rosacea help!
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Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:30 am

so i have recently found out i have rosacea and its a little helpful and frustrating at the same time. its nice to finally understand my skin problems but on the other hand i don't know how to cost effectively treat it. I'm still very young at 23 so I'm not seeing allot of the red flag signs with the red spots and such but my pores are ALWAYS clogged with black heads and other not fun things to be all over my face. dose anyone else struggle with this and do you know how to get a really great pore purge across my face. t zone and chin especially. i just want to suck everything out! help!

free skin care · Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:00 am

How do you know you have rosacea for sure? Blackheads are not usually a sign. You can have full blown symptoms at any age.

Garden of Wisdom has a rosacea line. I haven't used it but read raves on the GOW board from people who have.

This is the link to the kit but it also lists each product individually.
http://www.gardenofwisdom.com/catalog/item/7011943/7543400.htm

free skin care · Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:42 am

casey jo wrote:

so i have recently found out i have rosacea and its a little helpful and frustrating at the same time. its nice to finally understand my skin problems but on the other hand i don't know how to cost effectively treat it. I'm still very young at 23 so I'm not seeing allot of the red flag signs with the red spots and such but my pores are ALWAYS clogged with black heads and other not fun things to be all over my face. dose anyone else struggle with this and do you know how to get a really great pore purge across my face. t zone and chin especially. i just want to suck everything out! help!

Were you diagnosed by a dermatologist? Did he/she not give you instruction on how to treat it? I have a mild case, the only thing I do is use Paulas Choice GENTLE cleanser and a 2% BHA 3-4 times per week which really keeps my chin and face clear and smooth. And than use of spf 15. This combination really calms my skin down.

Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:48 am

i do have many rosacea symptoms , like dry yet oily ashy skin, and red splotching when i get really hot or something. i need to visit a dermatologist about it, but i was told i have it by the lady that does my facials. she has very extensive training and schooling in her field and i know she knows what she is talking about. she said that since my rosacea has gone un treated my entire face has very congested pores, because of the ash like texture i have the dead skin and oil get down very deep in my pores and cause allot of blemishes and black heads small white heads and just un smooth skin. would it be a good idea to ex-foliate every day. that's something I'm not doing. I'm using a line of care products called clean start.

Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:25 pm

Yes, please do see a dermatologist. Your facialist may be well-trained, and she may be right, you may have some possible signs of Rosacea, but a dermatologist will be able to diagnose you properly. Also, a proper diagnosis of Rosacea rules out other conditions (including auto-immune disease) that may cause redness, flushing, etc.

Clogged pores & blackheads are not a symptom of Rosacea. Untreated Rosacea does not cause a build up of anything in the pores - it doesn't involve the pores the way acne does. But it's not that unusual to have both acne & Rosacea - it makes both conditions a little more difficult to treat, but not impossible.

Rosacea skin is *very* sensitive, and daily exfoliation can be too much.

free skin care · Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:36 am

try Gamila Secret cleansing soap, it is good for Rosacea skin and it has very light exfoliating property; therefore you can use once a day (at night time) or once every 2days.

here is the picture before and after using Gamila secret (however the description is in chinese, if you are interested plz just take a look at the picture)

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1-TKcWwiMEpEuG-69lWKJ9k-2qOq9zOTYxecY80zep0o&pli=1

free skin care · Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:49 am

You should probably check with a derm to make sure you have rosacea. If you start treating for rosacea when you don't actually have it, you could just end up aggravating your face further.

free skin care · Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:35 pm

I have rosacea and my skin is like yours. Oily yet dry and flaky. I have clogged pores all over because of it. I got rosacea in my early 20s. I am now 35. I have been through 30 or more laser treatments which did not help. I am still struggling every day of my life. Some people do not have the oily flaky dry rosacea so they wont understand what u r talking about. Some people just have flushing and others have all the bull crap together. I hate this disease. It is very hard to live with. Im still searching for a miracle.

free skin care · Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:53 pm

I feel for you, but also agree that you should go to a DR for a proper diagnosis. Having said that, I've have varying opinions about whether I have Rosacea myself. Depending on the time of the month, it definitely looks like Rosacea. If I'm mid month, or days before my period starting, my skin can look really red all day long. It feels hot and looks flushed - I feel like I look fevered. Other days, my skin is fine. I'm fair skinned and have always blushed easily, but I am not red all the time.

