Rosacea: What is it and how can you treat it?

Rosacea can often look like other conditions – what are its specific symptoms?

“Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory condition characterised by redness and increased vascularity, typically of the nose, cheeks and sometimes the chin in its first stages. Patients may experience an increase in flushing, burning sensations and facial discomfort. 

“Its next level is the inflammatory phase, where patients have inflammatory papules (red bumps) and pustules (pus-filled lesions), which can be uncomfortable and unsightly. It can also involve textural changes and increased thickness of the skin, particularly of the nose, chin and forehead.”

Is there a known cause of rosacea? Who is more prone to it? 

“The simple answer is no. Rosacea is caused by a combination of factors: genetics – there’s often a strong family history of the condition –  and an increased inflammatory response. Environmental factors can antagonise the condition as well, including stress, skincare products, and certain foods. Usually, spicy foods, hot drinks, and alcohol are the main culprits.

“However, it’s important to understand that certain foods don’t cause rosacea; they can just trigger the flushing flares. With rosacea, the skin experiences vasodilation, a widening of the blood vessels, which will make somebody’s face very red. We really see that tendency increase with the consumption of alcohol, spicy foods and hot drinks because of their effect on the vasculature of the face.

“Genetics and our ancestry have a large role to play, but you can see rosacea across lots of different ethnicities. Typically, though, it’s more prevalent with type one or two skin (fair skin) and those with more of a tendency to burn. Women are more likely to have rosacea than men, and the onset of that disease is typically in your 30s or 40s.” 

What skincare regimen and ingredients do you recommend? 

“Rosacea doesn’t always necessarily look dry, but the molecular makeup of the barrier is very disrupted, almost like you’d see in eczema. So one of the key things that can really improve someone’s skin and the sensitivity of the skin is having a really good skincare regimen. Simple is everything!” 

Step 1 – Cleanser: Start with a gentle, cream-based cleanser like the Derm Solutions Comforting Cream Cleanser morning and evening. Don’t use any product that contains glycolic or salicylic acid because it’ll strip the skin’s barrier back again. 

Step 2 – Serum: After cleansing, applying a daily serum is a great way to ensure your skin gets the restorative ingredients it needs. Formulated with an anti-oxidant complex and a powerful blend of green tea, vitamin C and vitamin E, the No7 Derm Solutions Skin Balancing Serum helps improve the appearance of uneven skin tone, oiliness and uneven texture and pores.

Step 3 – Moisturiser: For moisturisers, choose ingredients that will help support the skin barrier. Ceramides are key; hyaluronic acid is a great rehydrating ingredient that really helps my patients with dryness; and then niacinamide helps soothe skin too. 

Some of my patients have rosacea and hormonal blemish-prone skin, which means their skin appears red and oily. To help with these visible signs, I’d recommend a lightweight moisturiser like the Derm Solutions Lightweight Hydrating Lotion. For those with dry skin – I often see the overlap of rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis (that’s a fancy word for a type of dandruff) and scaling of the skin – I’d recommend a heavier option like Derm Solutions 100-Hour Hydration Cream.

Step 4 – Treatment: For targeted treatments, I recommend ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and aloe (which help hydrate and soothe skin), and lipids (i.e. squalane, glycerol derivatives) which can help strengthen the skin barrier – all of these ingredients are in the Derm Solutions Rosacea Treatment.

Step 5 – SPF: The other really important thing is to apply physical sunblock every single day. I can’t emphasize that enough!