I’ve been playing a blackwood flute for years without issues. About a month ago I got a itchy red patch of skin below my lip, right where I position my flute. Every few days it gets flaky. I had facial hair there at the time it started which I promptly shaved. I don’t think it’s a reaction to blackwood, probably just irritation. I have been playing frequently, at least 30 minutes a day. My theory is that the facial hair (which I never had before while playing the flute) was trapping more moisture than usual, and it’s also winter where I live and a dry climate to boot. It doesn’t bother me while I’m actually playing, which is why it took me so long to connect the dots. I have been using a beeswax-based salve on it which has been helping. I’ve been putting off seeing a dermatologist though as I’m hoping it will just go away, but it’s really been hanging on. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? It’s been driving me nuts as I don’t want to stop playing…
It could be a reaction to the blackwood or to whatever finish is on the head of the flute. Have you considered putting a patch of duct tape or something similar on your side of the embouchure hole to isolate your chin from the flute?
If the problem subsides fairly quickly it might suggest an allergic reaction. I’d be inclined to leave the patch in place for a while to give the skin a chance to heal well before encountering the irritant again. If the problem then comes back, we can probably assume something is irritating the skin. In which case you could consider a longer-term isolator like silver. Or a flute in Mopane, Boxwood, Delrin or some other non-rosewood.
Hi orflute. Strange that it should suddenly arise after years of not. Have you oiled your flute recently? Perhaps a reaction to that?
For my silver Boehm flute, I use transparent stick on lip guards called Willows Invisible Lip Guard. They are great. Perhaps that may help? In my case, it’s not that I am allergic to silver, but my beard scratches the lip plate on the expensive headjoint.
There was a discussion recently on facebook about beeswax balms and so on and I recommended Burts Bees medicated one. Then many people said they are wildly allergic to that. So I did a search for the ingredients list and found that far from being simple beeswax with some medication, it’s about 50 nasty sounding chemicals and additives. Hardly natural - and not printed on the label. As a result of that, I would be cautious picking beeswax lip balms. People recommend Vaseline, and here in Australia we have pawpaw balm known as Lucas Pawpaw Ointment that people swear by. It’s popular and effective.
It sounds like sensitivity to blackwood resulting in contact dermatitis.
Remember that Blackwood is a Rosewood (Dalbergia sp.). I can make and play any instrument in Blackwood just fine. For a decade I used to use Honduran Rosewood and occasionally other Rosewoods such as Tulipwood and Kingwood. After a decade, I started to experience a contact dermatitis which is similar to having a mild somewhat less itchy case of poison oak on my hands and forearms as a result of the dusts during the summertime when its often in the upper 70s in my workshop. So I stopped using these woods for my flutes.
A quick solution would be to put a layer of clear tape on the lips side of the embouchure, isolating your skin from the Blackwood. Consult with a dermatologist for remedies for the flare up. Cortisone creams cleared it up on my hands after a few days.
Casey
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I didn’t oil the flute or do anything differently besides having some facial hair. I will give tape a shot, and maybe play a bit more whistle while it heals up.
That’s two people with very long initial delays to sensitivity. Very interesting. Does anybody know any more about that phenomenon? Seens strange.
As an instrument maker myself here in Australia, I am violently allergic to Tasmanian Blackwood (unrelated to African Blackwood) but the reaction is instant and severe. I cant use it, or even be in the shop if somebody has made dust from cutting it.
It took me about ten years of playing before I became sensitized. To keep playing blackwood or related species I had to go with silver lip plates, because once you’re sensitized it doesn’t go away, and it only gets worse if you continue the contact. After the lip plate and playing for years reaction-free, I tried a flute that didn’t have a lip plate, and sure enough, my lower lip started burning and turning red all over again.
While waiting for one lip plate to be installed I temporarily grew a soul patch, and that worked for me as a buffer, but judging by orflute, it might not be the answer for everybody. At this point the jury’s pretty much still out as to whether blackwood sensitization is really his issue at all.
That is frequently the nature of sensitivities or allergies. I was a beekeeper with up to 12 hives once getting regularly stung no problem. Until one evening when I got stung on my ankle and my lips swelled to about twice their size. Testing revealed allergy to honeybees. Eventually the Histamines rise up due to an irritant and say they have had enough, sometimes after years of exposure.
Note that plastics contain sensitizers as well. Delrin can produce formaldehyde when heated during machining (which is the primary reason why I do not use it) and theoretically some of this could stay with the material.
I just hope that I don’t become allergic to Blackwood, Boxwood and Mopane. Even these three, like any natural material, contain things that some become sensitive to. I know one other Baroque flute maker who had to avoid Ebony for a few years until his sudden sensitivity subsided with the aide of an allergy specialist.
