Update - Red LED Light Treatment for my Eczema and Chemical Peel

I haven't talked about my eczema in a while, that's because it hasn't reoccurred.  I pull out my red LED light occasionally to use it when my skin feels irritated but honestly I haven't used it in over six months.  I am so thankful I discovered that light.  It has really kept me sane.  I am again in the middle of a chemical peel treatment series.  Last night was my third treatment.  (I used a 35% Glycolic-Lactic acid mixture)  I didn't do my neck or my decolletage area this time.  I'll save that for this weekend.  My skin this morning feels soft, smooth and tight maybe a little raw (my cheeks have a slight red tinge) but I know that those are signs that the peeling is about to commence in the next few days.  For this series I'm going to do six treatments, once every week to a week and a half and then my girlfriends and I are going to get together at a spa in a couple of months to do a microdermabrasion treatment.  The microdermabrasion should get rid of any stubborn excess flaky skin that might still be clinging to my face.  I can't wait!  This weekend I also need to take care of my hair.  It's in desperate need of a lot of things; color, hot oil treatment, a trim...etc...  I'm not sure I'll be able to accomplish all but I'll certainly try.

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*Allene Angelica*

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FYI...Red LED Light Treatment

Just to update regarding the red LED light treatments for my eczema.  I no longer have the eczema issue on my face.  It's been completely abolished and has not relapsed since my last posting about the subject.  I am still doing the red LED light treatments on my face a couples of time a month.  Usually during the week after I do a chemical peel.  So far so good.  Really happy with the results.

Finally - My Eczema Treatment

I’m sure all of the eczema sufferers out there have heard of phototherapy or light therapy from your doctor, research online, word of mouth, etc…  The doctor’s typically recommend UV phototherapy for extreme eczema conditions.  (I am UV phobic.  I equate the darkening of my skin to premature aging, age spots, wrinkles, skin cancer, etc…) Light therapy has been used to treat a number of skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, jaundice, acne as well as sleep disorders and some psychiatric disorders.  I wanted to find a natural, pain-free treatment that didn’t consist of taking pills or using some sort of steroid cream/ointment on my skin.  During my research I discovered light therapy but I’m talking about a specific wavelength of light.  The wavelength of light that I preferred and that I ended up doing a lot of research on was the Red LED light (660 nm).  There are several wavelengths of visible light (400 – 700 nm; colors ranging from violet to red) but the 660 nm (red light) seems to be the most promising due to its safety, healing and light penetrating benefits.  This particular wavelength of light contains no UV rays so it will not damage your skin.  It kills bacteria on the skin and penetrates it enough to heal damaged skin cells; it does nothing to the healthy cells.  After all the articles I’ve read about this particular wavelength I believed it would help me with my skin condition.

There are a lot of overpriced products out there that sell this particular wavelength or at least close to this wavelength for beauty enhancement or as an anti-aging product which I feel minimizes the credibility of this treatment.  After watching an infomercial of one of these overpriced units it puts doubts in your head as to whether or not this product is legitimate.  I do believe that because the Red LED light does heal damaged cells there is truth beneath the hype.

NASA initially discovered the benefits of the Red LED lights while doing research on plants and from there went on to discover that it helped patients suffering from cancer.  I’ve attached links from the NASA website for your perusal.

Nasa News Release 2003

Nasa Spinoff 2005

I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a product that may or may not work.  So, I found an alternative.  I made my own.  I bought a Red LED light bulb from Amazon.com (approx. $40).  They sell the 660 nm wavelength I was looking for; make sure to purchase the bulb that includes free eye goggles (you want to use the goggles every time you do a treatment).  (I would not recommend buying any light bulb with an infrared wavelength.  God only knows what that would do to your skin.)  What’s great about an LED light bulb is that it does not generate heat so there is no need for concern with burning your skin but you do not want to look at it directly because it may damage your eyes.  I then bought an adjustable gooseneck lamp with a clamp base at Target ($12).  The bulb screws right into the lamp perfectly.  You might also want to buy an egg timer if you don’t have one already.  It’s good to use the timer to time your treatment in case you fall asleep because I’ve done that on several occasions.  Like I said before, it’s very therapeutic.  (The instructions I’m about to give are instructions for using the treatment on my face because that is where I have eczema but you could use it for anywhere on your body as well.)

Before doing the therapy prep your skin:

1.  I typically wash my face with a non-soap facial cleanser using a soft wet washcloth in circular motions to remove any dead skin cells so that there are no barriers between the light and my skin.  That way the light can penetrate as deeply as it possibly can.

2.  While my face is damp I rub oil evenly all over my face.  I prefer either 100% Argan oil or coconut oil but some people like olive oil, vitamin E oil, etc…  Use whatever makes you comfortable if not oil use a preferred moisturizer.  I have tried the treatment without any oil on my skin; straight after washing and it was so uncomfortable that I had to stop mid-treatment to put oil on. I wait a few minutes for my skin to absorb the oil before continuing.

