Natural Rosacea Treatment

Any skin condition that affects the face can cause a lot of distress and rosacea is one of those skin conditions. The first signs of rosacea are flushed skin, but the condition can quickly worsen as the blood vessels in the skin becoming visible. It can even cause permanent redness and spots. It’s hard to diagnose and hard to treat, but natural rosacea treatments can reduce its impact on you and your life. Here’s how to take a natural approach to rosacea.

What is rosacea?

Rosacea is a persistent redness of the face. The redness of your face is often accompanied by a rash and spots that can look like acne. In most cases, it develops on the face but can appear anywhere. As well as redness, it can cause a burning sensation, spots and make the blood vessels in the face visible.

It’s a condition that comes and goes. There are periods when your face will be bad, and then it will get better.

Doctors can diagnose rosacea by looking at you. It’s worth getting seen by a medical professional as rosacea can in some cases, be related to more serious health conditions like lupus. There’s no known cure for rosacea, which means people with the condition need to find ways to live with it.

What causes Rosacea?

Medical professionals don’t know exactly what causes rosacea. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what causes rosacea. In most people, there are likely to be a number of causes.

Some known triggers of rosacea include:

• exposure to sunlight,
• stress,
• strenuous exercise,
• hot or cold weather,
• hot drinks,
• alcohol and caffeine,
• certain foods, such as spicy foods
• cinnamon and foods containing cinnamaldehyde 
• demodex, a microscopic mite that is a typical inhabitant of human facial skin
• reactions and side effects to certain medications.

Using skin care products with certain ingredients can also trigger rosacea. These ingredients include:

• Camphor.
• Fragrance.
• Glycolic acid.
• Lactic acid.
• Menthol.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (often found in shampoos and toothpaste)
• Urea.
• Preservatives 
• Emulsifiers

Rosacea is more common in women than in men, with reports suggesting three times as many women suffer from the condition.

Sadly, there’s no cure for rosacea. Some people find that antibiotics are effective for severe symptoms, but for many, making changes to their personal care routine, avoiding suspected triggers and embracing a more natural approach to life can work wonders for their skin and general wellbeing.

Here’s an overview of natural rosacea treatment.

Maintain a good skin barrier

A topically applied cream will never be the answer alone, but if it has great emollient qualities it will improve skin barrier function. We are absolutely convinced that natural plant oils are the best emollients because they contain the same fatty acids your skin would use, and our customer reviews seem to back that up. 

When you understand the workings of your skin, you will see that the outer layer of your epidermis (stratum corneum) is your first line of defence against pathogens and allergens from the outside world. If this defence is compromised, all sorts of nasties can infiltrate and cause inflammation of the skin.

The stratum corneum doesn’t just keep nasties out; it holds moisture in. When skin dries out, microscopic cracks can form in the stratum corneum. This can lead to even more moisture escaping and more cracks forming, creating a vicious circle. Dry skin and infiltration by allergens can then cause a flare-up. The resultant scratching can cause even more damage, accelerating a minor flare-up into a damaging downward spiral. 

We recommend using these plant oils as cleansers too, by way of the oil cleansing method, especially on the face and any particular problem areas of the body. They can replace soaps and detergents which strip the natural oils from your skin and damage the skin barrier.

Once you re-seal that lipid barrier moisture is sealed in. Drink plenty of water as it will be drawn through the dermis into the outer layer of the skin to keep it hydrated and healthy.

Sun Screen

Those with rosacea can benefit from wearing a mineral sunscreen with a high SPF. If you have rosacea, you should use sun cream every day, applied to all areas of the skin that come into contact with the sun, but especially the face. 

Skin irritants

Being kind and gentle to your skin is essential, use natural products. Learn more about common skin irritants on our dedicated page.

Improve your diet

Like many skin conditions, rosacea can be exacerbated or triggered by a poor diet. In a survey of more than 400 rosacea patients conducted by the National Rosacea Society , 78% said they had to alter their diet to avoid rosacea flare-ups. Incredibly, 95 percent of that group reported that this alone had helped reduce the occurrence of flare-ups.

The advice is reassuringly simple: eat a diet that’s rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables rich in iron and vitamins. You can read more about essential foods for healthy skin here .

To maintain a healthy skin through a better diet, natural eating expert Dr Axe recommends that you should avoid the following:

• Anything that causes allergies — If you have any food allergies or sensitivities that are going unnoticed, this can contribute to leaky gut syndrome , which kicks off autoimmune reactions. Common allergens include gluten, nuts, shellfish/seafood, dairy or eggs.

• Alcohol and caffeine — Coffee, other caffeinated drinks and alcohol seem to worsen some people’s rosacea symptoms, especially redness and flushing. The impact of alcohol and caffeine differs from person to person, but it’s worth seeing if your symptoms improve when you cut back on both.

• Sugar and processed foods — Sugar is known to worsen inflammation, increase oxidative stress, irritate the gut lining and aggravate skin disorders. Added sugar is found in a high percentage of processed, packaged foods, along with artificial sweeteners/ingredients, preservatives and texture stabilizers that can kick off allergic reactions.

• Conventional dairy products — Many people find that eliminating conventional cow’s dairy (including yoghurt, cheese, milk, ice cream, etc.) helps decrease skin-related symptoms.

• Fried foods, trans fats and hydrogenated oils — Refined vegetable oils that are high in omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. These include corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower and canola oils. Fried foods are also hard on the digestive system and can aggravate gut damage.

Probiotics

Probiotics are natural substances that support the growth of healthy bacteria in our bodies. They can be found in ‘live’ products like yoghurt, or in more concentrated forms in probiotic drinks and certain supplements. Lyonsleaf now sell a range of skin focussed supplements including probiotics.

Probiotics give the gut a welcome boost, providing a balance between healthy and unhealthy bacteria. They’re cheap and readily available, and definitely worth trying to see if they work for you.

Stress

Rosacea, like many skin conditions, can be triggered by stress.You can read about the relationship between stress and blood sugar here.

We know it’s difficult to eliminate stress from your life, but there are things you can do to manage it more effectively. Many people find that yoga, meditation or simple wellness programmes can give them a fresh perspective on their lives and the things that are causing them stress. Others may find that spending more time on hobbies, interests and activities reduces feelings of stress.

The relationship between stress and exercise is well known. Taking regular exercise can help to reduce your levels of stress, releasing endorphins into your body that make you feel better – and look better too.