I heard that Rosehip Oil is good for rosacea. I don’t have it but use the oil every day and my skin loves it – thought I’d throw that in just in case it can be helpful..
I have had issues with rosacea in the past, and I noticed that it disappeared when I started using Johnson’s baby shampoo to remove my eye makeup. I’m not sure why it works for me, but for me it beat the prescription stuff. I’m even able to drink red wine without flareups.
Stick with the Finacea; it irritated my skin and dried it out. It took about 6 weeks before I got used to it, but it does seem to help. I also recommend using a light coat of Cerave moisturizer before you put the Finacea on. A lot of dermatologists give samples of Cerave when they prescribe Finacea.
Yep – me too. Use sunscreen in your moisturizer every day. I also LOVE my moisturizer and cleanser – it’s not expensive and I get it from Amazon – it has NOT one iota of scent or non-scent added. It’s called Vanicream and it lasts forever. I also am on a low dose of antibiotics (oracea) and a topical cream – Finacea – and I can definitely tell that it works because when I forget after a few days my skin looks like crap. Finally, an allergist told me I have a moderate wheat allergy, so I cut out all the wheat stuff (not gluten-free – just wheat-free), and that seems to have made a difference on many levels – including mood swings and weight).
I have had rosacea and it want away when I started using only natural facial products. I wash my face with a natural soap in the shower then put on either essential oil or an all natural cream on my face. I no longer have rosacea and my face is very clear. Much better for your face then all the prescriptions that the Dr. gives you.
This is what I currently do–well, for the last month. I use Dr. Bonner’s soap and almond oil on my face. I think I let things get so bad that I will need medicine and a change in diet to get myself back to the place where you are. Sigh.
Rosacea started for me in my mid forties in an ugly and widespread way. It took years of mild, daily antibiotics before I tamed it. I am now 59 and still have flare ups that seem to be tied to sugar consumption, be that sweets or wine! If it gets bad (because I have relaxed my dietary vigilance) I take the antibiotics, but as we all know, it’s better not to. So watching my intake is (negatively) enforced by rosacea. As my acupuncturist told me yesterday, it’s a signal of what’s going on in my body – a sort of warning light of some other lower grade inflammation perhaps? Watch heavy cosmetics or lotions, including SPF lotions, and your diet – alas this is my advice from experience.
-Ellen
I have rosacea too, and only use natural skin care products. I have a bar of sea buckthorn tea soap to cleanse my face, and I really like it – it’s natural, gentle, very inexpensive, and is lasting forever, it seems. I used to always use a washcloth to wash my face, but then I read that gentle is best for rosacea, so now I just wash with my hands. I use Desert Essence sensitive skin moisturizer with sunscreen in the morning, and derma-e very clear moisturizer at night.
All that being said – from what I’ve read – your skin is mainly a reflection of your diet. When my rosacea got really bad (I was avoiding looking in mirrors), I decided to try an elimination diet. I went off dairy first and got lucky – my skin cleared up fairly soon after. After a few months I reintroduced small amounts of cheese with no problems, but a trip away from home with a break-out following a bowl of cereal with milk confirmed that for me, dairy was a huge trigger. Different people have different triggers though, so I’d encourage you to do some research on inflammatory foods (and on omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids) all of which may contribute to rosacea. A website I find very informative – not necessarily for rosacea in particular – is nutritionfacts.org, which is run by an MD who specializes in lifestyle medicine. He has a huge library of short videos in which he discusses nutrition research and the role food plays in disease. It makes for very interesting reading because so many of our Western diseases are caused by our diets.
I have rosacea. I chose to avoid daily antibiotics as well as multiple anti fungal and antibacterial creams.
I had laser treatments several years ago. There was an initial improvement, however now it has recurred. By my own admission I’m lazy and won’t apply multiple creams morning and night.
I wash with a gentle soap and wear a hypo-allergenic sunscreen in the Summer months. My main strategy has been to just cover it. It’s primarily on my cheeks. I use Bare Minerals and it does a decent job, not a great job.
I have rosacea. I tried laser treatments and after dropping quite a bit of money, had no results and gave that up. Finally a doctor gave me antibiotics to clear it up initially, then I started using Metrogel once a day. I find that works best for me. It doesn’t 100% eliminate it, I still get the odd “spot”. But it is very manageable. I have been using Metrogel about a full year now. I have not taken oral antibiotics for it since.
