April is National Rosacea month and, as a sufferer, I take a keen interest in understanding the underlying causes of rosacea what how it can be tamed. Over the years, I have found products and treatments that help keep my rosacea calm and, although I could never be said to have a porcelain complexion, there aren’t too many days when I see red. Here are some of the rosacea treatments that work for me.

If you are a rosacea sufferer, the first thing is to make sure you have a good gentle cleanser. One of the worst flare ups I have ever had was as a result of using Eve Lom’s cleanser (a pot of greasy gloop). Conversely, I found that my skin became considerably less inflamed when I switched to Tracy Martyn’s Amla cleanser. That was a few years ago and now I get on very happily with La Vie Celeste’s less expensive Mother of Pearl Cleanser ($40 in the TIA shop).

Potions that I tend to reach for to take down redness include:

Your Best Face Balance ($45 in the TIA shop). This formulated (at a most reasonable price, I must say) to control breakouts, calm irritation and regulate shine – all without drying out the skin at all.

Osmotics Blue Copper 5 Molecular Repair ($125 in the TIA shop). This is primarily an anti-aging seven-day treatment. Then Osmotics told me that it really helps rosacea (and Osmotics claims that its other Blue Copper products do too, although I haven’t personally tried them). So, following their recommendation, I used it with red LED light (see below) and found that it did take down redness. Just used to target rosacea ekes a much longer life out of these ampoules making them more economical.

Dr Haushka’s Rhythmic Conditioner for Sensitive Skin. These little ampoules include borage, which German researchers have shown can reduce redness. Used over time, the skin looks less red and broken capillaries diminish.

SenZen’s On The Matte. Although primarily billed as an oil control serum, it is a good anti-inflammatory that helps keep skin calm. Randy Sckreck, founder of SenZen recommended it after seeing a black and white picture of me (ouch).  Good for conventional breakouts as well as rosacea.

Red LED light is a great help against rosacea as well. LED light helps against in inflammation. And if you want the nerd’s explanation, it’s all about something called TNF-a. TNF-a (tumor necrosis factor) stimulates many of the cytokines and enzymes involved in the inflammatory process and in the tissue destruction caused by rosacea. Therefore, decreasing TNF-a levels should theoretically help. I have seen references to studies demonstrating that low-level light therapy (LED) reduces levels of TNF-a. I have also read that rosaceans have a reduced capacity to counter the negative effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increasing levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD). LED may increase levels of SOD.  Read more on the Sirius Aurora used with Osmotics Blue Copper.

So make a grab for your Sirius Aurora or Baby Quasar. And if you have your own favorite potion for sensitive skin, use it during your LED sessions.

Vitamin D may also help keep rosacea tamed and I take a daily vitamin D supplement by Suntegrity that is also brimming with antioxidants ($29 in the TIA shop). In 2007, Dr Richard Gallo of the University of California discovered that peptides known as cathelicidins and the proteolytic enzymes that activate cathelicidins in the skin are abnormal in patients with rosacea. And then a study in Belgium of all the research in the last couple of years has made a connection between the regulation of cathelicidins and vitamin D.