Rosacea...
causes and
treatment options

There have been a variety of research articles and experimental results which would indicate a problem/solution approach to rosacea. That is to say they demonstrate that if A + B are put to the task, rosacea will go away.

However, results vary. Alas, results do vary.

When most skin practitioners first observe a “rosacea case” the first and most valid observation is that there is more here than meets the eye. The rosacea problem is the visible evidence of a skin imbalance, whose dominant characteristic is that it seems to over-react to any topical approach.

It is our take, at 302 Skincare, that rosacea may manifest many different symptoms and exhibit a variety of infestations (pathologies) but the fundamental problem is not in the microscopic structure of skin tissue. To address the irritated skin as an isolated zone, a kind of Fallujah of the body whole, is to invite re-occurrence.

As in the case of skin rejuvenation and hyper-pigmentation, we advocate that you must again examine your whole lifestyle  – the whole person, if you are to extinguish the rosacea tendency.

It will be necessary to intervene in rosacea by acting first to stop all topical products that have been used. No moisturizers, no magic natural based lotions, no calming creams. And no sunscreens and only light loose powder makeup. We realize this flies in the face of many skin practitioners' ideas of how to treat rosacea. The desire to do something right now is at the root of this impulse to provide a lot of products and it is totally understandable but it is 100% wrong.

There are only a small variety of very neutral, very mild cleansers you can use for rosacea.   The 302 Face & Body Bar in combination with the 302 Sensitive/Rosacea Cleanser (used together) are the perfect cleansers for the rosacea sufferer.

The 302 compounds found in the cleansers have a natural anti-fungal, anti-bacterial component and will immediately boost the skin’s defenses.

Daily use of any one facial cleansing product should be avoided,however.  Other mild cleansers should be obtained locally.  Read the label to ensure that they are "acid-free."  These  cleansers should be rotated daily. The name of the game is to give the skin nothing consistent. In almost all cases of rosacea we see the MOST common denominator is topical addiction. That is, the skin has become addicted to topical products, usually acids.

These must be immediately discontinued. This may set off several days of even more itching and redness as the skin, like any addict, craves its drug. The use of several different cleansers (and they must be different than what you have used previously) will help to calm the drug withdrawal symptoms.

The skin must find its own baseline, absent any topical product other than cleansers. These cleansers by the way should be used ONLY AS NEEDED and not as a matter of habit. A once a day cleansing prior to sleep is best – no more. Clean bedding is essential, use mild Woolite® type detergents to clean bedding. Recall that in many rosacea cases, the skin will over-react even to water. It is vital that the skin be left alone as much as possible during this intervention period – which will last from a week to as long as 10 days or more in severe cases.

The nutritional aspects of rosacea have long been suspected and acted upon. This should be your first area of inquiry. What are you eating and what are you drinking? You will often find a preference for acidic and tannic foods and drinks – too many fruits and veggies can induce a mild inflammation which topical addiction can quickly turn into a full blown rosacea case. Often, wine and other alcoholic beverages will aggravate the condition.

As you see, it is not a “case” but an imbalance in nutrition and an excess of topicals that are at the root cause. You must begin a balanced approach. You must begin a nutritional regime that removes acids and tannins and reduces all uptake of super-nutrition foods and supplements. Many times, rosacea patients use many supplements and have unusual dietary programs. If you are doing this it must be corrected. You have swung the pendulum too far in one direction, and now must go back, not to another extreme, but to the middle.

The joker in the deck, for some sufferers, is the idiosyncratic response to certain foods that ordinarily would not affect most persons, or even the rosacea sufferer himself, but have recently become sources of sensitization. Careful review of the diet will usually find one or more suspect foods or drinks. In other words, it does not have to be an especially imbalanced diet, or one that seems unusual, that can aggravate the condition.

For example, green tea, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, yogurt to name just a few, all have their benefits but, when taken to excess, the powerful compounds in these substances can stand the benefits on their head and a great deal of sensitization occurs.

And what is excess? It all depends on the person. A careful dietary inventory should bring a few clues to the spotlight. This is detective work.

The onset of the rosacea will be your first clue. When this occurred and if this is the first instance is very instructive. If it is a first instance, you can usually trace the onset to a combination of topical products and dietary or medical stress. What often occurs is that the topical product induced an addictive response, which became rosacea and in turn, a wrong headed nutrition or poor nutrition choices aggravated this further. Add in a touch of acne, some antibiotics, a yeast infection and you have a spaghetti plate of problems on the face.

If it is a re-occurring problem, then find the common denominators. Very often a medication is at fault. Medication can be at fault in first case problems also. See what can be done in altering the dose level or finding a suitable alternative medication. Medications which thin the skin include pain relievers, antihistamines and anti-inflammatory drugs. All of these will weaken the skin.

If you have had no problems with topical products, have no real dietary red flags and you cannot see a pattern of substance abuse, then you may have a simple medication problem. In the spring and summer, this is often a result of using very strong antihistamines for allergies.

Still the rules apply.  To properly treat the Rosacea, you must stop all topicals and resort to a select few cleansers, choose your diet carefully - and do your best to find better medication choices.

When these causal factors are eliminated, the skin often will correct itself quite rapidly, though remain forever susceptible to imbalance.

The consistent use of 302 products generally will reduce the tendency toward rosacea very markedly in people who have re-occurring bouts with it. The products most helpful will be 302 Face & Body Bar and 302 Sensitive/Rosacea Cleanser as well as 302 Drops. These will build up the skin and its defenses. Use three times per week (every other day).

Only after you come out of the intervention period, should you introduce the 302 Drops. This will immediately begin protein deposition where it is needed most – in the epidermis – without inflammation as you might find if you choose a retinoid (retinol, retinaldehyde).

The use of topical vitamin C can be helpful. The difficulty is to find a topical vitamin C that does not also contain acids. This combination is all wrong for rosacea. 302 C Boost may be introduced on a twice a week basis (say Tuesday and Thursday).

Procedures to calm rosacea vary.  Techniques are available such as cool compresses and simple aspirin.

The problem, however, is at source, one of imbalance. Address the imbalance and you eliminate the source.

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