I had an outbreak of rosacea due in part to stress, back in my 40s. I found that one course of oral antibiotics, followed up with a topical for the next 6 months took care of it.
I’ve tried all of the lotions and potions but the most effective treatment for me has been diet. Cutting down on sugary, acidic foods (including starches) made a huge difference. That and I also only use cold water on my face. Like, super cold. Metrogel and the rest gave me dry spots and other problems.
forgot to add to my lengthy novel of a comment from last time — I don’t do dairy, or if I do, very very sparingly. i noticed a tie between what my skin was doing and dairy consumption in my early 30’s and now if I go overboard with dairy, so does my skin, instantly and violently. Rashy and tiny pimples in clusters. and yet…..not a single dermatologist has ever even discussed diet/skin reactions. i had laser treatments about 10 yrs ago and it just flared my seb derm (you can look that one up, i have that too) and I didn’t see enough result to keep going with the treatments, which were pretty pricy. ditto the endorsements of Vanicream sunscreen, also Ti-Silc sunscreen, and the rosehip seed oil is supposed to be good, although I haven’t played around with that one much.
I’m so sorry! I have had rosacea for about 10 years now. My first recommendation is figure out what your triggers are. For me, heat is a definite trigger. One afternoon of being too hot and my skin will be flared up for a week. Also, too much sugar, or dairy will cause problems for me.
I used to use the Eucerin redness relief line and it worked well for me but after the birth of my son about 5 years ago, I developed a new set of allergies which triggered eczema on top of the rosacea. Attractive. Every cream the dermatologist gave me for the eczema made the rosacea worse and vice versa. I finally went to a naturopath and had food testing done and found out I have an intolerance to almonds. Had been trying to replace dairy milk with almond milk, eating raw almonds for snacks, making my own granola with almonds…
I have to stay away from any moisturizers/cleansers with oil in them too. So my current skin-care routine is a half-pump each of cetaphil cleanser and cerave foaming cleanser. Moisturizer is neutrogena light night cream or oil-free moisturizer. I have to stay away from “natural” stuff with “soothing botanicals” as those end up irritating my skin. Also, it seems counter-intuitive but my skin is better if I use foundation daily because most foundations contain zinc oxide and that calms down the redness.
I love cerave moisturizer – I use the ‘pm’ one am & pm. The ‘am’ doesn’t bother me though & I use it when I’m out in the sun. Plain old pump neutrogena face wash. Kiehl’s avocado eye cream (or neutragena eye cream when I need less moisture).
I’ve recently replaced my cows milk with coconut milk & time will tell if I helps my skin, but so far – so good & my stomach feels tons better.
This is not really helpful, I have adult acne and I don’t have rosecea…but my derm gave me the two products in the pic above and my skin is looking great. I was surprised to learn that finacea is for roseacea….don’t know why that works on my acne…
Hi, Jules. (I love your blog!) I’ve been battling ‘acne rosacea’ off and on for about seven years. It disappears completely when I’m pregnant and for the first year of nursing after baby is born. Last fall my skin got horribly, nightmarishly, depressingly inflamed and broken out all over my cheeks, nose, and chin, and between my eyebrows. I knew from previous bouts that antibiotics work great, but who wants to take those long term? Metrogel, Finacea, and the Rx sulfur creams weren’t much help, and the ingredients (alcohol, parabens, and fragrance– all triggers for me) seemed to irritate my skin.
I read back in January about the connection between demodex mites and rosacea on the rosacea forums and it really rang true (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20120830/are-mites-causing-your-rosacea). I never had acne rosacea until I adopted a dog with mange. The itching was awful in the evenings, and my scalp was affected as well. I tried Kisha’s (http://itsjustyourface.blogspot.com/) tea tree oil regiment, but it was harsh and didn’t quite clear my skin, though I had significant improvement. Her timeline is so helpful, though (ahttp://itsjustyourface.blogspot.com/2013/07/day-31-all-good-things-must-come-to-end.html).
