Phototherapy to treat eczema: before and after pictures

by purelytwins

Hey luvs,

I wanted to share my journey of healing my eczema with phototherapy. It’s also called light therapy or photomedicine. Phototherapy is the use of light to clear certain skin diseases like psoriasis and dermatitis.

Phototherapy treatment for healing eczema

I got the light treatment for the full body as my eczema was from my face down to my legs. But there are light therapy treatments for hands and feet.

light-therapy-for-eczema

This is what is looks like.

I would get undressed (everything off but underwear) put some coconut oil and sunscreen on my skin (in the worst parts) then I would step in and close the doors. Then the nurse would come in and set the timer. Then when it went off I would step out and get dressed. That was it.

It didn’t seem like much because I was only in there for seconds (eventually by the end of my 2 month treatment I was up to a minute) but the lights are that powerful.  I went twice a week for about 2 months. I was supposed to continue for another month but I didn’t, I explain below.

Sharing my personal journey healing eczema. I used phototherapy for treatment of my eczema and it helped with the itching.

The bottom left picture was after the 2 months of phototherapy so you can see I was not 100% healed. The bottom right picture is me the other day 100% healed. 

As I mentioned in the video not every dermatologist offers phototherapy as treatment. It took me a while to finally find a doctor in my area as I originally was flying down to FL to get treatment, which was not practical for the long term. One of the downsides to phototherapy is the time commitment. You are only in front of the light for seconds but the journey to get to and from the doctors office is always the issue.

Phototherapy is not the answer for everyone, but it sure helped jump start my healing journey. The number one thing it helped was reduce the intensity of the itching.  Through my diet, supplements and lotions I was able to heal my eczema on my own without the treatment as I stopped my treatment early.

Why? Time. The whole process took about 2 hours from driving, waiting and getting the treatment that it just became too much for me. I knew I could heal the rest on my own and I did!

Phototherapy to help heal my eczema.

If you have eczema and have never tried phototherapy I would recommend you talking to your doctor about it.

If you have any questions for me leave me a comment below and I will answer them.

Click here to see all my posts about eczema. 

Thanks for all the love and support.

xoxo

Michelle

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58 comments

Susan July 24, 2015 - 4:03 pm

Wow, it seems that the phototherapy treatments combined with the doctor-prescribed antifungals really did the trick! That is great.

Is phototherapy covered by insurance? If not, would you mind sharing the costs?

purelytwins July 25, 2015 - 9:39 am

Thanks. It was covered by my insurance so not sure the costs.

Samantha July 24, 2015 - 11:35 pm

Hi Michelle,
Thanks s much for sharing this update. That is wonderful that phototherapy was so effective for you! You say that it healed your eczema–is phototherapy something that eczema sufferers will need to use long=term, or is it considered a permanent fix? Thanks!

purelytwins July 25, 2015 - 9:41 am

I honestly think it will be different for each person as we all have different reasons we have eczema. My doctor told me he hopes he doesn’t have to see me again for the treatment, but if I do have a flare up I can call and get back in. I personally see it as a long term thing if the individual does other lifestyle changes.

ashcass July 25, 2015 - 3:13 pm

so glad it worked. what kind of doctor prescribed the anti-fungals? also the dermatologist?

ashcash July 27, 2015 - 1:09 am

Hey, I currently have eczema on my hands. It’s not severe enough to merit phototherapy (I think?) but am still curious about the anti-fungals. Did you get them from the derm? Next appointment I have with the dermatologist I want to ask about it… Thanks for all the eczema journey posts. It’s really nice to know we’re not alone out there, although of course I wish you never had to go through any of it.

Lauren July 27, 2015 - 9:13 am

Congratulations! This is just the best news 🙂 So happy for you Michelle!

purelytwins July 28, 2015 - 12:24 pm

thank you so much Lauren!

Kat July 30, 2015 - 1:27 pm

Yay!!! So glad that worked for you. Its amazing you only have to be in the light a few seconds

purelytwins July 30, 2015 - 10:31 pm

Thank you.

