Well...this is a post I have been debating about writing for the past few days. This happened exactly two weeks ago. I got a second degree chemical burn on my face, so I just wanted to go into some detail about what happened. Some of you might know of doTerra oils. They have so many different kinds and I just really love them. I use lavender and lemon on the bottom of my feet every night and I sleep like a baby :) Melaleuca is good for a lot of things, for instance: cleaning, healing, bacteria fighter, and soothes. It has also been said it helps with clearing up skin, such as faces.
I decided to give it a try. With a lot of these oils it is advised to use a carrier oil to dilute it. I have natural coconut oil that I use with all of my oils. So for your face you are usually suppose to put one drop of melaleuca then mix it with a few drops of coconut oil. This is where my story starts.
Two weeks ago I started breaking out. Time to try the melaleuca on my face. It was late, my parents were in town, and I was trying to hurry and do my nightly face routine. What did I forget? The carrier oil to dilute it. Everything was just fine as first. Then my face started to get extremely itching and it started to look like it was breaking out more. Oh well, went to bed annoyed that I looked like the Rocky Mountains.
The next morning I woke up with what looked like a rash on my face. I had put the oil everywhere on my face, but for some reason it only affected my forehead, nose, and chin. Later on that afternoon my face was on fire. It was hurting like nothing I have ever felt before. It was still itching like no other. It just got worse from there.
During the week I went through all of the burn phases: Itchiness, inflammation, swelling, puss, skin hardening, and the worst pain I have ever felt. I didn't wear make up and every night I would wash my face with just soap and water. That is the part of my day that I dreaded. In burn units in hospitals, you have to clean up the burn wounds and replace the bandaging a couple times a day. If you talk to a burn patient they will tell you that the pain is excruciating. I feel like that is almost what my pain felt like. I would be in tears as I washed my face. After it would throb so hard and it would puss and puss.
Here are some pictures over the days where it started out then peaked then started healing. Don't mind how miserable I look. My mom had me send her pictures everyday to keep her updated.
The first day at work
The second day when it started to go deeper into my skin
The pictures don't really give it justice.This is when I woke up swollen and this is me trying to smile. It hurt to talk and it definitely hurt to try and smile. Unfortunately I had to work all week with this.
It then hardened. It was really hard to eat, talk, or do anything. If I moved it too much it would crack and start bleeding.
You can see where it was cracking
Probably one of the most painful days.
Swollen much?
Started healing. Still hard and began peeling.
What a huge difference now!
I mostly wrote this post for others who this might happen to. That is how learned how to treat it. My mom did most of the research and came across posts similar to this and what worked for people.
I created a lavender mist. Lavender is used for healing, calming, and helps to prevent scarring and pain. I put a drop of lavender in a small bottle and filled it halfway with water. I would spray it every hour and it would help soothe the pain for a few minutes.
This has definitely been and eye opener. Surprisingly I would hear people talk about it. I heard one girl tell her friend to look at my face. There was lots of staring throughout the week which was hurtful at first. I would catch someone looking and they would quickly look away. It may seem silly, but this has definitely humbled me.
So that's where I've been the past two weeks. Lesson learned...always follow the instructions.
