I'm new to this forum but it seems like a lot of knowledge can be gained by sharing my story. I've had exfoliative chelitis for around 15 years. it all started when I was around 15 years old. I don't remember exactly how it started but I believe it started when I get extremely sunburnt snow skiing. I don't remember it ever healing after that. Anyways, I've just managed it by wiping off the excess each morning before I go to work. Even though it's not completely noticeable to other people, my lips are always dry and it feels like a layer of skin that shouldn't be exposed because they are always dry and sensitive. I went to several dermatologists when I was younger but nothing helped, so I just started controlling it every day by wiping the excess off after I brushed my teeth. I decided to take a couple months off work and try to get this resolved. I went to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona a couple months ago. They put me on Antibiotics , anti-fungal, and steroid cream and that might have reduced the inflammation but didn't reduce the peeling and scabbing. I went back to AZ a couple weeks ago and they did full allergy tests and also did a biopsy. The biopsy showed similar results from the biopsies I had a long time ago. Hyperkeratosis is the issue. I was allergic to several things but I'm not sure they are relevant. I am now on Acitretin but I don't think I've been on it long enough to really tell if it's helping. It's better than it was two months ago, but that might just be because I haven't touched it and allowed everything to happen naturally. Now I'm going back to work and worried that it will never heal if I go back to my old routine. Does anybody have any thoughts/suggestion? Do you think it could still heal even though I gently wipe off the excess each day?