More common than you'd expect, rosacea is often misdiagnosed and mistreated as acne which only worsens the condition.
There are 4 subtypes of rosacea and in general it impacts women more than men. It has a huge genetic component and is related to autoimmune issues but rosacea is still a bit of a mystery in the medical community.
What we do know:
People with rosacea have skin which feels warmer to the touch, has a higher degree of demodex mites (which can cause rashes and itching) and higher skin pH (signs include dryness, inflammation, redness). The skin has a blanket redness rather than spots of redness.
Rosacea skin also have some faulty skin functions which result in abnormal oil (the oil isn't as healthy and protective as normal oil, aka sebum). The skin cells also have an altered immune function and tends to be over-reactive. Sun usually bothers the skin more. A deficiency in the skin also results in too little long chain fatty acids - this means the skin is chronically dry.
Another big issue with rosacea skins are increased VEGF levels (vascular endothelial growth factors). The high level of this creates an excess of capillaries, hot flushes in the skin, increased swelling/edema especially in the cheeks and nose and a flooding of the capillaries due to too much inflammation and blood flow resulting in broken capillaries.
The most common type of rosacea has papules - these look like pimples but do not have whiteheads, nor any pus if you try to extract them.
So what do you do?
Find your triggers - the things that irritate your skin's hyper-vigilant immune system. Common triggers are heat/temp changes, sun, hot water, steam, spicy food, alcohol, and exercise. These triggers activate inflammation in the skin because your skin's immune cells aren't normal.
The skin is not working properly. That's the bottom line. Care depends on the severity of rosacea and if the skin is in a flare up or not.
We do have a collection of rosacea care products. Again, they depend on how your skin is functioning.
Severely dry and/or papules? Ruby Crystal Cleanser
Skin that hurts (like nerve pain)? Hibiscus Cleanser
Generally under control? Soothing Cleansing Oil
Serums and moisturizers? Here it gets a little more tricky so, reach out and we can guide you.