I kept the tea tree shampoo/conditioner because they cleared my itchy, flaky scalp. Then I tried this homemade sulfur-zinc ointment (http://healthyyou4less.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/clearing-up-rosacea/) (only at night, with argan/jojoba facial oil during the day, none of the rest of the recommended regiment), and within 10 days my skin was clear. Completely clear. I had red wine the other night with no flare at all, then spicy salsa the next night. I think it would have taken longer to clear up if I had started this when my skin was so horrible, but it has healed my skin beautifully. I hope you find this bombardment of web addresses helpful.
P.S. Hubby and I watched the BBC Sherlock last night on your recommendation. So, so awesome.
Oh, don’t freak out! Just keep it in the back of your mind. I did find that my rosacea improved on a Paleo diet, but it wreaked havoc on my gall bladder (too much good fat after 15 years of a healthy, minimally-processed low-fat diet), and it didn’t ever clear it all the way up. Certainly not to point that I could enjoy wine and curry again without those oh-so-visible and painful consequences. Best of luck to you, Jules!
There’s no good way to mention this without it sounding like a completely shameless plug, but Rodan+Fields has a Soothe line that is specifically formulated for sensitive skin and will help repair your skin’s lipid barrier. I linked to my website so that you can read more if you’re interested.
I went through the same thing for about 7 years — treated it like acne, then was told it was rosacea, then tried every prescription cream and oral antibiotic. I tried diet changes, and accupuncture, too. The only thing that worked– and it has taken care of ALL of my skin issues, seemingly definitively — was Accutane. I am the same age as you are and have finished having babies. I took it for 6 months and I have glowing skin. I was actually clear after about month 2, but finished the 6 months and haven’t looked back. I know it’s controversial, and I always try to take care of things naturally but I don’t regret the Accutane (yet?). It’s been well over a year and I don’t even get an occasional pimple. It was a last resort for me, but proved to be just the thing.
Hi, Jules! That first link in your comments section is my blog! I have had rosacea for years and unfortunately have never found a miracle cure as far as skin care goes, more just a long list of products that irritate it vs. products that don’t. This is probably because all of my favorite things in life (chocolate! wine! sugar! wheat!) are triggers and I choose not to live in a world without those things. Gentle cleansers like Cetaphil and Cerave work best for me, and I use Finacea as well. I use my clarisonic maybe twice a week and I exfoliate with a super gentle scrub (Michael Todd Tropical Fruit scrub) daily. That skincare routine leaves my skin pretty smooth (but still red), so I don’t use oracea or any of the other antibiotics unless I have a really bad flare up. None of the rosacea meds will actually reduce redness, laser therapy will but ehh, it’s $1000 and it comes back after a year, so that’s not worth it to me. I have experimented a ton with makeup to take the redness out. You’ll hear a lot of people recommend green based products to cancel out the red, but those just make me look sickly. The person who linked to me found my review of IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness, which is a holy grail product for me. I also use their CC cream, and actually think that it calms my redness significantly when I use it daily. Something about the ingredients just works for my skin. If I use the CC cream as a base, I can just use a teeny bit of the BBR on my cheeks and I’m good to go.
Hope this helps! Feel free to email me if you have any questions (diniwilks at gmail)
I don’t have rosacea myself but read this product review the other day, which was pretty positive!
http://diniwilks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/it-cosmetics-bye-bye-redness-review.html?m=1
I heard that Rosehip Oil is good for rosacea. I don’t have it but use the oil every day and my skin loves it – thought I’d throw that in just in case it can be helpful..
I have had issues with rosacea in the past, and I noticed that it disappeared when I started using Johnson’s baby shampoo to remove my eye makeup. I’m not sure why it works for me, but for me it beat the prescription stuff. I’m even able to drink red wine without flareups.
Really? The shampoo? How interesting! Isn’t strange what will work? I would have never thought to try that.
Stick with the Finacea; it irritated my skin and dried it out. It took about 6 weeks before I got used to it, but it does seem to help. I also recommend using a light coat of Cerave moisturizer before you put the Finacea on. A lot of dermatologists give samples of Cerave when they prescribe Finacea.
http://www.cerave.com/our-products/moisturizers/facial-moisturizing-lotion-pm
Sunscreen or block is very important – ask your derm for a recommendation that works with the Finacea. I find those with zinc oxide work best.
