Rosacea - How to Treat and Manage Symptoms

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that primarily affects the central face, characterised by various rosacea symptoms such as facial redness and visible blood vessels. It affects both men and women, although research shows that its more common in women. Here’s a comprehensive overview of rosacea, its symptoms, causes, and treatment options.

What Causes Rosacea?

The cause of Rosacea is actually a bit of a mystery! It can be a genetic condition, but as it's an inflammatory skin condition, it's likely to be down to inflammation and imbalance internally. This is why so many people that have rosacea experience flare ups - rather than have the condition in the same state constantly. Flare ups can last days, weeks or much longer depending on the root cause. Rosacea can be tricky to diagnose as the symptoms and triggers differ quite considerably. And whilst its thought that 1 in 10 people in the UK have rosacea, the real figures are likely to be higher - as so many people that have this inflammatory skin condition, don't seek professional help for it.

Some Common Triggers

Whilst not much is known about the causes of rosacea, there is much more known about factors that can trigger it. Now this in itself can be tricky as these will differ from person to person. It is really helpful to know what your triggers are if you have rosacea, so that you can avoid/manage them. Here are some common triggers:-

• Sun exposure

• Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold

• Wind, especially cold

• Spicy food

• Alcohol, especially red wine

• Stress

• Lack of sleep

• Food intolerances/allergies

• Medications/medical conditions

• Hormones

• Intense exercise

  
  

  

  
  

What are the signs of Rosacea?

The main symptoms of rosacea include:

• Facial redness and flushing, particularly on the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead

• Visible blood vessels on the face

• Acne-like breakouts with small red bumps or pus-filled pimples

• Burning or stinging sensation on the skin

• Dry, irritated eyes (ocular rosacea)

• Thickened skin, especially on the nose (rhinophyma)

• Persistent redness that does not subside

  
  

Individuals with sensitive skin may experience heightened reactions to skincare products and environmental factors. Rosacea can manifest differently on brown or black skin, making symptoms like flushing less visible and harder to diagnose.

Symptoms may flare up for weeks or months and then subside for a period of time. The severity can range from mild to severe.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Our skin specialists will conduct a thorough consultations and talk to you about the symptoms you have and what exacerbates them. They will the use our advanced Observ skin analyser to look at the vascularity within the deeper layers of the skin. There is no cure for Rosacea, but various treatments can help control symptoms.

It is crucial to treat rosacea promptly to manage symptoms effectively to prevent the condition from worsening.

What Is The Best Treatment For Rosacea?

Using gentle skincare products at home to maintain progress is key.

A combination of regular in clinic targeted skin peels and a gentle skincare routine will help to reduce inflammation and flare-ups. Rosacea is a lifelong condition, and although you may not be able to get rid of it entirely, we can help you control rosacea.

Skincare Routine and Self-Care

• Use a gentle, non-irritating skin care routine with products specifically designed for sensitive skin.

• Apply sunscreen daily with SPF 30 or higher

• Avoid known triggers like spicy foods or alcohol

• Use artificial tears for dry eyes associated with ocular rosacea

• Dermalux Triwave MD Near Infrared Light Therapy

• Microneedling with Exosomes

• Targeted in clinic medical peels

Our skin specialists can recommend a gentle medical grade skincare regime for you.

At SO Aesthetics we use Enerpeel MA by SkinMed which has been specially designed to treat individuals with Rosacea.

Why is Enerpeel® MA different?

All other Mandelic peels sit on the surface and gently exfoliate the skin. As this is an alpha hydroxy peel, it does not penetrate lipid layers and lipid cell walls. SkinMed utilises EnerPeel® carrier molecules to transport an inactive form of mandelic acid into the skin. These mandelate molecules are then released by the carrier molecules and convert to mandelic acid within the skin and not on the surface.

Due to Enerpeel’s ground-breaking technology including the Tebitech Science – Enerpeel® MA is the best-supporting peel and is licensed and even prescribable privately for treating vascular rosacea. It delivers inactive mandelate into the dermis, which then converts to mandelic acid which supports vascular integrity assisting partially visible capillaries to contract thereby improving the thread veins seen with vascular rosacea.

Meanwhile, the EnerPeels multiphasic carriers delivers MSM into all layers of the skin reducing the activity of VEGF (vaso endothelial growth factor) preventing excessive production of new capillaries caused in rosacea patients as they become hyper sensitive to VEGF if left unchecked this would exacerbate that veiny look. 

MSM also suppresses various skin molecules which cause erythema. Molecules such as VEGF, IL-1 alpha, TNF 1 alpha and numerous free radicals which are all part of the inflammatory cascade triggered by multiple causes in reactive skin leading to blushes and causing damage to skin structures.

Rosacea and Sunscreen

You didn't think we would write a blog on anything skincare related and not include our number one piece of skincare advice did you?

It is SO important to protect your skin from UV rays if you have rosacea as your skin barrier is already so therefore it is at greater risk of damage from harmful UV rays.

We recommend Obagi Sun Shields as they are broad spectrum and SPF 50

Living with Rosacea

While rosacea can be challenging to manage, most people can control their symptoms with proper treatment and lifestyle adjustments. Managing skin redness through lifestyle adjustments and medical treatments is crucial for maintaining healthy skin. It’s important to work closely with an experience clinic to find the most effective treatment plan. Remember that rosacea is a common condition affecting millions of people worldwide. With proper care and management, most individuals with rosacea can maintain healthy skin and lead normal, active lives.

To book a consultation with one of our skin specialists or to find out more about any of the treatments mentioned in this blog, give us a call on 01905 969798 or drop us an email info@soaesthetics.co.uk