So .. Rosacea or hormone/age related ... who knows. I think it comes back to trial and error for both skincare and food. I find that if I avoid soft drinks, my skin isn't as red looking (even on days where hormones usually cause a lot of flushing). I make my own iced green tea (sweetened with Truvia) and drink that throughout the day. It has also helped cut down on the redness, but nothing takes it away completely.

When my family DR first diagnosed me, she prescribed Metrogel. All this did was dry out my skin and make it flaky. If I stay away from heavily perfumed skincare, my skin seems happier.

I wish it was easier to treat or even get an accurate diagnosis. Just my two cents, but I feel like Rosacea is the common diagnosis for so many things that I am skeptical that all of them are accurate.

free skin care · Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:04 am

timetobme - Thats how my rosacea is. My is horrible a couple of days before my period until around my 3rd day of period. But I have had rosacea for over 10 years so mine is blotchy all the time but worse before my period.

Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:23 pm

I don't have it but my husband does. His Doc told him to use Head and Shoulders shampoo to wash his hair AND face with. His scalp is oily and flaky and so is his face and this has really helped him alot. It is not expensive to try for awhile and see if it works. JMO

Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:38 pm

I had stage 2 Rosacea - I went for 13 IPL sessions. Now, I do not have any symptoms - ok, I still have some thread veins on my cheeks; but the burning/flushing/blushing has been cured.

This is a great resource for Rosacea.
rosaceagroup .org /The_Rosacea_Forum/

free skin care · Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:07 am

fulloflove2 wrote:

timetobme - Thats how my rosacea is. My is horrible a couple of days before my period until around my 3rd day of period. But I have had rosacea for over 10 years so mine is blotchy all the time but worse before my period.

Thanks Fulloflove2 ... I hope it doesn't progress. Have you found anything that works for you?

free skin care · Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:34 am

SpencerK wrote:

I had stage 2 Rosacea - I went for 13 IPL sessions. Now, I do not have any symptoms - ok, I still have some thread veins on my cheeks; but the burning/flushing/blushing has been cured.

This is a great resource for Rosacea.
rosaceagroup .org /The_Rosacea_Forum/

Hi SpencerK
I've often thought of IPL sessions, but was worried about looking like a tomato. Can you tell me how red your skin was afterwards and how long it lasted. Also .. do you mind saying how much it cost you.
Thanks !!

Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:13 am

Hi Time2Bme,

I had the treatment over a 11 month period. A total of 13 sessions, with two different Dr's.

Now, IPL can work different for different people. Some people get better results than others. But, if you have the right conditions and aftercare, then it does work.

Yes, you will look like a tomato afterwards - but that is to be expected, after all you are shooting hot lasers into your skin Smile

This normally dies down after about 2,3 days - but, you have to make sure you do nothing in that time that will make you flare up, blush/flush - otherwise the dilation of the veins (because you have had them nuked) will reverse because you are pumping blood through them again. No exercise, nothing strenuous.

What I used to do was stay in doors, and have big fat rubber gloves ice cold and keep them compressed on my face. That really helped reduce redness/swelling and helped add a "layer" on my skin reducing redness. I also got a "cold-pillow" to lay on at nighttime.

The treatments are not cheap - think I spent about £1700 total. But, oooh my was it worth it. If you suffer from constant burning, flushing making you feel awkward around people.. Making you get a bit of social phobia - then this is worth it.

If you have a search on that forum link I gave you. Search for posts by SpencerK - you will see a lot of posts by me.

Might I suggest, if you do intend on getting some treatment, that you get in touch with Dr Crouch. This man is amazing. I had x3 sessions with him, which ended up better than the previous 10 sessions with another Dr. He keeps you calm and is the best in his field.