Ruby August 16, 2015 - 8:21 pm

So amazing! What a transformation! I recently watched a miraculous turnaround with eczema as well using a greens supplement and a nourishing botanically based cream (originally designed for stretch marks). I remembered your journey with it on your legs from last August and was checking in to see how you had progressed (I mainly utilize the recipe section!)! Yay for you. I’d love to share the Greens and Cream with you if you like as they are affordable and easy to purchase for those who may not have insurance and are struggling! We are all meant to shine and relieving skin issues makes such a difference! Congratulations!

Thaise October 25, 2016 - 12:47 am

Hi Ruby,

I’m currently suffering from eczema in 12 spots in my body. =\ It’s quite itchy! I’ve had it since last year, I was using steroid creams for 1 year, and decided to stop as I’ve read about withdrawal, and that it simply doesn’t cure anything, that’s when it got worse. I do believe in natural treatments and creams. I’m using one called Novapel (Australia producer) right now which is good for the itchy, but I’m also doing the phototherapy to see if it improves long term. But please let me know your treatment. I live in Australia, so they might not sell here, but there is always online shops. My email is thaisepf86@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your help!!

Thaise

Suyau August 24, 2015 - 6:15 pm

Hi Michelle,
I really need your help here. I have been struggling with eczema since October 2014. It started when I was 4 months pregnant. I refused to use steroids at the time to keep my baby safe. It spread on my belly, back, buttocks, arms and thighs. 3 weeks after she was born, it spread everywhere – face, legs, hands. Thank God she’s healthy and fine. I finally caved in and use Dr. Aron’s compound that contains steroid and antibiotics. It helps calm things tremendously. I have also been doing phototherapy for 4 months now. I am also doing Gut healing program. It has helped but doesn’t heal it fully. On Saturday, I started to get flare ups again and it is spreading to my neck, arms, hands and belly. I am so scared it will get as bad again. I tried to read all your posts about it but didn’t know what ultimately help heal you completely. Would you please help?
Thanks much!

purelytwins August 27, 2015 - 9:24 pm

I am so sorry to hear this I know how horrible it is. I would try to slowly wean off the steroids. Keep doing the light therapy and working on your gut. Did you see my post about the supplements I take? Vitamin D and borage oil were great for my skin. As I mentioned in this video, it wasn’t just one thing that helped my eczema. It was a mix of everything from the light therapy to supplements to lotions to diet and mindset. I still plan on doing a diet post hopefully soon. You mentioned gut healing, what are you doing? I found keeping a very simple diet to help the most. What foods are you avoiding?

mimi October 4, 2015 - 11:49 am

Hello, i suffer from eczema, however this year it got the worst its ever been.. I did phototherapy a couple of times, its normal to feel itchy after right? Also, i recently stopped because it cause the eczema to spread all over my arm. But that was also the time i was doing moisturizer withdrawal so i feel like that also contributed to it. I am just asking for your opinion if i should give it another try. I am really nervous to because i always feel more itchy afterwards. Also how many session into your phototherapy did you started seeing improvement and what kind of improvements did you see? Right now i suffer from extreme redness and minor itching. What more do you think i should do?

purelytwins October 7, 2015 - 7:52 pm

Yes it is normal to feel itchy after getting a light therapy treatment. The days I got treatment I was always more itchy but then the next day and the days to follow everything was fine. I would say about 6 treatments it took to notice changes, but I also was doing other things (diet, supplements, etc) that helped too. The biggest notice was my overall itching went way down. What are you putting on your skin? What lotions? What supplements are you taking? Eczema is complex and we all will have our own journey to heal. For me it wasn’t just one thing that helped, it was a everything in my life.