If you do have a flareup, try a bit of coconut oil on the areas, then use a cool washcloth to remove the excess.
This product also works for me – you can get it cheaper on Amazon:
https://www.triderma.com/facial-redness-repair.html
Hope that helps – every person’s skin is different, though. Hang in there!
When I am FAITHFUL to use this (morning & night) it actually helps a lot. :) http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=143932&catid=182916&aid=338666&aparam=143932
Redness
Bumps
Dryness
Yup, that’s me!
Yep – me too. Use sunscreen in your moisturizer every day. I also LOVE my moisturizer and cleanser – it’s not expensive and I get it from Amazon – it has NOT one iota of scent or non-scent added. It’s called Vanicream and it lasts forever. I also am on a low dose of antibiotics (oracea) and a topical cream – Finacea – and I can definitely tell that it works because when I forget after a few days my skin looks like crap. Finally, an allergist told me I have a moderate wheat allergy, so I cut out all the wheat stuff (not gluten-free – just wheat-free), and that seems to have made a difference on many levels – including mood swings and weight).
I’ve read and heard repeatedly that diet is everything when it comes to rosacea. I will check out the Vanicream. Thank you!
I have had rosacea and it want away when I started using only natural facial products. I wash my face with a natural soap in the shower then put on either essential oil or an all natural cream on my face. I no longer have rosacea and my face is very clear. Much better for your face then all the prescriptions that the Dr. gives you.
This is what I currently do–well, for the last month. I use Dr. Bonner’s soap and almond oil on my face. I think I let things get so bad that I will need medicine and a change in diet to get myself back to the place where you are. Sigh.
Rosacea started for me in my mid forties in an ugly and widespread way. It took years of mild, daily antibiotics before I tamed it. I am now 59 and still have flare ups that seem to be tied to sugar consumption, be that sweets or wine! If it gets bad (because I have relaxed my dietary vigilance) I take the antibiotics, but as we all know, it’s better not to. So watching my intake is (negatively) enforced by rosacea. As my acupuncturist told me yesterday, it’s a signal of what’s going on in my body – a sort of warning light of some other lower grade inflammation perhaps? Watch heavy cosmetics or lotions, including SPF lotions, and your diet – alas this is my advice from experience.
-Ellen
See, I’ve been looking at everything that triggers rosacea, and I’m like a walking trigger. Sugar, caffeine, wheat…it’s pretty bad!
I have rosacea too, and only use natural skin care products. I have a bar of sea buckthorn tea soap to cleanse my face, and I really like it – it’s natural, gentle, very inexpensive, and is lasting forever, it seems. I used to always use a washcloth to wash my face, but then I read that gentle is best for rosacea, so now I just wash with my hands. I use Desert Essence sensitive skin moisturizer with sunscreen in the morning, and derma-e very clear moisturizer at night.
All that being said – from what I’ve read – your skin is mainly a reflection of your diet. When my rosacea got really bad (I was avoiding looking in mirrors), I decided to try an elimination diet. I went off dairy first and got lucky – my skin cleared up fairly soon after. After a few months I reintroduced small amounts of cheese with no problems, but a trip away from home with a break-out following a bowl of cereal with milk confirmed that for me, dairy was a huge trigger. Different people have different triggers though, so I’d encourage you to do some research on inflammatory foods (and on omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids) all of which may contribute to rosacea. A website I find very informative – not necessarily for rosacea in particular – is nutritionfacts.org, which is run by an MD who specializes in lifestyle medicine. He has a huge library of short videos in which he discusses nutrition research and the role food plays in disease. It makes for very interesting reading because so many of our Western diseases are caused by our diets.
Good luck!
Yes, I think this will boil down to a huge change in diet for me.
I have rosacea. I chose to avoid daily antibiotics as well as multiple anti fungal and antibacterial creams.
I had laser treatments several years ago. There was an initial improvement, however now it has recurred. By my own admission I’m lazy and won’t apply multiple creams morning and night.
I wash with a gentle soap and wear a hypo-allergenic sunscreen in the Summer months. My main strategy has been to just cover it. It’s primarily on my cheeks. I use Bare Minerals and it does a decent job, not a great job.
