Rosacea is a bit like an angry, moody teenager. It can stay in hiding when it wants to and flare up at the slightest provocation.

What causes it? Finding out your triggers can be a project in itself. For some people, rosacea strikes when eating hot, spicy foods. For others, it’s a hot drink that does it, or alcohol, the sun, the wind, extreme temperatures, strong emotions, and even exercise. The list goes on. While a breakout isn’t necessarily extremely painful, it can hurt and it can take a strong emotional toll.

What Is It?

Rosacea is defined by the Canadian Dermatology Association as “a chronic skin inflammatory condition” that most readily affects the central area of the face. It targets over 3 million Canadians each year, and even more Americans, with multiple manifestations.

For those who suffer from it, inflammation can appear on the chin, cheeks, nose, forehead and even the eyes. It may give your skin a rough appearance with enlarged blood vessels. It can make it look bumpy, red, thick, swollen and uneven.

It’s key to know that rosacea doesn’t go away on its own. And since each case of the condition can be distinct, what doesn’t work for one person might be the road to success for another.

Traditional Treatments

If you don’t mind being on medication, at the outset your doctor might prescribe antibiotics to treat your inflammation. Tetracycline, minocycline and doxycycline are all used to treat rosacea, with topical creams being used to treat mild cases and oral pills to tackle more severe breakouts. 

It’s also possible that a solution may lie in laser treatments. This therapy is ongoing. It requires multiple consistent visits to a treatment office and uses light to reduce the tissue overgrowth associated with rosacea through lasers that target the visible red blood vessels in the face. As a dermatological solution, laser treatment is something that’s often used after doctors have tried other avenues without success.

Natural Solutions

What if none of this works? For some people, it’s true that the traditional routes don’t reap results. (Or, maybe one does but there’s a drawback, such as being on medication long term).

Iremia’s products, like The Soothing Lotion, contain ingredients such as shea butter, Manuka honey, calendula and African mahogany tree bark - all elements that can calm inflamed skin. When applied as part of a regular facial routine, they have been found to help reduce redness caused by rosacea, in some cases.

As for strengthening, the award-winning Restorative Facial Oil in our line treats skin with a blend of 11 natural oils. By using it regularly, you could help your face better endure your next flare-up. 

Your rosacea may be here to stay for a while, but there are treatment options to help. In the meantime, it is important to remember that beauty comes from within. Your skin and whatever condition it is going through does not define who you are as a person. 

Other Lifestyle Considerations

Don't take hot showers. As much as we love to melt our stress with a nice long hot shower, it can increase the blood flow to your face, creating more redness. It can also lead to more dryness. Keep showers warm and short, and immediately moisturize with our Soothing Lotion. You can follow with the Protective Cream for intense hydration and lock everything in with our Restorative Facial Oil, giving your skin deep nutrition with a balance of fatty acids and vitamins.

Use a humidifier. Increasing the humidity will help prevent your skin from losing water and drying out, making it prone to redness. We love placing one next to our bedside table and leaving it on at night.  

Mind your gut health and drink your greens. With a direct connection between your skin's health and your gut health, it's important to fill your diet with eating the right foods. Fill your diet with healthy fats and veggies while avoiding refined sugar and processed foods. Take a look at our 5 smoothies to reduce inflammation as well as our daily green drink for glowing skin!

Suffering from extreme dryness? To learn more about products that treat dry skin and how you can protect yours without the feeling of residue and chemical build-up, click here.

Let us know if you try any of the above tips and how it worked for you!