Help

So guys I suffer this problem on my scalp and my face. They take forever to heal and keep crusting over. I did two cultures and came back negative. Took two rounds of antibiotics. Before the antibiotics I was full of pustules and even had swollen lymph nodes. As of now, it’s very manageable with jojoba oil and tea tree oil, but there are times when I get a big oozing spot which is unappealing and I’m in college. Is there a definite cure? Ive read that Soolantra helps? Ive also had this very red swollen bumps on my nose that take forever to go down. Im going to see my derm again on monday but she seems clueless. I used to have pustules but they never crusted over but they crusted on my scalp with yellow crust and now they crust in my face too. Can anybody let me know what they did? My face is really sensitive! Any cleanser dries me out. Every time I shower my face looks more red and dry even if its cold water.

Hi Lala. If the lesions look similar to the photos on this site then i would seriously consider soolantra. Virtually everyone on this site seems to have found it provides some relief. If you can get a sample even better but I think its worth getting a small tube and trying it. Ask your derm to prescribe it. Remember you need to keep going with it for 2-3 months as it may take a while to made things better. And things may get worse initially. Let us know how you get on. Hope it works for you.

Lala, you will learn more from the people on this site than any doctor who wants to slice at your face and take cultures. Ultimately, the big cure is Soolantra and, in some instances, diet. Before soolantra, I tried the same things as you. Tea Tree oil and then I used jojoba as a moisturizer. The tea tree was actually exacerbating the problem, but it took me a long time to realize that. I was using this tea tree oil shampoo, and then anytime I’d sit in the sun for more than a few minutes by head would break out in the crusts. I eventually learned that jojoba was giving me issues also since it is derived from a nut. It is very difficult, but you have to try one thing at a time. Cut out tea tree and see how it goes. If you still have the problem, cut out jojoba. Then reintroduce one at a time if you really want to use them. I’ve made that mistake before of trying too many things at once.

I recently bought my second tube of Soolantra after getting through about 18 months on one tube. I literally put a very small amount between my eyebrows and down the creases at the sides of my nose. If I put it in these two areas, I will not break out. Soolantra is the only reason I am alive right now because I faced this for over twenty years and had pretty solid plans to off myself. I’ll pay $400 for a tube of something that lasts almost two years. Soolantra will make the outbreaks on your face go away after about two weeks of getting used to it.

You are young, but you will have to face the fact that diet does play a role in your skin. You will have to begin testing your body’s reaction to different foods. Cut out dairy for a few weeks, and pay attention to the results. Cut out citrus, and pay attention to the results. This isn’t easy work. You have to dedicate yourself to it though. Good luck and welcome to the site.

im going to ask for soolantra then. I ordered ivermectin like 2 weeks ago, the injectable source, but it felt very harsh so i stopped. I hope everything goes well. Im going to let you know how is my progress. I hope it gets better especially that Christmas is coming and I dont want to be seen like this! It really sucks sucks to be honest I feel that this condition can control ones life when it comes to approaching girls and having job interviews and all that but oh well… wish me luck!

Also make sure you don’t scratch the face and scalp, otherwise it may spread more easily if it’s bacterial.

You could try Cetaphil Moisturising Cream for your face dryness. Soolantra also contains Cetaphil, apart from ivermectin.
(Preferable a Cetaphile tube instead of a jar. For a jar, it’s easy for bacteria to colonize it.)
Also your living environment may be too dry, especially during the winter. In that case, a humidifier could help.

Went to derm today after being in emergency room on sunday. I was diagnosed with cellulitis on my upper cheek next to my nose. Started clindamycin 300 mg for a week. If it doesnt work then IV antibiotics for me. Got prescribed soolantra too. Never had this cellulitis before but always had the crusty pustules. Wish me luck!

So now that i have soolantra how do i use it? Spot treatment? All over face and scalp? Another question is that my hair is not that short so should i get haircut so i get it through my entire scalp?

Not sure if your cellulitis is related to your crusting lesion problem, but if so, then the yellow crusts could also be impetigo. (Which is usually caused by staph. aureus bacteria.) If so, you also need to make sure you have extra hygiene measures, such as keeping fingernails short and clean, wash hands, not scratching the face etc.

Soolantra should be applied in the area where the crusting lesions occur, even when there aren’t any lesions at the moment.
Maybe I did get a few crusting lesions on my scalp, when I had the problem, but can’t recall that there were any other users reporting lesions on the scalp. Maybe you could skip the scalp until Soolantra proves to be effective on your face? (Otherwise you’ll have to use a lot more of Soolantra when you do both the face+scalp.)

Also note that Soolantra may give a bad reaction when starting, so you may want to start slowly. For more info, see: Bad first reaction

As of right now soolantra doesn’t irritate me and I havent had a bad reaction to it. It seems that it is working but I dont know if its the antibiotics they prescribed me… ill keep u guys updated

Im getting small whiteheads but they are not inflamed at all. Is that normal? They look very superficial and not deep. They go in less than a day without leaving a mark

Guys this may be associated with harsh dry weather. Ever since I got back to my home for christmas I havent gotten a spot. I was in the north in the cold living in a dry campus which had heaters and all that. I was eating healthy and sober completely. I got back home here in a humid environment and ive been in family events drinking and eating fried foods. Ive noticed that the dryness between my legs subsided and my skin is clearing. I havent been using soolantra religiously either. I just use it as a spot treatment. I just use salicylic acid and jojoba oil. Im going to buy a humidifer when I get back to see what happens. Remember a skin that doesnt have moist to it cant healed itself properly. Ive noticed that my skin was better when I skipped showers and I thought of demodex die off that maybe they were not dying but now it doesnt add up since i was using jojoba and tea tree oil daily which kills demodex. Therefore, think about it. Ive had it cultured and its not staph and they just found normal skin bacteria. That being said, just pay attention to the weather and other factors.

Hi- I noticed you said you use the Soolantra as a spot treatment. Does this halt the lesions as they come up? I’m getting a new lesion right now and was prescribed Soolantra a few days ago, but haven’t used it yet as I have an event to go to in a few days and I’m worried about reactions. But do you think applying Soolantra to the spot could make this outbreak not as bad? Please let me know.

I didnt notice much of a difference with the soolantra. I didnt have initial breakout. Maybe because mine is not demodex related.

I also belief that skin hydratation is important and helps to strengthen it against the disease. But for me, using a humidifier and skin moisturizers wasn’t enough to heal me, although now that I’m healed, I do think hydratation helps me to keep me protected.

If you have the disease that most of us here have, than you shouldn’t use it as a spot treatment. Maybe it does improve the healing of an active leasion, but I don’t now.

I think most people maybe have a mild reaction. You could start slowly with it. Some tips can be found here: Bad first reaction