Mimi October 9, 2015 - 11:02 pm

I currently use polysporin for eczema and I eat a vegan diet. I take vitamin d, fish oil, l-glutamine and b12. Just wondering, is it normal to have flakiness of the skin, some what resembling a slight sun burn. Also, did the phototherapy help with weeping eczema for you? Phototherapy seem to make my eczema weep way more than usual.

purelytwins October 10, 2015 - 11:11 am

Do you put some type of oil on your skin before going in? I put a small amount of coconut oil on my worst areas before going in. Maybe give that a try.

Mimi October 10, 2015 - 2:07 pm

They told me not to put anything on before. Also, did your eczema get worst at the beginning of the therapy?

purelytwins October 11, 2015 - 11:55 am

Ya different doctors say different things about that. My first one didn’t say anything but the second one told me to put something on the bad parts. The first few sessions my skin was the same yet just really itchy. Light therapy may not be the right plan for your skin.

Nora November 14, 2015 - 3:42 am

Wow, it´s the first time I´m on your homepage and I´m glad to see your success with your skinproblems…I also work since 2011 with healthy eating to cure my psoriasis, witch I have for 24 years (I´m 26). Now it´s the first time I have the feeling that it helps. I just wanted to say that I admire your fearlessness to handle with your exzema so in the publicity.

purelytwins November 14, 2015 - 9:58 pm

thank you Nora!

Martin January 18, 2016 - 6:49 am

Hi,

I have just read a comment:
“Through a very long and frustrating process we realised nightshade is the cause of my daughters severe eczema. We have removed it from her diet and within 2 weeks she just had dry skin and within a month it was completely gone.”

and if you still struggle, maybe avoiding nightshades can help. Hope it will.

Trisha Holland October 13, 2016 - 11:00 am

My 9 yr old son has suffered with eczema his entire life. Today we had an appointment with his dermatologist and she recommended phototherapy. I had never heard of this type of treatment…only try this steroid cream or use this body soap. Dermatologists recommend Dove because it’s so great….but it’s not when you are allergic to soy (took me years to figure this one out). She wants him to go 2 to 3 times a week. Right now I’m game but I have to see how much this is going to cost me because my copay for specialist is $100. I pray that this helps my son be more confident in his own body.

purelytwins October 14, 2016 - 11:23 pm

Trisha so sorry to hear that your son has eczema. Dove is a great product and happy to hear you are trying the phototherapy. It was a huge piece in my healing. Just be warned – he will be really itchy the day of treatment but it gets better overtime. Epsom salt baths saved me and staying positive through it all. I am thinking of you guys and wishing you all the best. Any more questions please let me know.

Lauren January 13, 2017 - 3:26 pm

Hiya I’d love for you to email me to chat a bit more about your excma story ! Can I find you on Facebook ? I’m losing my mind with my full body eczema and would love your advice and help with things ! From the uk and feel so alone as know no one else that suffers this and this is the first blog I’ve read that looks like the same sort of eczema x

purelytwins January 13, 2017 - 5:11 pm

Oh no Lauren I am sorry to hear this. You can email me at twins@purelytwins.com

Vanessa February 23, 2017 - 1:08 pm

Hello!
I started my light therapy today and just wanted to know if this helped long term ? I’m 24 and I have had eczema since u was a baby when I flare up I always get prescribed prednisone and steroid creams it heels me for about a month and come and back even worst ? So I’m hoping this reliefs my eczema for good

purelytwins March 4, 2017 - 1:12 pm

I have not had my eczema come back besides small breakouts, which are mostly due to stress and not keeping up with my skin care routine. Stay positive and focus on that you are healed! It is a journey but you will get there!! Sending you healing vibes.

Joanna September 5, 2017 - 9:55 pm

Hey Michelle,

I just read your journey on phototherapy and I’ve done tons of research. I had a doctor recommend it to me and I told him I’d hold off, because I didn’t know much about it. I have chronic eczema on my face and arms. I was wondering if yours was completely healed or if you had any remissions during your journey? Thank you for sharing your story. It’s nice to know someone else out there understands the struggles.