3.  Wrap a scarf or towel around your neck to protect your thyroids.  The light might cause issues with the thyroids although they have said that it doesn’t penetrate the skin deep enough to reach the thyroids but it’s better to be cautious.

Now there are several ways you can do the treatment once you are ready:

A.  One way to do it is to clamp the lamp on to your bed’s headboard, lay down underneath it pointing the lamp towards your face a few inches away.  Another way is to clamp it to a table and point the lamp towards your face a few inches away for a total of 15 minutes.  If the light doesn’t encompass your whole face you might have to do one side of your face at a time.  I prefer clamping it to my headboard and lying down with the light shining on my face.  It’s the most comfortable position.  (Don’t forget the goggles.)

B.  Make sure you set the egg timer just in case.  I’ve never gone beyond the 15 minutes.  Leave it on too long and you might cancel any benefits that you may have achieved.  You might also want to try to use it for 5 minutes the first few treatments if 15 minutes is too uncomfortable for the beginners.

Another way I like to use it is by laying the mouth of the lamp directly on my face and moving it to different areas every 5 minutes making sure I don’t use it in one area for too long.

You can use it every day or every other day or once a week, whatever works for you.  I used it every day for about a week and a half but after the eczema had receded from most of my face I started using it every couple of days.  I’m pretty much eczema free now.  Knock on wood.  Hopefully I can keep it at bay and will not relapse.  My skin feels soft, smooth and looks absolutely fabulous, in my opinion.

You can customize your treatment to your own preference just remember the importance of protecting your eyes and thyroids.  Below I’ve added a few more links to just some of the information I’ve read.  There are tons of websites for the Red LED Light but you have to separate the adds/gimmicks from the real information.  I really hope this helps you as much as it did me.  As far as I can tell there are no negative side effects to using the Red LED Light as long as you use it correctly.

Wikipedia - Light Therapy

Ehow - Blue & Red Light Therapy

Heelspurs - LED Light Therapy

Thirteenth Day of Treatment

Just finished a treatment session and almost all the eczema has receded.  The only stubborn patch left is on my right temple but I'm confident that it will recede eventually.  I'm so excited that I found something that works well and is continuing to work well.  I will tell you soon what treatment that is.  I need to write up a set of instructions on how to use it and the most economical way of obtaining it because it can be quite costly but I found an easy alternative.  Believe me, I spent many a long night gathering research.  Research that I will provide for your perusal so you can decide for yourself whether or not to use it.  It worked for me and I hope it will work for the other eczema sufferers out there.  Although I've never suffered eczema to this extent before, this was my first and hopefully last major outbreak, I've always suspected that I carried the gene.  Two of my children have suffered from it, not to the extreme that I just experienced but they had over the years had small outbreaks on their bodies.  Lotions, creams and hydrocortisones were enough to control it for them but I'm glad that I found something else, another option for them to use in the future.

Eighth Day of Treatment

I just finished another round of treatment.  I am so happy and excited I can't contain myself.  I am bursting with energy.  I feel like doing cartwheels but in my little studio apartment I would probably hurt myself.  I know I shouldn't get my hopes up but this is the first weekend in two months that I haven't been suffering from eczema.  I am really confident that the treatment I'm using is working.  Last weekend, I caught a bug and developed a fever.  The fever inflamed my eczema and my face felt on fire.  I thought to myself, "Well,  back to square one."  Stubbornly I started the treatments anyways.  I officially started the treatments last Saturday regardless of the fever.  So, today is the eighth day and there is a marked improvement in my skin.  I would have taken before and after pictures but I'm quite vain so no I refuse.  The texture of my skin today is fairly smooth.  Most of the rough patches are gone especially on my cheeks which makes me extremely happy because they are the most noticeable areas on my face.  I still have some rough patches along my jawline, the temple area next to my eyes and on my nose.  My forehead and my cheeks have pretty much cleared up.  The best way that I've found to have worked well for me is before the treatment I wash my face with lukewarm to cold water using a gentle non-soap facial cleanser and a washcloth.  I take the washcloth with the cleanser on it and rub it softly on my skin in circular motions.  It removes the loose dead skin cells.  After rinsing my face with water I rub some oil on it while it is still damp.  I make sure to rub oil in every nook and cranny of my face.  I wait a few minutes for the oil to absorb and then start treatment.  I know I haven't mentioned what the treatment is but I want to make sure that it really is working before I make it public knowledge.  I don't want to be irresponsible.  Because of the eczema's tendency to reoccur just by a touch of anything the skin doesn't like I only use the washcloth to clean my face before treatments.  When I wash my face in the shower or before going to bed I just use my fingertips.  We don't want any reason for inflammation.  We basically have to walk on eggshells in regards to eczema because she's a diva.

