help! I think I burned my face with Benzoyl Peroxide :(

[natalie1885]

Last week I noticed a blemish on my left cheek that got bigger...and bigger and bigger. I've had this face wash product called PanOxyl Face Wash which contains 10% benzoyl peroxide & I only use this face wash once daily to cleanse face only. Well I was planning on picking up Mario Badescu products today (going later tonight to pick some up)...but I got tired & desperate of this ginormous blemish on my cheek being there ALL week, so last night I put that PanOxyl Face Wash (it's sort of pasty, like the same texture as Proactiv's Clay Mask) and I left it on my skin overnight. I really was TIRED of that unsightly blemish

I woke up this morning & that ginormous blemish flattened and seemed to go away, BUT in it's place is this BURN MARK!
The mark looks like someone took a cigarette and burned my cheek with the tip of a cigarette thingy.
The BURN MARK is basically the size of my then ginormous blemish, but also sort of surrounds it a little more (probably because I smeared cream all over blemish & then some)...
Anyway, it's SO ugly and dark. I have very light asian skin, I mean my skin is pretty white and then there's this UGLY BURN MARK that's like a dark brown!
I tried covering it with Bare Essentials makeup to no avail & I have to leave in a few minutes and I'm SO distraught. If I felt embarassed about that GINORMOUS blemish...I feel even worse about this burn mark left in it's place!!

It's soooo ugly & I feel sooooo yucky today! ICK!
Well I have to go right now but anyone have any advice??
Has anyone done the same thing?
Thank you in advance for any input.

Nat

 

[mischka]

This has happened to me before! I was happy I thought my blemish was going away but in it's place was a huge red/brown spot and I still thought it was a blemish and kept placing the meds until I ended up with a burn mark.

Don't worry though - it will fade away! Mine did - and it happened to me twice or thrice already I just never learn:shame:

Maybe you should identify if it stings when you touch it or do you feel nothing at all? Mine stung before it felt very rough too! What I did was I left it clean for weeks - no moisturizer, no make-up, no facial washes/scrubs - NADA! I didn't want to put anything that might irritate it more that it should. I left it to heal by itself Then I slowly re-introduced washes, moisturizers and finally make-up. Hope this helps!

But if it doesn't sting at all, maybe you should treat it as the same as any burn mark?

 

[illinirdhd]

Put Vaseline on it or A&D ointment, something moisturizing without perfume, and sleep with that on there tonight. Hopefully it will soften and heal (is it a scab or just a brown mark?). I don't know of anything better for covering up than mineral foundation.

In the future, you can use Mario Badescu on yucky pimples, or when you get a really bad one, put a dab of toothpaste or Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask or Proactiv Refining Mask on it overnight. Those will dry it up, but they won't burn your skin.

 

[lunatwinkle]

Put Neosporin or some type of burn ointment on it bofore you go to sleep. That should help the discoloration go away.

I also have marks on my cheeks. It's awful; I'm also a fair-skinned asian girl and I tend to get little scars from pimples. Well, I have a smattering of them along the very bottom of my jawline. It's awful and I hate going out in public like this. But with the drinking water, washing your face everyday, and the burn ointment, it's slowly fading. Just be patient, there isn't any overnight miracle cure. Skin takes time to heal unfortunately.

Also as a side note, I've found that if I don't cover it up with concealer or foundation during the day, it heals faster. It was so difficult to go without foundation in the beginning and I was really self-conscious. But it's been 3 months and I've gotten used to it now, and my skin has really been healing wonderfully.

 

[socaltrojan]

DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON YOUR SKIN!

DISREGARD the above posters, I am sorry but it will cause further damage.

You still have time to fix the damage if you follow this advice. Trust me I had the same thing happen to me and this it what I did per my derm's advice to have my skin healed to normal with in 3 days.

DO NOT put any makeup over the area or any products other than spf 30 suncreen.

If you put makeup on it, the pigment in the makeup will sink in to the open area and will leave a tattoo effect on your skin that is permanent. SO seriously DO NOT DO IT!

Put on spf 30 sunscreen generously because if you go out into the sun with out it the UV exposure will cause the mark to become darker and permanent.

Call your derm or doctor and get a prescription for BIAFINE emulsion. Apply the emulsion 3 times a day. It is a macrophage stimulating cream that will help cells in your body to repair itself and lead to new skin formation. Apply the emulsion generously over the area and allow it to sink in and absorb into the skin. Do not rub it in.

IT is used for burn victims, skin grafts, sun burns, post laser peals to help skin regrow and regenerate.

I used it after I had a bad reaction to a cream that also left my skin burned. For me it was my entire face and BIAFINE helped heal all of it with in THREE days. I kid you not.

Seriously do not do anything other than that because if you do the mark will become permanent.

For at least a good 1-2 weeks do not put anything on the area other than biafine and spf 30 sunscreen.

I work with derms and am in medical school so that is how I know about the emulsion and because I have used it for the same thing with amazing results.

 

[surferchick2]

I've used benzoyl peroxide wash and it left this crust, almost like a mild chemical peel. It eventually flaked off with no problems but it can be pretty powerful. It makes sense that bp can have longterm effects that aren't so positive if used consistently.

 

[frostedcouture]

socaltrojan is awesome!

 

[ShimmaPuff]

Ask your dermatologist before using benzoyl peroxide again. Like everything else in life, it is not for everybody. Millions of people have used it for years to vanquish zits with no ill effects, but maybe you are not destined to be among their number.

I would leave it completely alone until you see your doctor, let her tell you what, if anything to put on it.

