Sunday 15 November 2015

Going to Give Moisturiser Withdrawal Another Try

I feel lucky inasmuch as I've been able to tolerate moisturisers throughout most of my TSW process. In the early days, this was a real lifeline to me and enabled me to cope with everyday situations with more confidence. I was able to use a variety of oils and creams with no adverse effects at all.

HOWEVER...all that seems to have changed recently. It started with my beloved hemp cream, that I've used as the main cream during withdrawal. Suddenly my skin started to react badly to it and itch terribly when I applied it. Over the following months I had the same result with all moisturisers. It seems to be a type of hypersensitivity reaction.

Therefore, I have decided to give moisturiser withdrawal another go. I tried it a while back and didn't like it, but I feel like I have no choice now as creams feel horrible on my skin. I know that Dr Fukaya said that hives and sensitivity were a sign of final healing, so maybe this is the last push before my skin heals completely. It's actually not feeling too bad right now and I'm preferring the dry feeling to the itchy wet feeling.

According to Tommys Skin of Rose blog, Dr Sato says that: 'moisturisers' here mean using emollients, creams, lotions, oils, thick bandages, staying in bed all day, taking a long/frequent bath, make-up, picking up scabs, wiping off ooze and drinking too much water.  I hope to follow this as strictly as I can, although I do love a long bath!

I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who has tried MW, especially if you have any tips. This is all new for me, so voices of experience are welcome.

I'll be posting an update soon, especially as I'm near my 4 year anniversary.

Best wishes to all.




6 comments:

Unknown said...

My advice would be to just focus on the not moisturizing and not to worry about doing it "right". What helped me the most during MW was being able to take a bath. I was still in my oozing phase so would dry up and literally not be able to turn my neck or open my mouth - the bath would loosen up the skin enough to stretch out a bit. In between baths I would spray a water and witch hazel mixture on itchy parts or maybe do a domeboros compress. Sure, maybe these things are considered moisturizing but it will help in the first few weeks of major discomfort and then you can easily phase those out when you feel more comfortable.

Louise said...

Thanks Karina for taking the time to reply and share your experiences. X

Hayley said...

I would not have survived without baths. I did all over MW and my body is still pretty dry but the relief of not using moisturiser a million times a day is so worth it. My doctor thinks I'm crazy ha but I totally recommend it

Cara Ward said...

Hello Lousie

My advice would be to withdraw from moisturiser slowly if you can - area by area - as that was the only way I was successfully able to do it. I found it too painful otherwise!

So happy that you are doing much better :)

Big hugs
Cara xxx

Louise said...

Thanks Hayley. I'm just going to use Epsom salt baths, so hopefully they will help. I'm feeling dry but happy! X

Louise said...

Hi cara. I only need to withdraw from face and hands as I haven't used moisturiser anywhere else on my body in years. Hopefully this will make it a bit easier too.