My sensitive skin with rosacea routine (hope this helps you!!!!!)

[Coff3e]

     Hello all!  After a long, LONG time of trying lots of products and gnashing my teeth, I have finally hit upon a routine that has helped my sensitive skin.  I also have rosacea.  I thought I would share my routine in hopes that it may help someone out there that is struggling to find a routine.  I do want to say that although this has worked for me, it may not work for everyone.  Look at the ingredients in each of the products and check it out for any known triggers that you may have.  That being said, let's begin!

  It took me forever to find a cleanser that would work with my skin.  I sometimes get pimples, but usually nothing major.  Creams wouldn't clean my skin enough, while products with various types of acids and peroxides either left me with more bumps or irritated my skin something fierce.  I needed something to help with occasional acne flare-ups without antagonizing my skin.  The cleanser that finally worked for me is the Boscia Clear Complexion Cleanser.  It kept the bumps at bay and took my makeup off very well.  My skin tends to be on the dry side and this made my skin a bit thirsty for a moisturizer.  So, off I went to find a moisturizer. 

     Arrgh, the struggle was REAL.  Almost every single moisturizer either had ingredients that, while great for most people, broke me out or severely irritated my skin.  I tried so many things and was really becoming disheartened.  I was discussing this with my mother when she mentioned that, years ago, my grandmother had purchased some squalane oil that a doctor had recommended. The doctor said it was great for moisturizing skin and preventing wrinkles.  My mother said that it was the best moisturizer she had ever used.  So off I went to research this oil.  Turns out, there are two different types.  One is squalane, which is derived from various types of plants.  The other is squalene, which is derived from shark liver (EW!).  The way I have trained myself to quickly recognize the plant-based squalane is to look for the 'a's.  The gross one has an 'e'.  I finally found what looked to be a great product:  Biossance 100% squalane oil.  No other ingredients whatsoever.  However, it was $58.  Quite a bit to spend on something that I didn't know would work for me or not.  However, I saw that it had EXCELLENT ratings on Sephora, so that made me feel better.  I bought a sample pack of Biossance products on Sephora.com.  I eagerly awaited it and, when it came in two days later, couldn't wait for evening to try it out.  I washed my face and put around four small drops of the oil on my fingers and patted it on my face, hoping that this would be it.  OH.  MY.  WORD.  This stuff is AMAZING.  My face felt SO wonderful.  It reminded me of when I was a teenager and had plenty of naturally youthful moisturized skin.  It felt just like that!  Which, being in my late 30's, made me almost giddy with excitement.  I am sold on this stuff.  As a side note, I also have eczema on my hands.  I rub some of this on my hands along with some eczema lotion at night.  It has helped my eczema so much!  Bonus perk!  But, I still hadn't addressed the other skin problem that I had:  rosacea.

     When I was diagnosed with rosacea, the dermatologist gave me a sample of azelaic acid foam.  It was amazing.  It made my skin burn and itch, but by golly, it evaporated that rosacea!  Then came the time to buy the prescription from the pharmacy.  I looked up the price.  $355?!?!?!?!?  What the heck?!?!?  I couldn't afford that!  I set out to find something that was much more affordable.  I tried several products that claimed to be great for rosacea, but irritated my face further.  I eventually thought of some sulfur lotion that I used when I was younger.  I looked it up and saw that, lo and behold, it was also one of the methods of treating rosacea!  I began to look for products with sulfur.  I one that I discovered worked absolute WONDERS for me was the Sunday Riley Saturn face mask.  It is a bit pricey at $55.  It also contains tea tree oil.  The thing about this is that it can be used so many different ways.  It can be a mask that you leave on for 20 minutes or overnight.  It can be a spot treatment for acne.  I do want to say that it does have a sulfur/tea tree oil smell to it.  It doesn't bother me at all, but it may others.  I found that the best way for me to use it is to put a good bit of squalane oil on and let it soak in first.  Next, I rub on a very thin layer of the mask on (almost like I would apply a thin layer of makeup) and leave it on overnight.  Now, this stuff is STRONG and it will dry your face out!  I remember the dermatologist that prescribed sulfur for me in the first place said that it would probably dry my face out at the beginning but that my face would eventually get used to it.  I have found this to also be true with this mask.  At first, I put way too much on and didn't use any moisturizer with it.  The next day I looked like I had a sunburn.   I would suggest not going all-out with this stuff at first.  Give your skin a chance to get used to it.  It has really been helping my rosacea.  It isn't an instant cure, it's more of a cumulative thing.  Over time I have seen a huge improvement in my rosacea.  It is almost gone.  I am so happy!!!

     My skin looks better than it has in years.  At long last, I have finally found products that actually help my face instead of contributing to the problem.  I wanted to share this in hope that it could help someone that has been struggling with the same issues.  My hope is that it helps you too!  Thank you for sticking around to read my 'novel', and good luck to you all!

[playingdressup]

It's great you've done such thorough research and found what works for you! It can be really hard with sensitive skin and rosacea. I love oil for face and body, but have yet to try squalane. It sounds nice. I'll be on the lookout for a sample of it!

[TheMonsterBunny]

Sounds like you went through quite the journey to find what works for you. I’m happy you found light at the end of the tunnel! What has your dermatologist said in regards to your new routine?