Eczema Update

So far so good, no recurring flare up this week.  This is day six of my treatment.  My skin is looking close to normal.  The skin is not as red as it use to be and does not feel as sensitive.  I always put sunscreen on every morning after putting oil and Vaseline on my face and the sunscreen use to sting like crazy.  I would just cringe and bare it because there is no way in hell I'm going to step outside my door without sunscreen especially during the summer.  The past couple of days the stinging wasn't as bad as it usually is.  I haven't worn make up in a while now which is normal for me during the weekdays, I don't usually wear makeup to work.  I reserve it for weekends and special occasions and even then I don't wear makeup.  If I do it's usually just eye makeup and lipstick, no foundation.  My skin doesn't feel smooth yet like it use to I still have rough patches almost like I have a layer of dead skin cells on my face but there is nothing I can do about that right now.  I don't want to exfoliate and risk inducing a flare up.  I'm going to continue with my treatments every day and with my fingers crossed I hope to kick this eczema's ass right out of my life.  Don't worry I'll keep you posted.

Guinea Pig

I'm not afraid to use myself as a guinea pig.  Because of the whole new experience I'm having with eczema, I've been doing a lot of research on it.  I wouldn't worry so much if it was affecting me anywhere else on my body but because it's concentration is on my face I'm forced to try all different kinds of remedies.  The oil and Vaseline is working well to moisturize my face and reducing the flaking but doing nothing for the redness and inflammation.  I haven't tried cortisone cream yet because I read that overuse of the product can lead to the skin thinning.  That's the last thing I want is for my skin to become thin.  So I'm trying something different and if it works I'll tell you what it is.  I'm on day three of using it and so far I've seen a little improvement but not sure yet.  I haven't even dyed my hair.  It's been ages and the grays are becoming more and more prominent, but I don't want any chemicals near my face.  The product I'm using according to the research I've read is that it has no negative side effects and is pain free.  The pain free part I can attest is true.  It's actually very therapeutic.  I'll let you know how I progress in my experiment.

Update - Eczema Situation

So, regarding my eczema situation.  I've been using the Watt's Moroccan Oil and the Vaseline Petroleum Jelly consistently every morning and night for the last few days and I've seen remarkable improvement in my skin.  The eczema covered almost my entire face with the exception of my forehead.  The worst areas were around my nose and along my chin line from ear to ear.  As I stated before it started around the same time as the allergies hit me a few weeks ago and I had no idea what was going on.  I was actually afraid and was in denial for a while.  I refused to see a doctor because I didn't think they could tell me anything I didn't already know or could find out for myself, so I self diagnosed.  I read about all the different types of rashes out there and I narrowed it down to eczema.  It was the most plausible explanation with the itchiness, the dryness, flaking and sensitivity.  I could no longer use my regular moisturizer because it would sting my face as soon as I applied it.  I read that with eczema you have to keep your face continuously moisturized and that oil and petroleum jelly helped with easing the dryness.  The middle of the night was the hardest.  It took all of my self control to not scratch my face.  What I discovered was, that it was most helpful when as soon as the itchiness would start I would slather on more Vaseline (I kept the jar next to my bed) and I would take a cold item and lay it across my face especially in the areas where it was the most itchy.  I had a bunch of eye pads that I kept in the refrigerator and that's what I used to lay on my face and what's great is that it's reusable.  In the morning I would just put them back in the fridge and they were ready by the time I went to bed that evening.  Those helped a lot with the itchiness.  The cold would numb my skin and I felt relief and was able to sleep through the night.  Benedryl helped a lot too but most night's I didn't want to feel drugged so I kept Benedryl around only on nights when it was really bad but for the most part I rarely had to use it.  My skin now is recovering nicely.  The eczema is no longer noticeable, I still feel it so I know it's still there and that I need to continue my routine but just the fact that you can no longer see it is amazing.  My face actually looks normal now.  And soon I'll be able to start working out again.  I stopped working out because I read that heat and sweat irritates eczema and might worsen it.  I'm looking forward to the day when it will no longer be there, when I'll be free.

Bad Allergies This Year Have Led To...

Hey All, I'm suspecting that my bad case of allergies this season have led to the skin issues on my FACE!!!  I've been suffering from them for several weeks but I haven't written about it because I thought it would eventually go away but it hasn't yet.  It's taking it's sweet time but I am seeing some improvement.  It looks a lot to me like eczema (which I've never suffered from before).  I did some research and apparently oil-based products and petroleum jelly work well to diminish the dryness.  So last night I slathered my face with my Watt's Moroccan Oil and after it soaked in I put Vaseline petroleum jelly all over my face.  I'll continue to do that for the next few days and monitor the results.  If I notice positive results, I'll continue and hopefully my skin will be back to normal in no time.  I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you posted.