Redness?  Burning? Flushing? Embarrassment? Low Self Esteem?

Sound familiar?

I often receive messages through my Instagram page from people all over the world asking for advice on how to deal and live with rosacea. For a skin condition that is really good at making you feel like you’re the only one on the planet suffering with it, you’d be surprised to hear that rosacea affects millions of people out there.  Which brings me nicely to point number one of living with rosacea- you. are. not. alone. This is me….

I started experiencing symptoms when I was 25. S-u-c-h an annoying age to be plagued with a really obvious skin complaint that made me look and feel like I a hormonal, spotty teenager all over again. I was supposed to be over all that! I felt ugly and upset that it was happening to me while all my friends had lovely skin. It affected my confidence for sure.

I had two extremely blotchy cheeks that were often sore to touch. Who wants that for the rest of their life?  I did lots of reading and educated myself on how to prevent flare ups whilst at the same time making numerous trips to the doctor until I was happy with the track I was on in my quest to feel on top of living with rosacea.

• 

• 

• 

I’m 31 now and in the last 6 years I have had to be both patient and persistent in finding what works and doesn’t for my rosacea. Which brings me to point number two… Don’t give up or be defeated by your skin condition. Ask to be referred to a dermatologist if you feel like your GP can’t help in the way you need them to. Dermatologists are experts when it comes to skin.  Let them know how much it is affecting your day to day life and confidence.

• 

• 

• 

Day to day I try to do the following to keep my rosacea as calm as it can possibly be..

• Never scrub/exfoliate areas that are rosacea prone.  I opt for clay masks twice a week when I feel like my skin needs a deep clean instead. Have a google of ‘Kaolin’ and ‘Pink clay’… super easy and cheap to buy online.
• Drink water when I feel a rosacea flare up coming on. It helps to cool the body down. Running my wrists under cold water is also helpful sometimes.
• Wear SPF everyday. The sun is one of my biggest triggers and always causes my rosacea to flare and react if I don’t cover up. If I’m on holiday I wear a hat to shield my face.
• Avoid too much coffee, alcohol, milk and cheese. I’ve noticed my skin doesn’t react well to these particular things. (But I do love cheese…oh man it’s so tricky) I love drinking herbal tea and matcha is my one true love.
• I use a dermatologist prescribed topical lotion called ‘Soolantra’ which is amazing at calming redness and rosacea spots.
• Add 2tbsp Greek Yoghurt and half tsp Turmeric together to make a calming, anti-inflammatory face mask (cheap and cheerful) when my rosacea feels like it is unhappy.  Feels so cooling!

• 

• 

• 

When you feel like your rosacea is having a bad day and you feel crappy, remember that you are still great and that there are worse things happening in life… that’s what I do! A bit of perspective always comes in handy. It can suck living with rosacea but there are lots of ways around controlling it. Hope this has helped a bit. As always, feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions!

Herbs and Herbs x

Follow me on Instagram

Follow me on Twitter