Rosacea is a complicated beast: we’re still not sure what causes it, there’s still no cure, and everyone has different triggers. There are so many people out there willing to sell you courses or products to ‘heal’ or ‘cure’ your skin condition, but I wanted to go back to basics. I’ve put together an edit of 6 quick, easy and mostly free things that you can do today to help your rosacea.
If you consider yourself a rosacea expert, have lived with it for years, and have done lots of research, these tips will not be a surprise to you. Please don’t message me your ‘tHeSe ArE sO oBvIoUs’ nonsense. Because I get a lot of questions from people who are at the very beginning of their journey and feel completely lost. They read pages of information, see endless lists of triggers, and it can be really overwhelming. Alternatively there are people who have spent so long looking at the minutiae of their day-to-day, small triggers that they don’t even think about the bigger things.
So I wanted to share some tips for small changes you can make to your everyday life that may help your rosacea symptoms. All of these are easy and most are free (or are changes that won’t cost you more, e.g. swapping like-for-like products). Feel free to put your small changes in the comments below so that we can all learn from each other.
SHOWER TEMPERATURE
I would describe my showers as ‘vaguely warm’. No it’s not fun, yes in the winter it feels like torture, but my skin is so much calmer when I turn the heat down. Hot water is terrible for your skin regardless of whether you have rosacea (it’s drying and can cause sensitivity and broken veins), plus colder water is better for your hair. The pros outweigh the cons in my opinion!
WASHING DETERGENTS
I’ve written about this topic in more depth HERE, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t consider their washing detergents when they try to pinpoint what’s irritating their skin. The towel you use to dry your skin, the bedding your skin is pressed against overnight (more on that below), the scarf you wrap around your face when it’s cold… if you’re using highly fragranced products they will irritate your face.
HAIR PRODUCTS
We take so much care to select skincare products that are gentle on our skin, but many people I speak to don’t take the same care with their haircare. I try to choose products with no fragrance, no SLS, and no silicone, like this one*.
HEATED HAIR TOOLS
Extremes of temperature are one of the most common triggers for rosacea so it makes sense to avoid or cut down your use of heated hair tools. Where possible I let my hair air dry (which takes ages due to its length!) and I rarely use hair straighteners these days. If you have to use tools I’d try to keep the temperature as low as possible – the cool shot feature on hairdryers means it takes longer but it’s better for your skin (and hair!)
GO HANDS-FREE
Have you ever felt how warm your phone gets when you’ve been using it for a while? Do you really want that heat right up against your face? No thank you. If you can, I would recommend using hands-free for every phone call.
SUN EXPOSURE
This is such an obvious one that most of you will know but it’s also one of the most important. The sun is not only one of the biggest rosacea triggers, but it is also the number one cause of skin cancer, as well as the biggest contributor to signs of ageing. Everyone should be wearing SPF any time you are outside in daylight – no matter your age, geographical location, race, skin type… you need it. Also, the sun’s rays can still reach you through glass (so you need to think about car and plane rides and also the windows near your desk at work) and cloud, so don’t assume that you’re safe just because you’re not in direct sunlight. THIS* my go-to sunscreen.
Were any of these surprising? What would be your quick wins? Let me know in the comments below!
LOOKING FOR NEXT STEPS?
- Follow me on INSTAGRAM for lots of rosacea updates.
- Get more information on rosacea and my journey so far in my ROSACEA FAQ POST.
- Join my private rosacea FACEBOOK GROUP.
- And – exciting news! – I’ve just launched some digital downloads to help you get to grips with your rosacea: grab the Rosacea Trigger Checklist and the Rosacea Flare Up Diary.
Lex
== SAVE THIS IMAGE ON PINTEREST TO READ LATER ==
Wow, you’re the first person who has ever commented on getting a skin reaction from a warm phone. I’ve been using the phone hands-free for years, so forgot about it until I read this post. I was just diagnosed yesterday, and I’m over 60 y.o.! I’ve worn concealer and foundation on my face for so long (because redness) that no doctor has ever really seen me without it before. I left it off yesterday in a rare moment of “the hell with it.” And it was my eye doc who identified it, because I was having an eye problem — and he knows that this type of eye inflammation often occurs with rosacea. Mind blown.
Anyway, great post, thanks, I’m just starting to seek advice outside of eye care. Tepid shower water? Ugh, but I get it.