On a final note - this treatment is worth it. Period. If you suffer from blushing/flushing/burning/redness.. It does work. However, the downside is that I never really see the results until after about 10 months from my "last" IPL session.

IT takes a long time for the treatments to kick in. People expect results 3 weeks after the first IPL and get disheartened when their symptoms come back. Only after the entire course, then with extra care did I get better.

Best of luck - if you decide to do it, please ask me anything.

Good luck
Spencer

Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:13 am

I have rosace too, and this website is a great source of info rosaceagroup.org

Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:34 am

Just like to add - before taking anything prescribed by a Dr - do some research on the side effects. Plenty of times I've known symptoms to get worse because some Dr (who does not really understand this affliction) prescribe steroid lotions and only make things worse -- much much worse.

free skin care · Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:41 pm

@SpencerK
Thanks very much for your response. The tomato skin is what scares me !! My husband works shift work and I have an athletic daughter who plays every sport she can imagine. I may have to wait until I can hibernate for a couple of days before I make the investment!!!

free skin care · Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:04 pm

I really love Estee Lauder Advanced Night Concentrate. I am not sure if it helps with all the rosacea symptoms, but it definitely helps me with the broken caps.

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:19 am

RussianSunshine wrote:

I really love Estee Lauder Advanced Night Concentrate. I am not sure if it helps with all the rosacea symptoms, but it definitely helps me with the broken caps.

RussianSunshine, what is it doing for your broken caps? Are they less red? How often are you using the EL ANR Concentrate?

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:26 am

rileygirl wrote:

RussianSunshine wrote:

I really love Estee Lauder Advanced Night Concentrate. I am not sure if it helps with all the rosacea symptoms, but it definitely helps me with the broken caps.

RussianSunshine, what is it doing for your broken caps? Are they less red? How often are you using the EL ANR Concentrate?

I'm interested in this as well. I have a number of broken caps on my cheeks ... Also RS, can you tell me if the product is really strongly fragranced please.

free skin care · Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:25 am

No I havent. IZts a real struggle for me.

Time2Bme wrote:

fulloflove2 wrote:

timetobme - Thats how my rosacea is. My is horrible a couple of days before my period until around my 3rd day of period. But I have had rosacea for over 10 years so mine is blotchy all the time but worse before my period.

Thanks Fulloflove2 ... I hope it doesn't progress. Have you found anything that works for you?

free skin care · Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:20 am

Having been diagnosed by a derm and tried all the RX gels and Oracea, I have found the two best treatments for me overall.
Ipl's are number one and do work but you have to have a once a year upkeep.
Finacea, hands down was better than the gels and worked as far as creams go with little or no side effects.
Gentle cleasners, avoiding the triggers, etc. also help. I took Oracea but hated having to take a daily antibiotic so I got off of that.
Now having said that, my hubby and I just signed up for a new clinical trial for rosacea patients to try a new topical gel and we go on Monday! I will let you know what else I learn in controling and fighting rosacea.

free skin care · Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:31 pm

Good luck AnnieR. I'll be watching for a post from you to say how it is going.

I've been using Osmosis Skincare for the past 2 weeks and am loving it so far. My skin had gotten really dull after using Karin Herzog products. I started with the Rosacea kit as well as the Repair PM. My skin felt wonderful right away. I held of posting until I had used it for a couple of weeks. I bought the products from JoElla Milan. I'm really impressed with the customer service she provides. I sent her an email asking her what products I should start with and then how I should continue to add other products in. She has been bang-on with every suggestion so far.

I haven't had any reaction to the products, so I have started to add the "Calm" (Osmosis) in every 2nd day. I started with "Mend". Mend is more gentle than the calm. I love the fragrance in the products; they are essential oils. JoElla said that she uses the Refresh PM for both daytime and night time use. It is extremely firming. I can't use it on my eyelids, because it makes my skin too tight on my lids. I have bleph surgery and my eye lids are still quite tight. The Refresh PM made them feel too tight. If you need tightening, it would be a good one for you !!

Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:44 am

You should be wary because the worst cases of acne rosacea can lead to puffy cheek and nose disfigurement if left untreated for several days,

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