 

[natalie1885]

thank you everyone for your replies!!!!
i feel better now that everyone has somewhat gone through the same experience.

socaltrojan-thank you for the biafine emulsion application tip! after reading i contacted my dr. immediately & i see her tommorrow 1st thing in the morning!!!! i tried just requesting the biafine but her med. asst. said i had to make an appt first so she can take a look at my face, so i have to wait til tommorrow but after i get that cream, i hope all will turn out well.
too bad i didn't read your reply prior to leaving though because i've already put gobs of makeup on to "cover damage" for the day today.

thanks for all your replies/advice above-i know it's SO hard to go out uncovered but i guess i'm going to have to take all your advice ^above^ & listen. i'll just use my hair to hide behind :shame:

thanks again everyone, i truly appreciate your replies

*ps*hard lesson learned! NO more benzoyl peroxide for me

 

[luvshopping90]

I tried oxy clean stuff years ago on my face, all over and found out quickly that I was allergic. Fortunately mine wasn't a burn, at least I don't remember it that way. I do remember looking like I was beat up with awful bruise looking things under my eyes. I haven't bothered to buy any for my kids for fear they will have the same reaction. I keep tea tree oil around for them to use instead. I'm so glad you got some good advice!

 

[Tracy]

aw nat! i hope your burn is getting better! did you see the derm?

 

[socaltrojan]

thank you everyone for your replies!!!!
i feel better now that everyone has somewhat gone through the same experience.

socaltrojan-thank you for the biafine emulsion application tip! after reading i contacted my dr. immediately & i see her tommorrow 1st thing in the morning!!!! i tried just requesting the biafine but her med. asst. said i had to make an appt first so she can take a look at my face, so i have to wait til tommorrow but after i get that cream, i hope all will turn out well.
too bad i didn't read your reply prior to leaving though because i've already put gobs of makeup on to "cover damage" for the day today.

thanks for all your replies/advice above-i know it's SO hard to go out uncovered but i guess i'm going to have to take all your advice ^above^ & listen. i'll just use my hair to hide behind :shame:

thanks again everyone, i truly appreciate your replies

*ps*hard lesson learned! NO more benzoyl peroxide for me

Oh no problem! Glad I could help!

Did you go see your derm and is the emulsion working for you?

What happened when you saw her?

 

[natalie1885]

hi everyone! -hi nola!- yeah i did see my dr. (not derm though)

here's an update
so saturday morning i saw my doctor & she was going to give me trichylderine (or something like that sounding name??!!&*^#%!) and i told her i was referred to an ointment called biafine emulsion. she said that my skin was massively irritated by the benzoyl peroxide and so my skin reacted by burning the top layer of my skin since i have sensitive skin-she told me if i apply the ointment, only apply 2x a day the first day, then 3x the 2nd day and if burn gets worse after 7 days i have to see her again...

well, i got home, washed my face with cleanser, smeared on biafine emulsion on my 'burn spots' for a few hrs., after 2 hrs cream disappeared, i had to go out again so i just put sunscreen & no makeup (which was hard to not be able to hide that burn spot!). i repeated this sunday too. nothing but the emulsion & sunscreen. it was embarassing going out-but oh well- i didn't want to aggrivate my skin more..

i washed my face last night & the burn just fell off! it's sad to say but i canNOT believe how excited i was to see that happen!! it's like the burn spot was NEVER even ever there before!!! my skin that's now showing (where the blemish & burn spot were) looks brand new, glowy & healthy!
i just canNOT believe it. NO scarring, NO nothing! it looks like nothing was even there-it's sooooo crazy!!!!

*graphic-gross warning ahead* but the best way i could describe it is like how when lizards get rid of their outer layer of skin, they shed their skin, to come out into their new healthy one? that's what it looked like (best described) when that burn came off.

SOCALTROJAN, i canNOT even thank you enough!!!!!!! you are THE BEST and thank you SOOOoooOOOoooo SOoooOOooOooo much for your advice! had i not known this info from reading your post-i don't know that my doctor (which i'm planning on switching out from) would have prescribed the b. emulsion. she probably would have stuck with that trichyleride or whatever it was that she suggested from the 1st and i probably still would have had an UGLY cigarette burn looking thing on my face or something.
the best part is the biafine emulsion worked in a matter of 2-3 days. i was preparing to go on looking the way i did last friday for about 3 week which depressed me, but the biafine emulsion TRULY TRULY worked.

thank you SOooooOo much SOCALTROJAN!
and boy was this a tough lesson learned! i'm NEVER ever touching benzoyl peroxide again!

*ohhhh & since my skin was okay this morning, i tried the monistat chafing gel that another thread was talking about to use as a makeup primer to keep makeup shine free & THAT works too! (i just didn't put it where my 'burn spot' was located just to be safe)
i applied it on my oily t-zone area only & have had my makeup on since 7am this morning-haven't had to powder ONCE at work-at all-not even during my break!*
i tPF! so many knowledgable & helpful women here!

 

[NYCBelle]

you're most likely allergic to benzoyl peroxide like i am. i used a prescribed cream from the doc and the next day my whole face was swollen and red and burning!!! don't use any products with benzoyl peroxide from now on.

 

[seggrern]

The same happened to me when i used proactive's products for about 4 days. It irritated my skin and left brown patches on my face. Following the advice here I used biafine for about 3 weeks and it only help fade the burn marks to a certain extent. Then I went to see a dermatologist and she gave me Finacea to lighten up the hyperpigmentation caused by the benzoyl peroxide. I don't think Finacea is working for me cause it's burning my face and causing more brown spots. I don't know what to do I'm so depressed because of this i even consider myself suicidal right now. I'd really appreciate if you could help me