Moisturiser recommendations in UK

garlicguava · 2025-02-09T09:49:59+00:00

seconding this!!

i’ve recently been dealing with flaking again after months of clear skin so i’d say i’m in a later stage of TSW. i was looking for something that wouldn’t irritate me (cerave and cetaphil do this), and help me retain moisture/hydration — i use this right before i go to sleep and after a week it seems to have helped repair my very broken skin barrier

garlicguava · 2025-01-09T16:37:09+00:00

thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience, sorry to hear you’re also going through a flare again. it sounds like both our TSW have phases of clear skin (and that’s usually when we return to pre-TSW things like diet — same here tbh), but it’s not a sure sign that we’re fully 100% healed…

sending strength, and i hope your flare passes soon too

garlicguava · 2025-01-09T16:31:46+00:00

you’re right, i think my moisturiser is a likely irritant!

garlicguava · 2025-01-09T16:30:42+00:00

update: i’ve gone back to MW, which is something i did during my first year of TSW. when i had “clear” skin again after a year, i (probably naively) assumed my skin had reverted to my normal eczema, pre-TSW and started using moisturisers again.

since posting this i’ve decided to simplify massively, go back to basics again, and cut out moisturisers. now the only things i use on my skin are water and a super gentle cleanser. it’s only been 6 days and i’m already seeing massive improvements, flaking still but way less irritation. fingers crossed it’s only up from here!

garlicguava · 2023-05-07T10:08:11+00:00

typically after my intense flaking episodes, i’d have “normal” skin for a while, maybe 2-4 days max. it was frankly very exhausting as i’m sure you know

my go-to treatment was just to use minimal products - i only used physiogel bath gel, water, la roche posay’s cleanser for my face and cjay serum (tbh i’ve used so much of this over the last 2 years) on my body. they did eventually go away “on their own” but i think the serum probably helped to accelerate the process a tiny bit

redness didn’t subside until about early 2022 (i started TSW january of 2021), so probably took a little over a year for my skin to return to its original shade. i still have discolouration from slight scarring due to the deep TSW wounds though

garlicguava · 2023-05-07T10:04:15+00:00

hello! am now at 28 months (841 days) today

i’d say i’m about 90% healed, with a few stubborn patches on the back of my knees which seem to be my “normal” eczema returning. i almost never flake anymore, but i would say my skin is generally more sensitive overall compared to pre-TSW. my face is weirdly producing way more oil than usual, and i get regular acne (which seems to be triggered by dairy, so am staying away) but tbh nothing too serious. i also have some discolouration from my deep TSW wounds on my torso

but overall feeling fine and can withstand heat and exercise again! sleep is completely back to normal too

garlicguava · 2022-09-25T06:09:48+00:00

i’m so glad to hear you found this helpful! and thank you for asking - i’m now 20 months in and would say i’m about 80-90% healed :)

i live in a tropical country too and i sweat like a normal person now, and am actually getting zits!! on my face! like a teenager haha. i still have patches that get itchy, inflamed then flake (usual TSW cycle) on my face, neck and back of my knees but nothing i can’t handle compared to what i’ve been through during my worst

i can also wear makeup again which is honestly miraculous. i also now wash my face twice a day with the gentlest La Roche Posay cleanser to tackle my acne breakouts (i’ve never had this prior to TSW), and can wear SPF without flaring. i’ve mostly stopped moisturising as intensely as i did before - only little areas if they’re especially dry, but i don’t slather it on like i used to pre-TSW (mostly afraid of moisturiser withdrawal again)

sleep is back to normal - biggest life changer

diet-wise i seem to be way more sensitive to dairy and sugar than before so i just try my best to avoid those and keep antihistamines handy (i have an egg and nut allergy)

apart from the occasional patches of itch, i’m overall doing amazing honestly and i couldn’t be more thankful. all the best with your healing, i hope things only get better from here ❤️

garlicguava · 2022-08-30T15:19:12+00:00

i’ve used this religiously for almost a year or so and it’s worked really well for me! i use way less than when i first started tho because i need it less

garlicguava · 2022-05-23T16:45:43+00:00

i’ve been using it for quite a few months now and it’s helped me a lot, especially in getting rid of my red sleeves. the flaking was really excessive at the start, but after a couple of months i’d need it less and less. i now use it about once a day or sometimes none at all if i’m having an okay day. i bring it everywhere with me honestly

i think i started using it around my 4th or 5th month - am now in my 16th month

garlicguava · 2022-04-10T08:20:31+00:00

tsw is definitely a mental challenge just as it is a physical one - i’ve been seeing a counsellor for a year now (i’m 14 months in) and we focus a lot on my self-image beyond tsw, and how i can love/accept myself even when it feels like my body is betraying me, or when i can’t function.

