Redness, irritation, and skin sensitivities are part and parcel of rosacea. Anything that exacerbates inflammation in the skin will cause more problems. Gentle cleansers, a soothing toner with anti-irritants, plus application of antioxidants, skin-identical ingredients, and cell-communicating ingredients in a lightweight base at night, and a sunscreen during the day are the basics.
The National Rosacea Society (www. rosacea. org) surveyed 1,000 of its members who identified alcohol, witch hazel, fragrance, menthol, peppermint, and eucalyptus as contributing to flare-ups. It isn’t always easy to identify those substances on a label when they are listed under their chemical or Latin names, as the FDA requires for ingredient labels. Moreover, there are many fragrant components and lots of other potentially irritating skin – care ingredients in many products. Even if you’ve been diligent in checking your products, you can still run into problems because it is often hard to determine what is causing your own specific flare-ups. Yet as difficult as it is to pinpoint exactly what ingredients may trigger rosacea, the ones listed in Chapter Six, Skin’s Enemy: Irritation and Inflammation, as being problematic for irritation give you a good idea about what to avoid. Keep in mind that not everyone responds the same way to any of these ingredients. But avoiding these as much as possible will, at the very least, start you in the right direction to reduce the redness and dry flaky skin. (Sources: Cosmetic Dermatology, July 2008, pages 383-386; Dermatologic Therapy, 2004, volume 17, pages S26-S34; and Cutis, December 2001, pages S12-S19.)