How to Treat Rosacea
IS IT ROSACEA OR ACNE?
Your face flushes easily and stays that way for hours after drinking alcohol, eating spicy foods, or working out. You have small pimples that don’t totally clear up. Your mom or dad has similar symptoms.
1. Chill Out - Literally
Heat and UV rays plus rosacea equals a red-hot mess. Stick to the shade when outside, and apply a mineral SPF (30 at least) made with zinc oxide, “a proven anti-inflammatory,” says Leslie Baumann, MD, a dermatologist in Miami. Exercise in a cool room (no Bikram!), and after, spray on a soothing facial mist.
SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen Crème HAMPTON SUN, $52
Cucumbers Cooling Hydrating Mist YES TO, $11
2. Treat With Care
Ingredients like sulfates and acids and exfoliators with rough shells or beads can aggravate rosacea, so your wash should be free of them. For bumps, swap the usual acne-zapping ingredients (salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide) for gentler sulfur.
Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanse LA ROCHE-POSAY, $15
EradiKate Acne Treatment KATE SOMERVILLE, $26
3. Heal the Barrier
“With rosacea, the skin’s outer layer is usually impaired, leaving it vulnerable to irritants,” says derm Elizabeth Tanzi, MD. Rub on a ceramide-rich cream twice a day to repair it and a calming serum with vitamin E and ferulic acid nightly. Flaring up often? A new FDA-approved prescription topical can nix redness for up to 12 hours by constricting vessels.
Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 SKINCEUTICALS, $127
Advanced Génifique Sensitive Antioxidant Serum LANCÔME, $85
RHOFADE (prices vary depending on your insurance provider)
4. Rethink Your Drink
Assume red wine makes you redder? A new study says white is worse! While all booze can up your risk of developing rosacea, drinking one to three glasses of white wine per month increases your chances by 14 percent, while five or more glasses per week elevates that number to 49 percent.
This article was originally published as "Confessions" in the August 2017 issue of Cosmopolitan. Click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
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