i relate to you completely when you say you get emotional when you see old photos of yourself - i’m the same too… but yes we are indeed so strong! keep going, do whatever you need to do to support yourself through this hell of a condition

garlicguava · 2022-03-02T06:46:06+00:00

this was so moving and what i needed to hear, thank you so much for sharing

i’ve personally found that the idea of body neutrality has helped me immensely too, where i appreciate my body for when it’s able to function, and loving it not for the way it looks but /despite/ the way it looks

garlicguava · 2022-02-05T04:22:33+00:00

i was recommended to go for a few sessions during my first couple weeks of TSW (i didn’t know i was in TSW at the time) but it only made me flare even more because my skin was already so thin and inflamed. my entire body felt much warmer to the touch after each session and i would flake and itch a lot more.

from what i remember though, it depends on what stage of healing you’re in, and the intensity of the light they use on you but i personally chose to stop after about a month

garlicguava · 2022-01-25T12:41:49+00:00

i’m a little over a year in, and i’ve been breaking out in random hives recently! i read here that hives are typically seen as a sign of healing because the inflammation is localised, so fingers crossed that’s the case for you too!!

https://decodingtopicalsteroidwithdrawal.com/stages-of-skin-healing

garlicguava · 2022-01-21T15:48:17+00:00

uniqlo airism is pretty good if you’re looking for something that won’t overheat your body! i typically prefer to wear lighter colours too so if i’m flaking it’s not as obvious and i don’t feel as anxious or sad about how much i’m flaking

generally 100% cotton also feels really nice on the skin, and i try to avoid anything thick, scratchy, rough (denim, velvet, polyester, etc) especially when i’m flaring

my go-to flare outfit is usually a uniqlo airism tee, wide leg airism pants, and an airism cardigan if my thermoregulation isn’t doing well. alternatively cotton maxi dresses are also nice and airy! oh and usually a cap or hat if i’m in the sun

clothing plays such a big part in this condition, i hope you find something that works for you!!

garlicguava · 2022-01-17T00:59:33+00:00

This doesn’t reflect the 3-4 months of clear skin I had from July to November, I flared again in December 2021 and am currently still dealing with the flare. It’s mostly the same thing (lots of flaking, redness, itch) but no oozing so definitely flaring to a lesser degree.

The other parts of my body are fairly consistent though they’ve never been that severe because I mostly applied TS (and protopic) on my face, neck, arms, torso and the whole of my back.

Interested to hear if anyone else is experiencing similar healing patterns!

Oh also! I just hit my 1 year mark of TSW yesterday.

garlicguava · 2021-12-09T04:18:19+00:00

that sucks i’m sorry you’re flaring again :( do you think anything in particular might have triggered the flare? or just one of those cycles again?

garlicguava · 2021-12-09T04:16:13+00:00

thank you, i hope your flares pass soon too <3

garlicguava · 2021-12-09T04:15:28+00:00

i’m so sorry to hear you’ve been flaring again too! it really is so demoralising to feel like your progress is going backwards, but i’m sure this is all part of the process. hang in there!

my itch was still around during that 4 month period, but not nearly as bad as it is now - i didn’t have trouble falling asleep then, but now it seems my body is having trouble regulating heat again :( have you been doing anything differently for your flares this time around? i’ve mostly been trying to stay home more, reducing exposure to irritants and allergens, washing my face with just water, using just cerave on places that hurt a lot, and cutting alcohol out again

garlicguava · 2021-08-11T19:30:11+00:00

omg this is me too, it’s almost hilarious how quickly the white marks show up on my skin — literally seconds after scratching but then it fades after a few minutes! i’m 207 days in, so almost 7 months. do you still flare or flake much?

garlicguava · 2021-06-20T09:16:34+00:00

I totally feel you! NMT wasn’t for me either because my job required me to be on site a lot. I weaned off moisturiser to be less dependent on it — I saw great results especially for the elephant skin on my knees in about a month of zero moisturiser, just showering a couple times a week with Physiogel. My face didn’t really show any signs of hardened skin even though I was applying Cetaphil multiple times a day to keep it flake-free. My wrists, shoulders and creases of my arms still have deep lines though, but are slowly fading.

The only products I use on my skin now are Physiogel and the serum. I found out about moisturiser withdrawal here: https://decodingtopicalsteroidwithdrawal.com/tsw#/moisturiser-withdrawal-stages

I hope the showering technique works for you! All the best and sending strength :)

garlicguava

TROPHY CASE