TIFU by putting medicated shampoo on my face thinking it was face cream, only realizing six hours later when the chemical burns kicked in.

Let me set the scene. It was a chaotic morning. I’d overslept, had five minutes to get ready, and was already halfway to a meltdown over my to-do list. The kind of day where you’re just trying to survive until bedtime. I rushed into the bathroom, splashed some water on my face, and reached for my trusty face cream. Something I use religiously to keep my skin hydrated and, you know, not falling off my face. Without giving it a second glance, I grabbed a white tube from the counter, popped the cap, and slathered a generous amount all over my face like a human cinnamon roll getting iced.

It did feel… different. There was a slight tingling sensation, but my brain rationalized it as “oh, this must be that active ingredient doing its thing” or “maybe I exfoliated too hard yesterday.” You know how skincare can feel a little tingly and we just trust the process? Yeah. That was me. Completely trusting, not questioning a thing, and walking out of the bathroom like I’d just done something good for myself.

The day went on. Meetings, emails, errands. I noticed that my skin felt kind of tight, almost like I’d put on a clay mask and never washed it off. A little itchy, too. Again, did I think to check what I’d used that morning? No. I just figured it was winter dryness or maybe I was stressed. I even layered some makeup over it like a cherry on top of a chemical disaster cake.

Fast forward to about six hours later. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and pause. Something is off. My face is red. Really red. Not sunburn red, but angry, inflamed, “what did you do to me” red. The tightness had evolved into a burning sensation, and I could see patches forming where my skin looked raw and irritated. I leaned in closer, horrified, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Had I developed a sudden allergy? Was I having a weird skin reaction? That’s when I remembered the face cream.

I marched back to the bathroom to investigate. There it was. The white tube I had grabbed that morning, sitting innocently next to my toothbrush. I picked it up and finally read the label. It was not my face cream. It was a medicated shampoo meant to treat scalp conditions like psoriasis or dandruff. Not meant for regular skin and definitely not meant for your face. My heart sank.

Let me tell you something about medicated shampoos. They are full of intense ingredients. Salicylic acid, coal tar, ketoconazole. Stuff designed to strip away flaky, damaged skin and fight fungal infections. Basically chemical warfare for your scalp. And I had let it sit on the most sensitive skin on my body for six hours.

I immediately washed my face with cold water, which felt like pouring lemon juice on a paper cut. My skin was so raw it hurt to even pat it dry. I applied a gentle moisturizer, which did almost nothing to calm the burn. At this point, the damage was done. I had full-on chemical burns. Red, angry splotches on my cheeks and forehead. My skin was dry, cracked, and looked like it had aged ten years in one afternoon.

Over the next few days, I had to nurse my face back to health with aloe vera, hydrocortisone, and lots of regret. Every time I looked in the mirror, I was reminded of my own stupidity. The worst part was explaining it to people. “Oh, what happened to your face?” they’d ask, concerned. And I’d have to tell them I mistook shampoo for face cream like an absolute amateur.

So yeah. That’s how I found out the hard way that reading labels is not optional. No matter how busy or tired or rushed you are, take the extra two seconds to make sure you’re putting the right stuff on your body. Your skin will thank you. Or, in my case, scream at you for days.

Lesson learned. Face cream and scalp treatment may come in similar tubes, but they do very different things.

TL;DR: read the label before applying cream