Hailey Bieber Opens Up About Her Perioral Dermatitis

Hailey Bieber talks about her love of skincare all the time—her favorite brands (Dr. Barbara Sturm and Bare Minerals), the regimen she put her husband on, and so on. But that doesn't mean her skin is without issues. If fact, we think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone, model or not, with completely "unproblematic" skin. We're all human and stress (i.e. a global pandemic), along with diet, lack of sleep, and various skincare products affect us differently. For Bieber, perioral dermatitis is a part of her life and thus affects her skincare routine. The model posted images of her "day three flare-up" on her Instagram stories, circling the affected areas to be as transparent as possible.

She broke down the condition to her 30M+ Instagram followers: "I have something called perioral dermatitis which I’ve had for a few years now. It gets triggered by different things and usually shows up on my cheeks, around my mouth, or something around and under my eyes." She listed her PD triggers as new or harsh products, the weather, masks, and at times even SPF.

Once she realized what led to irritation and flare-ups, Bieber says she only reaches for "super gentle anti-inflammatory products that will help soothe skin and won’t trigger a dermatitis breakout." It's tough, though, because it still took her time to figure out what was happening and get a proper diagnosis from a dermatologist. In fact, Bieber says, "Sometimes it gets so irritated only a prescription cream will calm it down. Self-diagnosing is a no-no."

To explain perioral dermatitis in more detail, we dug into our archives to bring you a brief explanation about the condition and the treatments. 

The Symptoms

In an earlier interview with Byrdie, Dr. Alan Rosenbach describes perioral dermatitis as "an eruption around the mouth that usually starts in your 30s. Sometimes it burns, but often it has no sensation. It’s most likely genetic. Dermatologists believe it acts similarly to rosacea and may even be related. There are other conditions that can imitate perioral dermatitis, so it’s best to see a dermatologist to make the diagnosis.”

The Causes

A few things can trigger a flare-up of perioral dermatitis. Hailey Bieber lists her triggers as harsh products, weather, certain SPF, and more. She also lists laundry detergent as a huge trigger and she has "to use hypoallergenic/organic laundry detergent always."

Other known possible triggers include skin flora and pH, stress and anxiety, temperature, poor diet, and gut flora imbalance.

The Treatment

PD should be diagnosed by a dermatologist and addressing the root cause of a flare-up can be the most effective way of treating it whether it's stress or a reaction to a product.

Sulfur and topical azelaic acid are some of the ingredients typically suggested by medical journals for treating a flare-up.