One woman is furious it took six years and a trip across the world to learn the truth about the rash under her breasts. Read her story below.
By Michelle Carter · 7 min read
Written by Michelle Carter
Updated August 2026 · 4 min read

I did everything right for six years. It didn’t matter.
If the rash under your breasts clears up, then comes right back, I need you to hear this.
It’s not because you’re dirty. It’s not because you aren’t drying it enough. I know, because I did all of it. Every single day.
Nobody here ever told me the real reason. Not one doctor.
I had to fly to Korea to hear it from a pharmacist with a pen and a receipt.
And I’m still angry about it.

My name is Carol. I’m 59.
Every morning started the same way. Shower. Scrub with Dial and a loofah. Pat dry, which was excruciating.
Then the hairdryer on low until it was COMPLETELY dry. Lotrimin. Gold Bond, which just caked on me. Sudocrem on the cracks.
Then a Viva paper towel shoved into the fold to soak up the wet.
At night, I did all of it again.
I never missed a day.
And the rash still came back. Every ten days. Like clockwork.
It felt like my boobs were on fire.
Bright red and shiny in the middle. White and peeling at the edges. On bad weeks, it split open and bled into my bra.And the smell. Like something died down there. I could smell it on my sheets in the morning.
My doctor said the same thing every time. “Keep it dry.” Then another cream.$185 a visit. For six years.
Once, I asked about wound care. She basically walked away.
So I did what they made me do. I blamed myself.
My weight. My body. Maybe I just wasn’t clean enough.
I stopped wearing dresses. I flinched when my granddaughter hugged me and said it was my back.
I felt trapped in my own body. And I was doing EVERYTHING they told me.

Last August, my son flew me to Korea. He teaches English outside Busan.
Fourteen hours on a hot plane. When we landed, my bra was stuck to the raw skin. In the airport bathroom, I peeled it off. It bled.
By day two, in that heat, it was the worst it had ever been.
We went to the beach. Salt water hit the open skin, and I had to get out. I cried behind my sunglasses.

The next morning, my son walked me to the pharmacy by his apartment.

The pharmacist was a small woman in her sixties. Mrs. Park.
She took me to a back room and asked to see it. I lifted my shirt.
She gasped. Out loud.
I dumped my bag on her counter. Lotrimin. Gold Bond. Sudocrem. Spray. Soap. Paper towels.
She picked up the Sudocrem and shook her head.
“Who told you to put THIS on it?”
“My dermatologist,” I said. “For six years.”
She said something to my son in Korean. He didn’t want to translate it.
“She says your doctor has been treating one thing, and leaving two.”
Mrs. Park turned over a receipt and drew three circles.

Wet. Sweat gets trapped in the fold, so the skin stays wet.
Yeast. A tiny fungus that lives on everyone’s skin. It loves wet, warm skin. That’s the burning and the smell.
Rubbing. Wet skin rubs on itself until it tears. That’s the bleeding.
Then she said the thing that made me want to scream.
“Each one feeds the other two. Fix one, and the other two bring it back. Every time.”
Everyone knows to keep it dry. Nobody tells you that drying it only fixes one-third of the problem.
She went through my bag one by one. The cream fights yeast, but it’s wet, so the yeast comes back. The powder dries, but sweat turns it to paste on open skin. The thick cream stops rubbing, but it traps the sweat underneath like a lid.
Six years of scrubbing, powdering and blow-drying. All of it fixing one circle. None of it fixing all three.
It was never me.
“So what do I use?” I asked.
She held up one finger.
“One thing. All three at the same time. It goes on like a cream, then dries like a powder. Medicine for the yeast inside. And a layer so the skin cannot rub.”
She gave me something to get through the trip. She told me to find the same idea at home.

When I got home, I read labels for two nights straight.
Almost everything did one job. One circle. Exactly like my drawer.
Then I found Dermora. It’s made for all three causes: wet, yeast and rubbing.
I checked it against the receipt:
- 10% undecylenic acid, an antifungal, for the yeast
- 15% zinc oxide, a skin protectant, so the skin can’t rub raw
- A silica and tapioca base that goes on like cream and dries to a powder in about a minute
No steroids. No talc. No fragrance.
365-day money-back guarantee

The first morning, it didn’t sting. I almost cried.
It dried in about a minute. Nothing came off on my bra. No hairdryer. No paper towel.
It wasn’t overnight. After one week, the burning was about half. In week two, the bleeding stopped.
Then day ten came. The day it ALWAYS came back. Nothing. Then day twenty.
By week six, the skin under both breasts was smooth and pink. No smell on my sheets.
My routine now? Shower, Dermora, bra. Three minutes.
My sister saw me in a sundress and asked what changed. Then my friend from church asked. I sent them both the link.
What most women can expect: the skin feels drier from the first use. Many feel the burning ease in the first week or two of using it twice a day. Give it 4 to 6 weeks. Everyone's skin is different.
I've dealt with irritation under my breasts for years, especially during the warmer months. Dermora has been so easy to apply and doesn't leave that thick, sticky feeling behind. The area feels much more comfortable and dry after using it.
Hot weather used to make the skin under my breasts red, sore and irritated. It made wearing a bra incredibly uncomfortable. I started applying this after showering, and my skin feels so much better now. The redness and irritation have really settled down.
My thighs constantly rub together and I was tired of dealing with the redness and irritation. I started using Dermora and really like how quickly it dries. It feels lightweight and doesn't make my skin feel greasy.
The irritation around my groin folds was incredibly frustrating. I dealt with itching, redness and constant discomfort for what felt like forever. After trying this, the area feels much calmer and more comfortable. It's made a huge difference to my everyday life.
I kept getting a really uncomfortable rash underneath my stomach and nothing I tried seemed to make much of a difference. I started using this about a week ago and the irritation cleared up noticeably. So far, it hasn't returned.
I was hesitant to try another cream because so many products I've used in the past felt heavy and uncomfortable. Dermora goes on smoothly and dries quickly. It has become part of my daily routine.
After just a handful of applications, the redness, soreness and itching between my thighs had settled down so much. I'm no longer dealing with those sweaty, irritated thighs every day. It's honestly been such a relief.
My underarms have always been sensitive, especially after shaving. Dermora is gentle enough for my routine and doesn't leave behind a greasy residue. I love how clean and lightweight it feels.
I started getting irritation around my neck during hot days and it was incredibly annoying. Dermora is easy to apply and dries much faster than the other creams I've tried. My skin feels much more comfortable now.
I honestly didn't expect much because I've tried so many different products. What I really like about Dermora is that it doesn't feel thick or sticky. It absorbs nicely and makes the area feel much more comfortable.
I'd been dealing with redness and irritation under my arms for a while. Now the skin looks so much calmer and feels comfortable again. The difference in the areas that used to burn and feel irritated is honestly amazing.
I lost six years. I won’t get them back.
Dermora is running a sale right now. Up to 50% off is applied automatically when you check availability. Orders also come with a free travel-size tube.
And there’s a 365-day money-back guarantee. If it doesn’t work for you, you get your money back.
Add up what this rash already costs you. Doctor visits. A drawer full of creams. Nights you can’t sleep. And if open skin gets infected, it can end in the ER.
365-day money-back guarantee
You can keep scrubbing, powdering and blow-drying. The good week. Then the bad morning. Again.
Or you can try one thing that fixes all three at once.
It’s not your weight. It’s not your hygiene. You were just never told the whole truth.
365-day money-back guarantee