Joanna

purelytwins September 7, 2017 - 1:05 am

Phototherapy was completed new to me too. After I healed it, took about 3 months of phototherapy plus diet changes to heal it. I had two minor outbreaks a few months after, mostly due to stress and testing out some foods I took out and tried it again. I would say give it a try if you have tried other things and not getting results. Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Martin September 15, 2017 - 5:46 am

Hello. I would like one question. I am considering to attend also light therapy but in solar studio, I have long experience and I would like to know if you covered your skin with anything just after this therapy? e.g. light therapy takes 5 minutes and then in 30 minutes you used some lotions on your skin or not and left it alone? Thank you. Martin

purelytwins September 21, 2017 - 12:00 am

I put a little sunscreen on before I would go into the bed, sometimes I used just coconut oil. I used it mostly where my big patches where. I did not put anything on my skin afterwards. I let it be. At the start your skin will be itchy!!! So plan for that – keep your mind and hands busy. I had about an 30 min+ drive to get back home to luckily my hands were on the wheel and I listened to meditations and affirmations to keep my mind positive. Later on I put my normal lotions on.

Joanna September 17, 2017 - 3:46 pm

Thank you so much! I set up an appointment with my derm, so hopefully it’ll heal! I am vegetarian as well so my diet is pretty well balanced minus the protein. But I’m 100% sure that I want to do it now, thanks to you and your story <3

purelytwins September 21, 2017 - 12:01 am

Awesome, keep me posted!

Joanna October 28, 2017 - 1:58 pm

So I started phototherapy 2 days ago. I’ve only had one treatment and I’ve already noticed a huge difference. So have all my coworkers. I just want to thank you so much because I was very wary of it (I’d never heard of anything like it before). It’s very easy to become insecure about eczema and I think this treatment will be very beneficial to me and my life!

purelytwins November 1, 2017 - 12:30 am

SOOOOO happy to hear this. Keep me posted.

Sarahh October 14, 2017 - 11:23 am

I’ve had eczema my entire life and now my sons do as well. We’ve spent hundreds of dollars on creams. I came across foderma serum and it cleared my sons fast in a matter of 3 days. The doctors were in shock and so was I. Get this serum before you do anything else.

Ashley Stackman January 7, 2018 - 9:21 pm

Hello! Five years ago I was diagnosed with eczema and for me, it has been really difficult to accept my condition. First of all, I want to thank the community for all the support I’ve received and all the advice. This article is awesome! And for everyone else who is suffering from eczema don’t give up! you’ll find what your skin needs to heal and get better, for fodermaa has worked perfectly for all of you who are looking for a low budget treatment.

Lisa January 19, 2018 - 1:22 pm

Hi, I’m going through a horrible cycle of flare ups right now and weighing the options of phototherapy vs the new dupixent. I live in NYC so the time for phototherapy isn’t as much of a factor as the office is fairly close. This is going to sound horrible considering what I’m going through, but my worry about phototherapy is the side effect of sped up aging. It sounds very vain, but I’m nearly 40, and already don’t feel great about myself considering the eczema. The last thing I need is to feel worse because I got a ton of wrinkles. Did you experience this at all? Doesn’t seem like it! 🙂 but thought I would ask. Like you I’m hoping not to be on it for long, as I plan to implement changes in my diet, add supplements, etc.

purelytwins February 1, 2018 - 8:47 pm

Great question! I personally had no issues with wrinkles, if you keep your skin very moisturized I feel it will be okay, but everyone’s skin is different. I also take a lot of gelatin so I know that helps with my skin too. I think if you do it short term like I did, your skin will be okay, going in with the attitude and belief factor that it is going to help you and your skin will remain strong will help too 🙂 xo

Bernice February 1, 2018 - 4:50 pm

My daughter had struggled with eczema since she was a baby. She scratches so bad at her skin. We have used steroid creams, dermatologists and the usual triamcinolone. I decided to go the natural route and use the Made from Earth Pure Aloe Skin Treatment. This product has worked wonders and we only had it a few days.

With the Made from Earth Aloe Treatment, I saw saw results super fast and its not toxic like the steroid creams the dermatologist gave us which did not work!