I’m normally quite lazy about stuff like this, but the itching (and the comments from people) has become bad enough to motivate me.
I have rosacea. I tried laser treatments and after dropping quite a bit of money, had no results and gave that up. Finally a doctor gave me antibiotics to clear it up initially, then I started using Metrogel once a day. I find that works best for me. It doesn’t 100% eliminate it, I still get the odd “spot”. But it is very manageable. I have been using Metrogel about a full year now. I have not taken oral antibiotics for it since.
Good luck!
I had an outbreak of rosacea due in part to stress, back in my 40s. I found that one course of oral antibiotics, followed up with a topical for the next 6 months took care of it.
No skin care stuff worked.
My doctor seems to think the gel antibiotics should be enough for now. We’ll see. I heard very mixed reviews about laser treatments.
I’ve tried all of the lotions and potions but the most effective treatment for me has been diet. Cutting down on sugary, acidic foods (including starches) made a huge difference. That and I also only use cold water on my face. Like, super cold. Metrogel and the rest gave me dry spots and other problems.
Again with the diet! I think this will be key.
forgot to add to my lengthy novel of a comment from last time — I don’t do dairy, or if I do, very very sparingly. i noticed a tie between what my skin was doing and dairy consumption in my early 30’s and now if I go overboard with dairy, so does my skin, instantly and violently. Rashy and tiny pimples in clusters. and yet…..not a single dermatologist has ever even discussed diet/skin reactions. i had laser treatments about 10 yrs ago and it just flared my seb derm (you can look that one up, i have that too) and I didn’t see enough result to keep going with the treatments, which were pretty pricy. ditto the endorsements of Vanicream sunscreen, also Ti-Silc sunscreen, and the rosehip seed oil is supposed to be good, although I haven’t played around with that one much.
Thank you! The diet really seems to be key.
I’m so sorry! I have had rosacea for about 10 years now. My first recommendation is figure out what your triggers are. For me, heat is a definite trigger. One afternoon of being too hot and my skin will be flared up for a week. Also, too much sugar, or dairy will cause problems for me.
I used to use the Eucerin redness relief line and it worked well for me but after the birth of my son about 5 years ago, I developed a new set of allergies which triggered eczema on top of the rosacea. Attractive. Every cream the dermatologist gave me for the eczema made the rosacea worse and vice versa. I finally went to a naturopath and had food testing done and found out I have an intolerance to almonds. Had been trying to replace dairy milk with almond milk, eating raw almonds for snacks, making my own granola with almonds…
I have to stay away from any moisturizers/cleansers with oil in them too. So my current skin-care routine is a half-pump each of cetaphil cleanser and cerave foaming cleanser. Moisturizer is neutrogena light night cream or oil-free moisturizer. I have to stay away from “natural” stuff with “soothing botanicals” as those end up irritating my skin. Also, it seems counter-intuitive but my skin is better if I use foundation daily because most foundations contain zinc oxide and that calms down the redness.
Thank you for all your tips! Dairy seems to be the common thread here.
Me too – on my cheeks mostly.
I love cerave moisturizer – I use the ‘pm’ one am & pm. The ‘am’ doesn’t bother me though & I use it when I’m out in the sun. Plain old pump neutrogena face wash. Kiehl’s avocado eye cream (or neutragena eye cream when I need less moisture).
I’ve recently replaced my cows milk with coconut milk & time will tell if I helps my skin, but so far – so good & my stomach feels tons better.
This is not really helpful, I have adult acne and I don’t have rosecea…but my derm gave me the two products in the pic above and my skin is looking great. I was surprised to learn that finacea is for roseacea….don’t know why that works on my acne…
I think it’s for both. :)
Hey Jules! Fellow rosecea friend. My derm not only gave me Fineacea, but “metrogel” as well…Good luck!
So many people with rosacea! I’m comforted, in a “misery enjoys company” kind of way. :)
Hi, Jules. (I love your blog!) I’ve been battling ‘acne rosacea’ off and on for about seven years. It disappears completely when I’m pregnant and for the first year of nursing after baby is born. Last fall my skin got horribly, nightmarishly, depressingly inflamed and broken out all over my cheeks, nose, and chin, and between my eyebrows. I knew from previous bouts that antibiotics work great, but who wants to take those long term? Metrogel, Finacea, and the Rx sulfur creams weren’t much help, and the ingredients (alcohol, parabens, and fragrance– all triggers for me) seemed to irritate my skin.