Casey
I have an unusual instance of this nasty bug. Initially I got it off of a trumpet mouthpiece, which was thoroughly cleaned. Now it has to be immersed in some kind of disinfectant every time before use.
But, and here is a rebuttal of the claim that woods are to blame. My practice Flute top is made of some kind of plastic, and it too begun to cause irritation on my skin. However I found that soaking just the top of the Flute in mouthwash gets rid of the itch, but, like my Trumpet mouthpiece, it has to be done every time before use.
Too, I have other wind instruments which do not have the same problem. Therefore this bug lives on certain (material ?) surfaces but not on others.
Don’t know if mouthwash would work for a organic material such as wood. but hey can’t hurt to try it.
I’m about right at 10 years…huh. Never considered a delayed reaction could be a thing.
Throwing something else into the mix, I’m also a cold water surfer, and I wear a neoprene hood that sits on the same area where my flute rests. The affected skin is flute-rest shaped, so it’s most likely the culprit, but I wonder if the frequent cold water exposure has something to do with it as well.
For “late bloomers” like me, it’s a matter of gradual buildup, if I may put it that way. Sensitization doesn’t happen to everyone, but when it does, building up to it is apparently how it often works. In time there comes a tipping point, and then you’re sensitized for good - you will never lose it - and it will only get worse with continued direct contact; ending the contact is the only way to make reactions subside. My reaction soon developed from a vague redness into something resembling a poison ivy rash, a conspicuous reddish-purple with little weeping blisters, and never mind how gross it looked, it burned like hell. At that point I had to do something, and for me the silver lip plate solved it; facial hair worked too, but it just isn’t my style, even if it costs me nothing. Barring the unthinkable choice of quitting, if you’re sensitized your long-term options would be a barrier or a different flute material. As I understand it, sensitization is pretty material-specific. Since I’m sensitized to blackwood, I also react to rosewood and other members of the Dalbergia spp., but I don’t have a reaction to boxwood or Delrin. Tape might work as a barrier, but in the meantime I’d consider a silver inset as a lip plate if you plan to stick with blackwood; those lip plates on the old flutes weren’t there just for looks.
If you do get a plate installed, when your flute comes back be sure to wipe it down well - all its parts, inside and out - because otherwise the shop dust will get you. I found that out the hard way; it was on the lip plate, and I couldn’t even see it. Reacting to the lip plate (which was supposed to help) made for some panic until I figured out that shop dust was the issue. I even found shop dust in the case, so you have to be thorough in getting rid of it. For the case I started with a vacuum attachment, and then used a damp cloth (white, to better monitor the dust I was picking up) for both the flute and case. The dust is tenacious - especially in the case lining - so both flute and case took a few passes, rinsing out the cloth each time, before I was confident that everything was clean enough. As an added measure I scrubbed the lip plate a few times using cotton swabs moistened in rubbing alcohol, taking due care to avoid the wood. I don’t know how efficacious or even necessary that was, but since resins are often alcohol-soluble, I thought the further treatment might help if there were any trace resins still left behind; even if it was overkill, I was fine with erring on the side of caution. Whatever the case, I didn’t have any problems since. 
I don’t have any statistics as to what percentage of fluters are likely to develop wood sensitization.
I’m more likely to suspect that something (the neoprene, in this case) rubbing against your already-irritated skin could exacerbate the problem.
Super glue lip plate, easy, cheap and completely reversible. I wrote a post detailing how to do this about…13-14 years ago now? Not sure but It has to be more than 10. Perhaps a forum search will turn it up if anyone is so inclined.
Yeah, getting sensitized sucks. I was fine for several years of playing Blackwood flutes then got a newly made Cocus flute and BAM!!! That did me in for virtually all problem causing woods, including blackwood.
Anywho, a temporary barrier of scotch tape will do the trick to insulate yourself long enough to determine if contact dermatitis to your flute is the issue. As a former woodwind repair person I beg you though, please don’t use duct tape.
Also, as an FYI if you are reacting to the flute, oiling the instrument will make things worse, as will pressing said flute to an already irritated (possibly abraded?) patch of skin, like a spot perhaps rubbed a bit by one’s wetsuit… just a thought. Bacteria could also be at play though. Time to start eliminating possibilities.
I slapped some electrical tape on there. I’m giving it a complete rest for a week though and sticking to the whistle to see how things heal up then will gradually start ramping up the playing again. Sounds like a lip plate will be in my future.
Update: after not playing for a week it has almost completely cleared up. Going to see how well the tape works next.