Bruce April 3, 2018 - 8:27 pm

What supplements did you take for eczema?
My 9 year old daughter is battling it and she is bad and we do not want her on the steroids

purelytwins April 13, 2018 - 7:07 am

I am sorry to hear she is struggling, check out my post here http://bit.ly/eczemasupplements Let me know if you have any others questions.

Hollie McDonell May 6, 2018 - 8:10 pm

I was diagnosed with eczema when I was 25 and since then I’ve been dealing with this disease. For me, it has been really difficult to find a treatment that worked for my type of skin and eczema. The treatment that has helped me to heal my eczema is foderma, I recommend it.

Ramona Salinas May 23, 2018 - 4:28 pm

Thank you so much for sharing your video. I have the same kind of skin condition and I did start the phototherapy, but stopped. I am resuming this treatment sure now after seeing your video so the itching can stop, but I am also wondering besides having Vitamin D what other foods are good in aiding the rash/marks thanks again so much

purelytwins May 25, 2018 - 7:44 pm

Check out my eczema diet post http://bit.ly/dietandeczema

Sending you healing vibes! Healing takes time, keep your mind positive.

Nate August 31, 2018 - 6:33 pm

Hi! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am going to ask my derm about this! I’ve been dealing with eczema in my inner thighs and groin area for over 5 years and it’s the worst 🙁

Jen Chai September 2, 2018 - 3:00 pm

Congrats for clear skin to you 🙂 After the phototherapy do you get relapses as in outbreaks on the body? Or is it totally clear since then till now? Do you feel you got darker after phototherapy? Looking forward to your reply!

Joe November 12, 2018 - 6:13 pm

My eczema flares up and then goes away. Must you be having a flareup for the treatment to be effective or can it be done during a dormant period? Also does it work on the scalp through your hair?

purelytwins November 14, 2018 - 7:23 pm

I would talk to your doctor, but I would guess it works best when it is a flare-up.

Jamie February 28, 2019 - 2:04 pm

Hi,
You mentioned feeling itchy on the days of treatment. Did the itchiness decrease each week?

purelytwins February 28, 2019 - 7:32 pm

Yes, slowly though

Erika April 1, 2019 - 5:41 am

Hi, did you find that the phototherapy makes the damaged outer skin layer thicker again and that it helps repair the damaged skin?
My most affected eczema spots have been right under my eyes, which has had a direct impact on my appearance and is also harder to treat as the skin is more sensitive there. So I’m very curious and excited to try this!

purelytwins April 8, 2019 - 7:57 pm

I didn’t notice any difference in the thickness of my skin. Sending you healing vibes.

Erika May 20, 2019 - 1:59 pm

Thank you!

Ebonie March 1, 2021 - 12:12 pm

Too many have no idea that scalp therapy shampoos for fast hair growth (obviously with no sulfates, no parabens and no DEA) are a thing. Folks can now possess longer hair and attain more options. Surely worth searching.

When you’re exploring alopecia, hair damage, preventing hair disorders, hair growth, hair and scalp care more often than not, almost the same principles apply.

As a rule of thumb, you have to stay away from hair treatments and products that contain chemicals like parabens, DEA or sulfates.

What’s good for your hair is beneficial for your skin also.

It goes without saying your content on this page is so accurate for so many reasons. It avoids the accustomed errors and traps so many fall into: using horrible alternatives. Keep it up!

FRANCES Dodge November 4, 2021 - 8:00 pm

When I lived in FL. I had eczema really bad on my hands. The only salve they found that worked was Deprisone cream and that was a steriod. Then it spread to my feet and was so bad I couldn’t wear shoes or sandals. Again the cream worked. My dermatoligest here has tried about everything on the eczema I got from the second covid vaccine. It’s on both legs, arms and back of neck. I am now under light treatment but doesn’t seem to be working. Eczema is spreading and itch is intense. Dupixent is the next thing for me to try. Hope it works!

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