MENS ROSACEA: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW…

Rosacea is a skin condition that affects millions of people around the world. I think fair skinned people are more prone to rosacea than darker skin and there's no cure. It's quite a common issue that affects a lot of the people; famously Bill Clinton is a rosacea sufferer.

They’re still not sure why it occurs, we know our own triggers but we still don't know what is causing it. You can start developing rosacea symptoms when you're in your twenties, but it tends to get worse from age 50 or older.

Rosacea Symptoms include:

• Red patches
• Breakouts
• Acne
• Redness flare ups
• Thickness of the skin, especially around the nose
  
  

I started getting rosacea in my teenage years, break outs and acne made my skin a real mess. I put it down to hormones, diet and things like that. I thought I had really bad acne but that cleared up quite quickly and the redness persisted. I still had red patches on my cheeks and around the base of my nose.

I tried different types of Rosacea treatments, lotions and potions, and even had a laser treatment. I purchased this medicine online that wasn't prescribed and I almost burnt my face off. I applied it once, it was almost like putting fire on my face and I thought at the time ‘Oh great this is actually doing something.’ I think I only had it on for about 20 seconds and it was so painful that I had to wash it off. I was diagnosed with rosacea by my Dermatologist.

Nothing really worked that well in terms of topical rosacea treatments, but combining eating healthier and having a slightly better lifestyle it started to clear up. Each individual will have different triggers.

My Rosacea Triggers include:

• Spicy food
  
• Temperature change, especially dry and windy weather.
  
• Alcohol
  
• Caffeine
  By avoiding these things, I manage to control it.
  
  Also, a simple skin care routine has really helped to calm down my skin a lot. In the morning, I use Clinique’s Anti-Blemish cleanse and a toner. The toner smells quite alcoholic so the first time I tried it I wasn’t really sure but actually it did help. Followed by our cucumber moisturiser stick, HYDRATE IN A HURRY because it really calms and soothes my skin. That’s my final step.
  
  Watch Jake's simple evening skin care routine.

It took me years to find the right techniques and products to calm my Rosacea. Rosacea is quite different to acne scars, unfortunately acne and skin texture is more difficult to cover up. The redness from rosacea can be covered with a bit of BB cream or sheer to medium coverage products. Make sure you choose a product that has skincare benefits as well, because some colour products can be quite damaging to your skin.

Our LET'S FACE IT BB Tinted Moisturiser has SPF 25 so you can protect your skin while wearing it. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid which gives you 24-hour moisturisation so you're not damaging your skin further by wearing any products to cover redness.

The two main ones: the British Skin Foundation website, it's a great source of information and the American equivalent it's called National Rosacea Society, they have lots of information and tips.

Let me know below any advice or questions you have and I’ll try to my best answer them.

Jake x