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newperspective , 30 Mar 2012

wounds are HEALING and scars are FADING------> PLEASE READ!!!!!

I've mentioned calamine lotion on this site many times before but I want to scream it out for everyone to hear and to understand that IT REALLY DOES WORK! My skin has seriously never looked better. Being that I'm still in active recovery from CSP, I relapsed a bit yesterday and went to town on my chin. I was so angry with myself but instead of spiraling out of control, I just took a deep breath, washed my face with my antibacterial face wash and applied a thick layer of calamine lotion all over my chin and let it be. This morning, the wounds were already healing over and the swelling and inflamation had subsided immensely! After washing my face in the shower, I applied another thick layer and left it on for about 4 hours. When I washed it off, they again looked even better than when I first woke up this morning. My hopes are that they will be completely healed within the next few days... I will keep everyone posted. My chin aside, the rest of my skin looks INCREDIBLE! I've been using calamine lotion consistenly for the past month and the results are AMAZING! My scars have faded about 50% and my skin actually looks NORMAL. I don't feel so ashamed walking around without makeup on in front of my husband and kids, and when I am wearing makeup, my complexion has never looked better. To achieve the same results, you have to be consistent and use it every night. After washing my face at night, I apply a THIN layer (apply a thicker layer ONLY on the areas where wounds are present) all over my face and leave it on overnight. In the morning I wash my face and apply a zinc-based moisturizer before applying my makeup and then go about my day. I've done this for a month straight and I can honestly say that I am a believer. Calamine lotion has helped with healing my self-inflicted wounds, fading my scars, and evening out my overall skin tone. The best part about it is that it's dirt cheap. I spent $1.44USD on ONE bottle! PLEASE give this a try... I promise you won't regret it!

