Rosacea Treatment Choices and Options
Rosacea Treatment choices and option can be overwhelming. What works, what doesn't, what are the possible side effects, when someone recommends a treatment is it because it works and produces results or do they have a vested interest in selling me this product and hype? These are just a few of the questions that go through your mind as you come to terms with what is going on with your skin and what you can do to change it.
With rosacea, it often begins with the redness. You may experience occasional flushing or it may be bright red patches or areas of redness that stay for hours or days. You have to deal with the embarrassment of people mentioning it and calling everyone else's attention to your face. And this attention is what usually leads you to find a way to hide it or fix it or hopefully make it go away.
So let's discuss how best to hide it. This may be the quickest fix and unfortunately the least lasting solution. You don't care what has caused the redness; you just want it not to be so noticeable. In this case go for the green tinted creams. The green tint in the creams will neutralize the redness. You will need to gently blend it in to your skin. Apply only a little and then add more as necessary to reach an acceptable level of coverage. Be aware that this solution will cover up mild redness but doesn't work as well on moderate or severe redness. Make sure to cleanse your skin thoroughly and again gently to remove all the cream to avoid getting clogged pores as the clogged pores and resulting acne pimples will cause more facial redness. This solution works best if you are experienced at blending and applying makeup and works in a similar method.
Trying to fix your rosacea is a bit more complex. There are many prescription and over the counter options available for treating rosacea symptoms. These options are as varied as each individual's rosacea symptoms. How effective they are is also as varied as each individual's rosacea symptoms. No two skin reactions are alike, and no two people will get exactly the same results. So much depends on the condition of your skin, what you've been using currently or in the past. How sensitive your skin has become to cleansers, moisturizers and various treatments and most importantly was the product you are using chosen to treat your symptoms or did someone say, 'hey this worked for me' so without looking at what the product does and what it treats, you jump right in and give it a try. If your friend was trying to treat facial redness associated with pimples and you're trying to address facial redness from harsh cleansers and anti-wrinkle creams, then their solution will not work for you.When you've reached this point and you are ready for the long term solution to control and manage your symptoms of rosacea so that you don't have to experiment with the 'quick fix' that is often anything but that, then you are ready to balance expectations with reality. Take the time to learn why your skin is red and how can you prevent this from happening. The best way to accomplish this is to let your skin rest, recover and calm down from all the stuff you have already tried. Many of the treatment options available can actually further irritate the skin.
The answer is to allow the skin to heal. Use only a mild cleanser that contains no chemicals, deodorants or perfumes. A possible option would be Dove unscented soap or the clear Neutrogena dry skin cleansing bar. Instead of creams and lotions, apply jojoba oil - a wax plant ester well known to be most similar to the oil our skin produces naturally. Whether you have oily skin or dry skin, still use the oil. If your skin is oily, adding a drop or two of oil will help balance the skin and adjust the natural oil production of your skin. If you have dry skin, use two to three drops of oil, gently blend and adjust the amount so that it is easily absorbed into the skin. Jojoba oil has natural antibacterial and healing properties which is why it is such a good choice to use.
The skin is very much affected by the level of moisture in our body. If we are dehydrated, our skin is prone to wrinkles, clogged pores and small cracks and fissures in the skin that can lead to infection. If you wet the back of your hand, the skin will instantly feel smoother and look smoother, but the look only lasts until the skin surface dries, so the solution is to hydrate from within. This is a very inexpensive way to heal the skin and reduce redness. DRINK WATER. But how much, well obviously more than you are now. Starts by doubling what you are drinking now and again adjust based on what your skin needs and you will see this by how your skin reacts over the next 7 to 10 days.
The foods we eat also play a role in facial redness and our skin looks. We are truly what we eat. Again a no cost solution to your rosacea symptoms can be accomplished by choosing foods that will help your achieve an alkaline balance in your diet. To know what foods to eat and what to avoid, you may find the Rosacea Diet Chart helpful. The goal is to balance foods of a more acidic nature with foods that are more alkaline in nature. This is another rosacea solution that can produce results in less than two weeks.
The choice is yours, your level of commitment results in your level of rosacea healing.