more than two weeks somebody through the internet sent me the so called UNREFINED SHEABUTTER and I used it for a week and as you said it started burnig the lips even the unaffected areas and at the end of the week the dead skin much of it became a kind of white dryed skin and when I peeled it thte new skin became more red and then I stop using it, instead I sometimes use a little vasline but I think normal unsalted butter that which is sold in super market better, so give it a try, but dont use olive oil because I tried it for a week and the the result was far more burnig than the shea, but anyway, you got to be strong and dont loose heart in all these.
I hope to hear some positive progress.

When i used vaseline for over a month, i noticed a lot more crusting going on. I thought vaseline was actually supposed to be good at exfoliating. My derm told me to use vaseline but it seems to be such crap which I don't understand. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH@!@#!@ I would also like to note that when I don't use vaseline my lips seem to bleed quite a bit. But when I do use vaseline I don't bleed but my lip is full of crusts covering even my normal lips.

There are also other natural lips balms you can use. You can find them out health food stores. Usually they are a combination of various oils and beeswax. I would recommend avoiding vaseline...a petroleum product.

Hello again.
Thank you all for your input and concern I will consider each one of your responses and suggestions

Exfoliation of any kind for me must be avoided in my case including the seemingly innocent act of putting a moist cotton rag over my lips to simply remove the white dead skin accumulationg, without having to rub it across

Also the shea butter is in the dumpster, gone , never to be used again
Strange thing is i had used it before and i did not get the same very bad burning reaction

I suppose my ex fol lips are in a differnt condition than the last time i used it which was on top of fully encrusted lips

Now my lips had minimal thinner soft excess skin growing

I am on prednisone again and a strong dose of Antibiotic for my severe rosacea and also seems to have helped the pain and inflammation of the burning affects of exfoliating with a moist cloth followed by organic refined shea butter of the highest quality

I do respect each and every one of your opionions regarding topical use for EC but honestly i had done so much damage to my lips in 6 years by constant aggressive exfoliation that anything but vaseline does seem to burn my lips when they are not totally encrusted

I do think my derm and her colleagues at a teaching hospital here do know what they are is doing, as my lips are already in a relatively short period of time getting better regarding inflammation from oral prednisone, never before tried for me which up until my unfortunate accidental injury to my lips had come to have no pain at all and \ minimal if any, skin regrowth , unless i get water on them then as many of you have described as well it seems the lip skin turns white and what i would consider foamy and soft maybe like the " strange white line" post on this forum

She has instructed me to use the vaseline lightly several times daily in addition to the oral meds prednisone and 100 MG tablets of doxycycline,once daily, mainly for my rosacea

If that doesn't help she will consider another plan

Please understand that i also have, in general, alot of anxiety some of you have shared about yourselves and for me the notion of trying something new which may be natural and seemingly much better for you under normal circumstances, whatever normal is , if there even is a normal is too much of a 'risk'

I would rather go around with encrusted lips than have to experience the mental anguish again regarding what i just did with the completely unexpected severe burning of my lips from shea butter that is how distraught i was yesterday after i had made such good progress from simply using pure vaseline


I am amazed at, and respect all of your opinions and knowledge, you are all quite educated and articulate regarding our EC condition and the potential seeming complex or maybe not so complex solutions to at least improve the condition

How do you all cope emotionally when your EC is very severe to the point that you are embarrased to go out of the house, or be social For me it is utterly emotinally and socially paralyzing , i become a recluse.

I am on disability for another severe condition Menieres Disease and so am on disabiltiy therefore have the
so called luxury to not have to work outside the home but what do others do who have to work with this condition , exfoliate each day?

One more thing i wanted to ask, do any of you have any autoimmune diseases,conditions?

I have a number of them Menieres being one of them

Do you think a compromised immune system makes us more susseptable to EC and the abilty or lack there of to improve or dare i say cure our EC???

I realize from reading your posts that i have to explore my EC also with a more wholistic approach

I have not done the water diet or liver flush, i have not been tested for allergies or candida to mention a few

Thanks again for your caring and informative responses to my urgent concerns

I will follow all of your stories
Wishing you all the best !!!

hey sweetie,

try FLORASONE!

i'm Sooo sorry that EC has had such a negative impact on your life. i do understand your pain; been suffering with this madness off & on for almost 12 years now, with the last 5 being the Worst. i have a self-deprecating humour about all my ailments, and i want so much to have fun, that i say to EC: F**k that sh*t, i'm going out & partying regardless! beauty is in your head, heart & soul. don't let EC rob you of your zest for life, girl!

anyhoo, PLEASE lay off on the vaseline, aquaphor, anything petroleum-based. BAD for you. also, stay away from parabens, any benzene compounds, really (toluene, etc). even some organic stuff are pretty nasty to our bodies, so read up & be aware of what you're slathering on yourself, k?

that said, i Highly recommend FLORASONE. it is Not a cure, but it has been the only thing that has actually eased the inflammation (oozing, peeling, redness, cracking, oozing-like-a-maniac) for me. and trust me, i'm Uber-sensitive! my only beef is that its efficacy waned for me after about 4 weeks. by try it! i doubt you're as sensitive as i am.

my lips used to be my best feature--red, full, smooth--and now i see 75-year-olds with Way Better lips than mine. and i'm only 30! i laughed at your "accordion lips" bit; my lips, if i don't moisturize all the time, look like TWO scrunched up, Oozing accordions that have been soaking for a week in lemon juice, plus covered with gray flecks of dead skin. picture that! (actually, i'll upload some pics later to make you feel better. ;-)

i also suggest taking a patch allergy test. i did last month, and it turns out, i'm Severely Allergic to PPD in hair dye (which is a whole other nightmare!), chemicals in Antibiotics , Corticosteroids, Fragrances (i've got a Loooong-Ass list of chemicals to avoid just for fragrance mixes, which includes plant-based chemicals!), Lanolin & other wool alcohols, synthetic flavourings, including cinnamon oil & vanilla, etc., etc., ETC..

sadly my dear, i'm allergic even to corticosteroids, and none of those eczema creams, anti-fungal or Antibiotics will work for me now since i've developed sensitivities to all. i'm even irritated by the beeswax from my 99% organic ECO lip balm (which only contains vit e & a, and jojoba oil aside from the beeswax). oh, and i get chemical burns from ingredients in sunscreen, as well. oh, my poor, Poor skin! what's a girl to do? Sigh...

well, i've seen an immunologist, who told me there's nothing in the medical field that shows they can reverse (or reset) my immune system back to the way it was before i developed all these sensitivities. (these are all adult-onset allergies, btw.) i'm waiting to get my all-over physical exam next month, during which i'll ask about my cortisol levels and all kinds of hormone-related Qs. at this point, i will give my doctor urine, stool, dna, and my favourite prada purse to get to the bottom of this madness. anyhoo, standby for my report on that!

so, my fabulous morningdove, please get an allergy test, avoid those chemicals you're allergic to, use FLORASONE to Alleviate the symptoms (not cure), and eat healthy! don't use lipsticks for now (yes, it breaks my heart too, since i'm Sooo vain!), eat high quality yoghurt (watch out for the Sugar & sodium content--nasty stuff!), exercise, meditate, do yoga, and eat only good food. Real food, with no fake preservatives , food colourings or fake flavourings.

education & information is key! and remember, you are beautiful!