John Skelton plays a cocus flute, to which he is allergic. He used the super glue approach and it seems to work for him. Not as elegant as a silver lip plate tho…
Best wishes.
Steve
Progress, good. We’re you wearing the wetsuit at all during the last week?
Not as expensive either 
Yeah, IIRC I learned about using superglue as a lip plate because John had just recently done, or had it done to his flute about the time my new Cocus Olwell was giving me major dermatitis problems.
Here are instructions John Skelton posted a long while ago on the wooden flute list, that Loren kindly quoted here a long while ago. Did some digging.
From: john skelton
Date: Thu, Sep 19, 2002, 7:02am
To: woodenflute@woodenflute.com
Subject:Problems with Cocus Wood
Hello,
I have received several emails recently asking for my advice about Cocus Wood allergies. I thought that it might be helpful to some of you if I posted my thoughts and experiences on this list.
I received a new Cocus headjoint from Patrick Olwell about two years ago and played it with no ill effect for about six months. Then, I began to notice slight swelling and redness around my chin. I suspect that the shop finish had worn away and I was now in direct contact with the wood. Unfortunately, this happened at the start of a very busy time … I was teaching at five summer schools back to back and was on tour in Europe for six weeks, in other words, I was playing six or seven hours a day for two and a half months. Consequently, I developed quite a serious reaction.
At the time, I thought that it was just a minor problem and that if I used loads of oil on the headjoint, things would sort themselves out. Wrong! By the end of the summer things were getting serious ( by this point I was using self adhesive plastic film around the embouchure). I stopped playing for several weeks until my chin and lip had cleared up. I started to play again (this time on an ebonite flute) and within minutes the reaction had started again.
After many experiments with various kinds of self adhesive plastic and paint-on finishes, I have discovered one technique that works (I have been using it for a while now, with no sign of a reaction). I have to thank Rod Cameron for suggesting this to me:
You will need to practice on some wood first (to get used to the glue and so on).
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Clean the area you are going to finish with acetone (to remove grease and dirt).
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Mask out the area … the shape of your choice ( I used ordinary scotch tape … make sure that the edges are well down, or else the glue will wick underneath).
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Using a Q tip, paint the area with super glue. Do NOT use the gel type, use the ‘runniest’ you can find. Be careful that it doesn’t run into the embouchure. Paint along the grain. This is where the practice is important. Some brands of Q tip lose their ‘fluff’ more than others, so find ones that stay together the longest. You probably won’t be able to paint the whole area in one go (as the glue will start to set up and drag the Q tip) … so do it in sections.
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If you are not happy with the finish, rub it down with super fine steel wool and go over it again. (You’ll have to remove the masking to rub down ).
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When you are satisfied, (and the glue is dry) wipe over the area with acetone.
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Make up a “polish” by soaking an area of paper towel with raw linseed oil (NOT boiled) and then squeeze a few drops of super glue on this. Use this mixture to rub down the area.
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After this has dried, peel back the tape and oil around the rest of the headjoint (the tape will have lifted some of the old oil off). You’ll have a clear finish.
I did not find self adhesive plastic to be much help. Eventually the edges begin to lift and these in turn irritate the skin. It’s also quite difficult to lay it down smoothly without small bubbles and creases, which in time wear and cause irritation.
A silver lip plate would be a possibility (although I’ve seen a number of these plates that have lifted) but for the moment this works for me.
It would be very easy to dimiss the allergy (it only seems to affect 5 to 10% of people), but if you begin to show signs and ignore it (as I did) , you could become so sensitive, that any material against your chin would cause a reaction. Frank Claudy (who is a fine flute player as well as a doctor) was helpful in explaining this allergy to me. It seems that the biggest worry is that if you carry on ignoring it, it could turn systemic. You could then find your fingers covered in blisters! (or any other part of your body that comes in contact with your flute).
I hope that I haven’t bored you ‘non-cocus’ people. I played an (old) cocus wood flute for twenty five years, so this has all been quite a shock!
Best wishes, John
PS I’m thinking of getting someone to make me a flute out of one of the enormous poison ivy vines that grow here. It couldn’t be any worse, could it?
Good find Jim.
I ended up using a simplified and slightly modified version of John’s (Rod’s) method, which I think I also posted details of, but I haven’t tried searching for it. Perhaps when I have more time I’ll either do that or just explain it again, if someone needs to know. Certainly someone could just follow the directions that Jim was kind enough to dig up, and that should yield excellent results.
I did wear it on 3 separate occasions to no ill effect thankfully. I’ve been playing the last few days in a row with some electrical tape below the embouchure and all seems well!
Jim thanks for posting that, I’ll probably give that a go for a more permanent solution.