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newperspective
April 12, 2012
Welcome to the site SpottyFace! It's been a long road to get where I'm at and I'm STILL not 100% better. I've been picking at the skin on my face for 8 years and discovered that this was an actual disorder a little more than a year ago. In the past year, I've come a long way and don't pick nearly as often as I used to. I can go weeks without picking, whereas before, I could barely last a day without picking at any and every small imperfection. Finding great products that work for me has helped tremendously on my road to recovery. The calamine lotion has been an absolute Godsend. I'm so happy you went out and purchased a bottle! I'm anxious to hear about how it works for you. Please keep me updated on your progress and I hope you have an amazing time at your going away party! - newperspective
SpottyFace
April 14, 2012
Hey Newperspective! The calamine lotion really did help! Thank you so much for caring about others and for posting your advice! My going away party was really great, and I wasn't too self-conscious. My skin wasn't perfect but I've looked a lot worse before. Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for your support.
newperspective
April 14, 2012
That's wonderful! I was thinking about you today and was so happy to read that the calamine lotion helped you too :) I'm sure you looked beautiful at your going away party and I can't tell you enough how happy I am that you didn't feel too self-conscious and that you were able to fully enjoy yourself. Afterall, that's what life is all about - living. I hope you have a great weekend and I hope to speak soon! XO
got2stop
April 15, 2012
Hi newperspective. I've been really inspired by reading your comments on calamine lotion so much so that if i can face going out tomorrow (got really bad sore on chin at the moment from picking) i will be buying some. Thanks for the advice xx
competelyashamed
April 18, 2012
Hi!!! I am so relieved to know that I am not the only person that suffers from this. I really thought I was a freak until today. I had no idea this "whateveritis" had a name!!! I don't really have a specific area of picking, just in gerneral , all over my body. I guess the main areas would be arms, back, and stomach. Thank you for your suggestion of Calamine!! I am definitely going to try it.
newperspective
April 18, 2012
Welcome to the site completelyashamed! I'm so happy that you are willing to give the calamine lotion a try! Please keep us posted on whether or not it works for you too! I sincerely hope it does! Best of luck to you and I hope you achieve the same results I have using the calamine lotion. XO
AngelSkin
April 21, 2012
Hey newperspective. Like you I am a big believer in finding the right products, which is one half of the dual pronged approach (the other is adjusting habits/mentality). I have a few products that are always on my shelf to reduce spots and heal skin, but the scars are something I havent found a solution for so I have just today bought some dirt cheap calomine and applied., with the hope it will help with both light and dark scarring over time. Can I ask, what is the reason you use a zinc based moisturiser?
newperspective
April 22, 2012
Hi there AngelSkin! I use a zinc-based moisturizer not only for the UVA/UVB sun protection, but also for its great healing properties. I always make sure I wear it so that my hyperpigmentation and scarring don't become darker and more noticeable due to the sun's UV rays (especially here in Colorado, which is where I live.) One of the main ingredients in the calamine lotion is zinc. I just figured I'd use a daily moisturizer that will continually treat and heal my skin, even when I'm not using the calamine lotion. I hope this answers your question and I'm anxious to hear how the calamine lotion works for you. Please keep us posted with your results (good OR bad.) Once you start using it, continue to apply it daily (at night is best because then you can just sleep with it on) and remain consistent and you should HOPEFULLY obtain the same results I have. Good luck and thank you so much for your comments! :)
NikolaNicholson
April 21, 2012
hi im a 16 year old girl fair white skin i suffer from scars from left over marks i had picked at :( i used differin made me brake out terribly burnt my skin and just did nothing good went right in the trash. anyways i dont really brake out on my forehead my highschool yearbook photos will be taken on wednesday and ofcourse something bad happened :( had a little pimple on forehead picked at it now its a indent not too deep tho to be an ulcer or something it hurts to the touch feels swollen a little very tiny bit was way worse before. its quarter size circle right in the middle of the forehead kinda yellowish white you know like a almost gooey scab forming im sure you know bleh.. lol how embarssing but yeah and the surrounding is red pinkish fresh skin guess it peeled off from so much picking.squeezed it so many times im pretty sure there is no puss when i squeeze it just hurts like hel and clear liquid comes out any help pleaseeeeeeee i cry myself to sleep everynight especially if i look in the mirror :(.. i have noone else to talk to any idea if calamine will get rid of my excisting scars ? if so how long ? will it help heal this embarssing thing on my forehead ? how long ? any creams recomendations ? and especially do you have tips on how to stop picking ?:(
newperspective
April 22, 2012
Hi there! The calamine lotion will definitely help with your forehead - I promise! Just give it a try (the sooner the better.) I'm going to assume you plan on staying in while the wound on your forehead is healing, and if so, that's perfect. Apply the calamine lotion all over your face, like a mask, and put an especially thick layer on the wounded area. If you do this for the next few days, the scab should dry out and roll off in the shower, making the area smooth and easier to cover with make-up. Calamine lotion has definitely helped with the scarring on my face. I would have to say it has now lightened a good 50-60% and I've been using it every night for the past month and a half. After washing my face at night, I apply a thin layer all over my face and leave it on overnight. In the morning I wash it off with my facial cleanser and apply my moisturizer and makeup. If you use it consistenly like I have, you'll definitely see a difference in the lightening of scars. It has also helped a lot with keeping my skin clear and I haven't really experienced any new, major acne breakouts. I really hope this helps and if you plan on applying the calamine lotion to your face during the day, let it dry and reapply another layer. But don't put anymore than 3-5 layers on the wounded area. and do only 1-3 layers on the surrounding areas that you want to treat for scarring. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions - I'll be happy to assist in any way I can! :)
NikolaNicholson
April 22, 2012
Just woke up washed face with my cetaphil and still got some left over calamine rubbed on the mark lmao but now the color instead of being yelowish white is getting a almost dirty color ew is that good ? and its still red also :(
newperspective
April 22, 2012
Whatever you do, do not rub at it.... just wash what you can of the calamine lotion off of the wound gently, pat dry, then reapply. It's a dirty color because it has formed a scab (that's a good thing.) Be sure to reapply it now that you've washed your face. You want it to form a progressively healed scab before it can be rubbed off in the shower. A good indicator for me that my scabs are ready to be rolled off is when the surrounding skin around my scab becomes dry and flaky and looks like I could just pull the whole scab off if I tried. Be sure your face is completely dry before reapplying the calamine lotion. The redness will subside, you just have to be patient and gentle when washing around that area Let me know how it goes and I'll try to assist you in any way I can. :)
NikolaNicholson
April 23, 2012
i cant put into words how thankful i am that you told me all this !!! just got out the shower and hour ago and guess what ? SCAB FELL OFF FRESH NEW SKIN !!!!!!!!!! <3 still pink of course cause it is fresh but its gone doesnt even hurt thankyou !!!!!!!!!!! sooooooooo much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cryed i was so happy to see it just fell off and its only been one night and day with calamine !!!!!!!! truly amazing i now just have aquaphor to help new skin form thank you soooooo much once again <3
newperspective
April 23, 2012
You are so welcome!!! I can't even express to you how happy I am that the calamine lotion helped and that the scab is GONE!!! That's truly wonderful, AND just in time for your senior pictures on Wednesday (you're going to look beautiful!) XO
liz
April 23, 2012
hey first of all you are not alone as you've discovered from this site. I have suffered from skin picking for a few years now but it gets out of controle when i'm stressed and in particular during hormonal changes which can make me very irritable. I find the calamine lotion has realy helped with helping my skin wounds dry out and lightened the look of scars. I have also found taking fish oil capsules regularly have helped hugely with the texture of my skin and also my anxiety and stress levels. MOREPA are the best fish oils i've found they realy do make a difference. I totaly understand your anxiety as i too have marked my face badly over the years and have isolated myself away from the world. I just want to send you strength and that although you may feel lost you're not take a deep breath and remind yourself of the amazing strong person you are. When the urge comes to pick get up and do something maybe do some drawing or get on you lap top and chat on here anything to keep your hands busy I realy do know how hard this can be. Sending you all the best of luck and love, YOU'RE NOT ALONE.:)XX

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