THE ROSACEA BIBLE
B E A U T Y
+Rosacea (roe-ZAY-she-uh) she’s the cow no one likes, but some of us just have to deal with, including me. To get all sciencey for a second, Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. Sounds très fancy, but in laymens terms it's basically when your body reacts to something external which then causes an internal negative reaction. Eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasis are also inflammatory skin conditions, but we can talk about them at a later date.
+Its a super common skin condition and is sometimes mistaken for acne as depending on your rosacea type. Yes types huns, there’s a small gang of them and can all cause very annoying but manageable outcomes.
+Flushing, swelling, and redness are the usual culprits. Other types can cause acne like pustules and papules, this is me, if you also have this type I feel you sister. Thickening of the skin and also eye soreness can also occur, but again don’t worry, all manageable and I’ve tried everything under the sun and I’m here to share the goods!
+So let’s figure out your type and pinpoint your triggers. Then I can take you through the remedies that actually work.
WHAT IS MY ROSACEA TYPE?
So what is your type on paper, well there’s actually four types of Rosacea. You may have a mixture of these symptoms but don’t stressing have 3 out of 4 and I’m still here to tell the tale.
Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea
Symptoms include:
Skin discolouration
Flushing, and visible blood vessels
Papulopustular rosacea
Symptoms include:
Flushing & swelling,
Breakouts that resemble acne. (Pauples and pustules)
Phymatous rosacea
Symptoms include:
Thickened & bumpy skin (usually the nose area)
Ocular rosacea
Symptoms include:
Eye redness and irritation and swollen eyelids.
WHAT CAN TRIGGER ROSACEA?
Everyone is different, but here are some common triggers:
Extremely hot or cold conditions
Saunas/ hot baths & showers
Diet- Spicy food, diary, foods containing cinnamaldehyde, such as tomatoes and citrus fruits, and also alcohol
Stress
Vigorous exercise
Bacterial infections-Helicobacter pylori
Demodex mites
Don’t panic, not all the above will trigger your skin and not all can be solved as easily as the other.
HOW CAN I HELP MY ROSACEA?
For myself, I looked at 3 main areas. My diet, skincare and lifestyle, yes I’m “that girl’ now, whoever she is.
LOOK AT YOUR DIET
Food triggers are a common thing that can set off your skin. I mean, like shown above there is a lot, and sadly for me dairy is one. Cheese is life, I know, but sometimes a brie a day is not okay.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS
Introducing anti-inflammatory foods was a big one that helped my skin. Avocados, berries, nuts, turmeric, leafy greens, olive oil. Curcumin, is another one. Don't ask me how to pronounce it. Otherwise known as Turmeric, this ingredient is the ultimate bae of anti-inflammatory. I always go to her when I’m having a flare-up and it calms my skin down overnight. It can come in tablet form, but I hate taking tablets.
My golden milk drink, is my bedtime cup of loveeee. Super easy to make with your favourite non-dairy option.
TEAS
Green tea not mad for it, looks like pound water to me, nevertheless it is highly anti-inflammatory, so if you love it you’re onto a winner. The only green tea I would recommend are the twinnings glow teas, which honestly taste like strawberry’s and also have added biotin.
Matcha, on the other hand, I can do. Matcha is basically the hulk of green tea.. It comes from the same plant but is prepared differently and also comes in powder form.
Kourney K raves about it and says it's the secret to her glowing skin. Not lying, but it tastes lush. Super-anti-inflammatory has numerous benefits, one of which is, detoxifying the body. It does so by clearing the liver and kidneys, which, if you didn’t know is heavily linked to your skin. You can get it in all sorts from lattes, smoothies, protein balls, nice cream, frozen yog, the list goes on.
Again, gorgeous shrek like green lol, don’t be put off. I’ll pop some receipts below and links to products I have used and rate.
LOOK AT YOUR LIFESTYLE
+Working a full time job, eating healthy, having a social life, organising life admin and having curly hair (it's a full-time job) really can be a lot.
+Another tip from me is chill out. Stress is a big trigger for me. One day a friend recommended I try meditation. I was sceptical, I never sit still for a start. Also, I thought if I do go I would be among a group of people who danced around their crystals every night. Which I now do by the way.
+I gave it a go and surprisingly I did enjoy the me time, the quiet, but I was also thinking about what I was making for tea. That’s when I was introduced to a Sound bath.
+Sound baths are basically meditation, but with music. I attend a group sound bath every week and love it, but there are a ton of apps where you can try it at home to see if its your thing. Let me tell you I love them. You basically lay down among the crystals and you are bathed in sound waves, hence the name.
+I can honestly say my skin has massively improved since I’ve been going. It chills me out and I sleep like a baby after a session, which again is amazing for skin recovery.
+Another change I have made is the type of exercise I do. Vigorous exercise like hitt or boxing (which I bloody love) totally stresses my skin out. I now pick forms of excersie which still push’s me, but works more with the body. Weight training, my new fav reformer Pilates, yoga and walking are all good choices, but what works for me may not work for you. Just to add, I now dance around my crystals and charge them under the moon.
