I finished 6 weeks of 2-a-day treatments to my face, ears, neck and arms with 5% Efudex on 12/19/06. The last 3+ weeks were strictly mind over matter, but results contiually were changing in that some really dark purple to black areas such as on the side of my nose actually showed improvement. I had a hard time keeping my hands off my face, picking away dead skin. I don't think that helped, but the number of layers coming off was significant. I haven't seen a lot of improvement in appearance yet as peeling is continuing. I started using the steroid cream after about 3.5 weeks as the continual stinging and itching got to be too much. It definitely reduced both after an initial stinging period from putting it on. I was using a wash cloth with soap and water before each treatment which, toward the end particularly resulted in some really raw stinging areas - forhead, cheeks, chin and behind the ears. Bleeding became a problem in the raw spots, but stopped quickly with pressure. My pillow cover got really gross a few times and this has not stopped. I'm ready for some serious moisturizer. and read the comments about vaseline with interest. Has anyone tried an aloe gel? There were some days I really felt sorry for myself, comparing my looks to Lazarus after 3 days in the grave; then I remembered he was saved from the dead. Maybe this has done the same for me.