The Reluctant Cream Collector

Early retirement turned me into a reluctant cream collector. Thanks to my predicament, I’ve become a modern man metrosexual and a cream connoisseur. The Amivantamab leaflet is blunt: a 75% chance of itchiness and skin rashes. Finding the right cream became the primary objective.

I started the misadventure with Udderly Smooth, a recommendation from the support group. It’s affordable and hydrates everything. Does it work for Ami? No. It isn't occlusive enough to stop the "water loss" that occurs during the loading phase.

Then there was Urisec 22%, a relic from my experience with Osimertinib and a podiatrist’s favorite for nail issues. Does it handle Ami? No. It remains the gold standard for the painful skin fissures you might get on your fingertips and heels later, but it’s the wrong tool for this rash.

Fine. I tried Aveeno Anti-Itch. Does it handle Ami? No. It’s a decent emergency fix for breakthrough itching, but it does nothing to prevent the rash from forming in the first place.

Final stop: ceramides. The instructions actually spelled it out. The "Cocoon protocol" was tested with La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP+M. I bought myself a gift.

“Amivantamab is an EGFR inhibitor. It essentially starves the skin of natural oils and wrecks the microbiome, resulting in the signature acne-like rash and desert-level dryness. Lipikar is formulated specifically to counter exactly that.”

It turns out not all skin creams are created equal. Most are just expensive ways to watch your skin fall apart.