Anyone Have Rosacea - the RED CHECKS

Hello M.,

My career is based in the cosmetic industry so I've got a few tips for you.

My first piece of advice is to look at what you're using and doing to your skin now. The most important thing to keep at the forefront of your mind is that you need to pamper your skin. Be gentle to it, use good quality products and don't use anything harsh or heavily scrub the skin. Completely remove from your collection of products anything with alcohol, alpha hydroxy acids including glycolic acids, salicylic (sp?) acids or anything else that's potentially drying to the skin. Although your case is mild, your skin's too sensetive to use chemical exfoliants. And if you're manually exfoliating, such as with a skin scrub, only use one that's extremely gentle. NO apricot scrub either! That stuff erodes the skin even on a regular person without rosacea. If you use a washcloth, do not rub the cheek area and if you can, don't use one at all.

This is the best piece of advice because you're still in the stage where you can salvage your skin. I've seen every case scenerio of rosacea and it can get very nasty if you do not take the proper precausions. So just remember, be nice to it! Moisturize AM and PM and use a very good sunscreen every single day (VERY important!), such as an SPF30. SPF15 will not cut it for you.

If it worsens, then the doctor is your next step. Rosacea does not have an actualy known cause so it's treated 2 different ways. It was first thought to be treated as a fungal/bacterial infection of the skin; some doctors still think so. If you visit a Dr. and he prescribes a topical antifungal preperation, just go to another Dr. This way of treating has been very unsuccessful and is only helpful to those who have an infection of mites on the skin. It's actually capable of happening although very rare. There are other prescription that I know work very well too that are not antifungal but rather contain ingredients that keep the blood flow to the outer capillaries in check to lessen the redness.

If you're looking for an actual prodcut line then I would recommend BKamins. It's sold at many places and online at www.bkamins.com They make an entire rosacea line that I'm very familiar to. It's pricey although not terrible and is about the only line specific to the ailment I know of (and I know practically most every line). It's contains several anti-inflamatory ingredients that will help bring the redness down but also contains a blue-green optic that actually helps visually/cosmetically eliminate the redness so you can wear makeup better and just feel better. It's the best I've seen, honestly.

Best of luck with it. I know it can be very aggrivating to deal with. But remember, love your skin, nourish it, take care of it and mostly likely you can ward it off for a long time.

Regards,
S.

I use metrogel too altough not right now becasue you can not use it if you are trying to get pregant so I am using a diffrent form of metrogel from the dermatologist. I would go see the dematologist though this unfortuanly does not go away and can get worse if not treated. I also use cetaphil wash and face cream this was also suggested by my dermatologist. I see Dr. Singri in Schaumburg he is pretty good. Let me know if you would like his #. Good Luck

I had a horrible case as I was greaduating from college. I went to two different dermatologists and it wasn't until I was referred to a specialist at Northwestern did it clear up. I was put on some kind of anti-biotic (not sure why, it was a long time ago) and a topical gel called Metrogel - which worked wonders (it was a prescription). I had the gel for a while and if I detected a flare-up, I would use in and see results in a few hours. Aside from that, I would recommend seeing a dermatologist and finding out if there are other treatments that work too.

Good luck!

M.:
Rosacea is quite common and can get very bad. It's good that you are doing something about it because it can get brought under control without costly medical prescriptions (many of which don't work), but has everything to do with what you put on your skin. People with Rosacea have very sensitive skin and many OTC products are too strong or have harsh ingredients that can aggravate the condition. So it really is an issue of what you using as far as a wash, moisturizer, cosmetics, etc. They all go on your face and they all get absorbed into your skin.

There are botanically based products that help with Rosacea and cosmetics that won't aggravate your skin. I have seen women who have had it all of their life, have been to dermatologists, used costly cremes, etc. and had no relief until they used the products that had no harsh ingredients. It was an amazing transformation and what they lived with for so long and battled was going away on its own with these products. I am happy to share what I have learned and grown to trust with healthy skincare products from a Swiss based company. Europe has much higher quality standards than the US does - unfortunately. That is why these products are so beneficial because they are made with the finest botanicals that will help many symptoms from rosacea to acne, to dry skin, etc. Truly amazing and so much better for you. Save your money!! If you are interested in learning more, please contact me as I am always happy to help those who want to help themselves. Take care M.!

Metrogel (you get it by prescription) is the only thing that worked for me. I went off it when I was pregnant and never went back on it as my roscea tended to lessen after I have my daughter. I would definitely say it was really the only thing that helped it, though.