You may have Rosacea and not even know it... Rosacea and Reactive Redness

According to PRNewswire -- More than 16 million Americans are estimated to be affected by rosacea, but most of them don't even know it.

What is Rosacea? According to The International Rosacea Society:

The symptoms of rosacea include facial redness and flushing, inflammatory papules and pustules which can occur and persist for weeks.

I remember when I was in Junior High, a boy I knew had Rosacea. His cheeks were always red and flushed and I thought it was cute. My roomate in college also had it, and again, I thought it was cute. She was always able to cover up the redness with make-up if she needed to, and it reminded me of permanent blush. I never once thought that I could have Rosacea myself. I never had the flushed cheeks...I just had redness on my face that never went away, and every time I had a pimple it left a red mark behind that would last for months, if not years. Finally, in my 30s I went to my dermatologist for a check up, and for the first time since I was in Junior High, they actually took a look at my facial skin. When the doctor was finished examining it she said to me "It looks like you have Reactive Redness, a mild form of Rosacea." What??? So, was this the reason my skin never healed quickly and was always red when it was touched? It didn't seem like Rosacea to me, at least the Rosacea I was familiar with. Well, I went home and did some research online, and lo and behold, having red skin that never goes away, broken capillaries on my face, and itching is not normal (as I thought) and is, as my dermatologist mentioned, Reactive Redness.

When I arrived home, I looked up some of the ingredients that can irritate Rosacea or Reactive Redness prone skin. Guess what two ingredients shocked me the most? Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid. Benzoyl Peroxide? The cream that every teen with acne buys at the drugstore? Salicylic Acid? The ingredient that seems to be in every acne wash for adults and teens and is in several of my products at home? Yup. All the products that I thought were supposed to help my acne may actually have been hurting my skin and could be the cause of my irritated, acne prone skin in the first place.

Wow. Well, I threw out every single product I had that contained Salicylic Acid and Benzoyl Peroxide (and there was a lot!).  Instead, I looked online for facial products that contain Sulfur. Sulfur is one of the only ingredients that soothes Rosacea/Reactive Redness and is good for acne as well. There are several sulfur face bars available on Ebay that are very inexpensive (look for those without Salicylic Acid), for a liquid cleanser face wash you can try Rodan and Fields Umblemished,  Rossette Hello Kitty Acne Wash (sounds silly, but this is a great product with Licorice and Sulfur. It also smells great!) as well as prescription only products available from your dermatologist that include Sodium Sulfacetimide and Sulfur. I have used only Sulfur products since that day and I have found my skin to be better than ever. I hardly ever break out now, and my skin is calmer and has less redness than it ever has before.

If you are one of the lucky types that does not get acne and think you may have Reactive Redness or Rosacea, you may also want to check out the milder Eucerin line of Redness Relief products as well, or use them in conjunction with a sulfur wash if you have combination skin. If you wear make-up, Clinique Redness Relief also offers several products for Rosacea/Reactive redness, including a redness relieving powder. A cheaper alternitive to the Clinique products is Physician's Formula Mineral Wear, which is available at almost every drugstore. I am a huge fan myself of Everyday Minerals, a make up company based out of Austin, TX, (Hook 'em!) None of Everyday Minerals products contain Bismuth Oxychloride and Sodium Laureth Sulfate,  ingredients present in the popular Bare Minerals line and many other mineral make-up lines, and an ingredient that can cause cystic acne and irritate the skin. Everyday Minerals is an inexpensive, high-quality make-up and skin care company that I have been very happy with.

If you think you may have Rosacea or Reactive Redness, check with your dermatologist and visit The International Rosacea Society online for additional information on Rosacea. Also, as always, check, check, check the ingredients of any products you put on your face and body and research and become familiar with the ingredients to avoid that pertain to your type of skin.