LOOK AT YOUR SKINCARE
+Right now onto the goods. I’m a skincare geek having acne as a teenager and now Rosacea as an adult; its an expenny situation, but I'll take one for the team. Okay lets get sciencey again.
+Research suggests that us poor unfortunate souls with Rosacea have an impaired skin barrier function. This can be from all sorts of things such as, harsh skincare to smoking and sadly just getting older our skin changes. The skin’s barrier is like a coat; it's job is to fight off harmful toxins and germs that could penetrate the skin and stress it out, so when its messed up inflammation occurs. You see the pattern?
+So coming from a Rosacea sister, the main objective of your skincare should be to A. calm the skin and B. support and maintain a healthy skin barrier.
+My Rosacea must have ingredients are Centella, colloidal oatmeal,ceramides and Azelaic acid. You can count on them all to calm inflammation and protect you from every day aggressors.
+So lets get down to the goods. A brand I have used for years is Dr.Jart+. The CICAPAIR range within this brand is the one for anyone in the Rosacea fam. Centella, is the star of this whole range. Other wise known as Centella asiatica or tiger grass, this ingredient is a powerful antioxidant and rich in amino acids.
+I’m a broken record by now but, skin soothing and revitalises the skins barrier, get it in the basket and thank me later. With cooling facial mists to soothing serums and their best selling skin corrector cream, (its a situation) there’s nothing this range hasn’t got and it really does work.
+Another very gentle range I would recommend and use daily is Curél. For starters the brand was created in Japan. Were talking the Rolls-Royce standard os skincare research. And I can confirm its good shit.
+Curél Is best known for their Ceramide Care technology. Ceramides, yes Shes back. Soothing, hydrating, repairing, shes a keeper. The whole range aims to help you adopt a minimal routine that contains gentle ingredients, perfect for Rosacea skin. There’s genuinely nothing in this range that my skin doesn’t love and they are so affordable. I thank the skin gods daily for these little gems.
+AZELAIC ACID another skin saviour for us Rosacea kids. Sciencey bits here we go. Azeiac acid belongs to a class of drugs known as dicarboxylic acids. Don’t let that scare you; it’s actually an organic compound that can be derived from wheat, rye, and barley.
+You can usually find this ingredient in serums and creams and is the ingredients you need if you suffer with Paul-ocular rosacea like me. Acne like pupstles and papules occur, and if you’re anything like me, I went straight in with the harsh acne products making it even worse. Put down that exfoliator now.
+Azelaic acid is a game changer as its not only anti-inflammatory (calming) it is antibacterial. This ingredient can prevent them acne like papules and bumps by killing off the skin bacteria directly and keeping your pores clean and unblocked.
+Face Theory's Lumizela Azelaic acid A15 serum, is the best I’ve tried. It contains a whopping 15% Azeiac acid which is the same percentage as a prescription dose, strong yes. But with the addition of colloidal oatmeal, green tea and aloe vera, it really does calm the mother of throbbing spots and brings down the redness overnight.
PROBIOTICS
+ Probiotics are live microorganisms; they are known as the skin flora and help your skin to flourish.
+You know them tiny gremlin like creatures the scientist’s show you from under their microscopes. That's a microorganism. They include bacteria, protozoa, algae, and fungi.
+And like every movie, our skin has goodies and badies. But in order to keep a healthy skin flora, we need a balance between the good and the bad.
And that's where Rosacea comes in. Studies have shown that individuals with these conditions have an imbalance of skin flora.
+ Demodex mites. We all have them and they are alright actually, they live on the skin and eat away at our dead skin cells and debris, which is what we want.
+But like I said, Demodex mites aren’t the problem; its the environment they live in. They thrive off an unbalanced or damaged skin flora. So this means they multiple more rapidly blocking the oil glands. You guessed it, inflammation station.
+Like mentioned earlier, the microbiome can be damaged or thrown off by harsh skin care or other environmental aggressors. Introducing a probiotic will help balance the pH of skin by reducing the growth of bad bacteria and promote the healthy bacteria on your skin. The good guys always win in the end.
+My holy grail is KORRES yogurt nourishing probiotic gel-cream. Their mission as a brand is to create products that contain only natural ingredients that work with the skin's flora. Its a thinner consistency moisturises and instantly feels soothing when popped on the skin. I have never used anything like this. I notice when I dont use it my skin goes back to its old tricks, so Shes with me for life. Super affordable and a lovely brand.
KORRES PROBIOTIC GEL-CREAM BUY ME
I am by no means am I an esthetician. I’m just a Rosacea sister sharing the goods that have helped me, and hopefully you.Rosacea can be super soul destroying, especially in this world of filters and glass-like skin. But healthy skin isn’t perfect skin just remember that. If you have tried it all and it seems like nothing is working, go see your doctor there are antibiotics and prescriptions that can be given out. So again, I hope this has helped and you have found what you’re looking for with me.
SHE WRITES X
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