I read back in January about the connection between demodex mites and rosacea on the rosacea forums and it really rang true (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20120830/are-mites-causing-your-rosacea). I never had acne rosacea until I adopted a dog with mange. The itching was awful in the evenings, and my scalp was affected as well. I tried Kisha’s (http://itsjustyourface.blogspot.com/) tea tree oil regiment, but it was harsh and didn’t quite clear my skin, though I had significant improvement. Her timeline is so helpful, though (ahttp://itsjustyourface.blogspot.com/2013/07/day-31-all-good-things-must-come-to-end.html).
I kept the tea tree shampoo/conditioner because they cleared my itchy, flaky scalp. Then I tried this homemade sulfur-zinc ointment (http://healthyyou4less.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/clearing-up-rosacea/) (only at night, with argan/jojoba facial oil during the day, none of the rest of the recommended regiment), and within 10 days my skin was clear. Completely clear. I had red wine the other night with no flare at all, then spicy salsa the next night. I think it would have taken longer to clear up if I had started this when my skin was so horrible, but it has healed my skin beautifully. I hope you find this bombardment of web addresses helpful.
P.S. Hubby and I watched the BBC Sherlock last night on your recommendation. So, so awesome.
Yay!! I’m glad you loved Sherlock. :)
Thanks for all the links on rosacea. With all the problems we’ve been having with bugs, I’m totally freaked out by the idea of mites!!!
Oh, don’t freak out! Just keep it in the back of your mind. I did find that my rosacea improved on a Paleo diet, but it wreaked havoc on my gall bladder (too much good fat after 15 years of a healthy, minimally-processed low-fat diet), and it didn’t ever clear it all the way up. Certainly not to point that I could enjoy wine and curry again without those oh-so-visible and painful consequences. Best of luck to you, Jules!
There’s no good way to mention this without it sounding like a completely shameless plug, but Rodan+Fields has a Soothe line that is specifically formulated for sensitive skin and will help repair your skin’s lipid barrier. I linked to my website so that you can read more if you’re interested.
I went through the same thing for about 7 years — treated it like acne, then was told it was rosacea, then tried every prescription cream and oral antibiotic. I tried diet changes, and accupuncture, too. The only thing that worked– and it has taken care of ALL of my skin issues, seemingly definitively — was Accutane. I am the same age as you are and have finished having babies. I took it for 6 months and I have glowing skin. I was actually clear after about month 2, but finished the 6 months and haven’t looked back. I know it’s controversial, and I always try to take care of things naturally but I don’t regret the Accutane (yet?). It’s been well over a year and I don’t even get an occasional pimple. It was a last resort for me, but proved to be just the thing.
Hi, Jules! That first link in your comments section is my blog! I have had rosacea for years and unfortunately have never found a miracle cure as far as skin care goes, more just a long list of products that irritate it vs. products that don’t. This is probably because all of my favorite things in life (chocolate! wine! sugar! wheat!) are triggers and I choose not to live in a world without those things. Gentle cleansers like Cetaphil and Cerave work best for me, and I use Finacea as well. I use my clarisonic maybe twice a week and I exfoliate with a super gentle scrub (Michael Todd Tropical Fruit scrub) daily. That skincare routine leaves my skin pretty smooth (but still red), so I don’t use oracea or any of the other antibiotics unless I have a really bad flare up. None of the rosacea meds will actually reduce redness, laser therapy will but ehh, it’s $1000 and it comes back after a year, so that’s not worth it to me. I have experimented a ton with makeup to take the redness out. You’ll hear a lot of people recommend green based products to cancel out the red, but those just make me look sickly. The person who linked to me found my review of IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness, which is a holy grail product for me. I also use their CC cream, and actually think that it calms my redness significantly when I use it daily. Something about the ingredients just works for my skin. If I use the CC cream as a base, I can just use a teeny bit of the BBR on my cheeks and I’m good to go.
Hope this helps! Feel free to email me if you have any questions (diniwilks at gmail)