Folliculitis - One Spot or Two?

Just in the past couple of weeks, I noticed two small spots of folliculitis appearing on my scalp. The first that appeared was near my front hairline and the second, which I noticed just yesterday is near my back hairline. Luckily, they seem to be just once-off appearances rather than a dreaded outbreak. How do I know this? Well I can't feel the general itchiness at the areas of the spots that normally precedes a flare-up.

The spot that appeared near my front hairline has since healed itself and the one at the back I'm still keeping a watchful eye on.

On a different note, it seems the area around my lips is undergoing a dryspell once again. The skin is peeling in the area just above the chin and its an annoyance more than anything else. This must be directly related to why the dermatitis on the back of my hands flared up again. That and also the skin on my neck and earlobes are drying out too. I can definitely point blame on the luxury of using warm water during these chilly winter months when washing the face or showering. On the bright side, at least my lips are fine which I'm very glad about.

Roaccutane and Dermatitis

I saw my Dermatologist today for a check-up on how things are progressing with the course of Roaccutane. He was very adamant that the dermatitis on the back of my hands are directly related to the Roaccutane and suggested that I was able to continue using the topical cortisol cream Advantan twice a day for up to 10 days (contrary to the initial directions from my local GPs). In addition, he suggested that I use a much greasier moisturiser for the affected areas on my hands rather than the water-based Sorbolene cream.

Apart from that, he was incredibly positive about the state of the folliculitis (or lack thereof) on my scalp and advised that unless there was anything untoward as I complete my full course of Roaccutane, that I did not require to return for another check-up. However, he warned that whilst things are positive, there may be a 30% chance that I may need to eventually go on another course after completing this full course. I hope that this second course of Roaccutane will build upon my initial full course by further significantly reducing the sebum production by my skin.

Roaccutane and Dry Dry Skin

Has my skin become incredibly since my last update! About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that the edges of my upper and lower lips were incredibly swollen and rough feeling as though I had cold sores all over those areas. When I'd arrived home from work that day, I'd noticed that the immediate area around my mouth was also so parched dry that the skin was white and could almost be flaked off.

That night I set off applying layers of moisturisers, painted on the Sorbolene Cream and lip balm, much more than I had the past weeks. Even before heading to work, I'd apply three layers of moisturiser to my face and lip balm to my lips, once immediately after cleansing my face, then the other two times just before I stepped out the door to make sure that my skin is protected against the winter elements and office air-conditioning.

Even with all this intense moisturising, it took around a week to stabilise the dryness. I am still applying this same amount of moisturisers and lip balm but still have some small patches of flaking dry skin on different areas of my face, but for the most part, the dryness is under control.

That being said, another bout of dermatitis has reappeared on the back of my hands. After I stop applying the cortisol cream, the skin where the dermatitis is becomes incredibly dry. Again like before, I tried applying Sorbolene to the affected areas, but find that it stings and only becomes more red and angry-feeling. I changed to applying my facial moisturiser to the affected areas and it seems to be helping, slowly.

Tomorrow I have a checkup with my Dermatologist and am interested in seeing what he has to say about the dermatitis on the back of my hands. Are they anything to do with taking Roaccutane? I wonder.