Dear Mik Chiks,
I know someone else asked about rosacea and you said you'd get to it later, but I thought I'd go ahead and write in case you need an introduction question for the post, lol.
I wouldn't normally be much of a make-up girl except on special occasions, but I feel like I can't leave the house without foundation and lipstick due to my blotchy turkey-red face and pale gray lips (not a pretty combination). My family tries to tell me no one really notices, but they do. I know this for a fact because when I don't wear makeup then strangers on the street make random comments like, "Got too much sun, huh?" in the summer and "Oh, you must have been skiing recently? I see you have a wind burn." in the winter.
On top of the rosacea, I still have quite a bit of acne. When, exactly, does one grow out of teen acne? I'm starting to think never. I finally asked the doctor for a prescription and Differen worked quite well on both the acne and, surprisingly, the rosacea, but then they changed my insurance coverage and I'm sorry, but I can't spend $100 a month on an acne cream! The cheap ones just make everything worse.
The over the counter treatments like Proactive only help slightly. And those natural mineral makeup powders, besides making my eyes itch something awful, don't give a thick enough coverage to even begin to mask the redness. If you somehow manage to cake enough on to cover it, then you walk around looking like you have an inch of powder stuck to your face, which isn't particularly appealing, either.
Looking forward to any advice.
Red-faced Girl
Dear Rosy Girl,
I, Maddie, am not calling you Red-Faced Girl because I'll keep thinking that you are the notorious Red of Connecting Now, and I want to get unduly sassy with you. So you shall henceforth be known as Rosy. Now, Rosy, this coNUNdrum is actually pretty huge, and in an effort to not make this blog too terribly long, I'm not going to be able to answer everything as thoroughly as I'd like. But we'll try.
Rosacea is defined in Milady's Standard Esthetics Fundamentals as: An inflammation of the skin characterized by the redness, dialation of blood vessels, and in severe cases, the formation of papules and pustules.
Basically, for a number of potential reasons, (hereditary, bacteria, mites, fungus, etc) your capillaries are easily inflamed, which is why you get blotchy and red. Eating spicy foods, drinking alcohol, heat extremes and stress are just a few things that cause flare ups.
The somewhat obvious answer is that you need really calming facial products. I am guessing that until now your skincare routine has been minimal, and mostly focused on preventing your acne? I know that acne is annoying and more difficult to cover up, but believe me when I say that it is a secondary issue and should take a back seat to your rosacea. Lots of people have this combination of skin conditions, and it isn't fun. But the rosacea is certainly the more serious of the two.
Not only that, but acne ingredients tend to be harsher on the skin, so I'd wager to guess that by treating your acne you're actually making your super-sensitive rosacea even worse. You need to be gentle with yourself, and the job of most anti-acne ingredients is to get down and get to work and eradicate bacteria/infection. All that madness is probably making your capillaries totally freak out.
(*sidenote* don't get me started on Proactive! Its active ingredient is Benzoyl Peroxide which basically does a nice job of sterilizing your follicles with free radical oxygen that kills the bacteria that causes your acne, BUT it only works really well the first or second time you use it. People usually have fantastic initial results with Proactive, then the results severely decline. But they keep buying the stuff, longing for that first high. If you want to use up your Proactive, you really need to alternate it with another product line that uses other anti-acne ingredients cause you're never going to get results otherwise.)
BUT THERE IS HOPE!
And Rosy, today hope has a name:
Pevonia Botanica.
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| RS2 Travel Kit |
I have personally used Pevonia on my own rosacea clientele and the results are amazing. Yes, like every product I tend to recommend, it's expensive. Getting the full set of the RS2 line will run you a little over $200. But I can guarantee that these babies will last you way longer than that doctor-prescribed acne lotion ever did. If you want to just give it a try first, they do offer a travel kit that includes tiny versions of everything for $40. Use that for a couple weeks and see how you do.
I love this line because it includes soothing essential oils such as rose, chamomile, and green tea that live for no other purpose but to love your blood vessels and pamper them into submission.
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| Most amazing mineral foundation I ever did see. |
Now as far as makeup goes, I understand your frustration with mineral powder. I myself have never cared for it, I always thought it made people look cakey and blech. However I changed my ways when I started working at Merle Norman. Their mineral powder foundation is amazing and beyond compare. It's not cakey, gives you a luminous glow, and can be concentrated in whatever little spot you need, covering blemishes better than any concealer I've ever used. Every day I apply it loosely all over my face and then thickly right under my eyes to get rid of my dark spots. I swear, it's like I'm airbrushing myself.
Plus, because it's a mineral it's going to be totally gentle with your skin. :)
Just a few weeks ago a client came in and she had a case of moderate melasma (discoloration of the skin...she had a huuuuuge white spot in the center of her forehead). I lightly brushed some of this powder on her and I tell you the truth, you could not tell she had a problem.
The cost is $35 but the reward is faaaar greater.
Maybe next week I'll feature some before and after pictures of myself.
THAT'S how much I believe in this product.
XOXO
Maddie
XOXO
Maddie
So on that fine note, we'll leave the blog and the year. Tomorrow we'll be posting an exceptionally witty and wonderful New Year's Edition. We have about fifteen hours to come up with something. If you have any ideas, send them our way. They must contain wit and wonder.
Till the Morrow, Readers, and as always toss us your two cents.
With Mucho Love,
Lisa and Maddie
I'm glad to see you recommending Merle Norman makeup, Maddie. I'm the biggest cheapskate around, but I have recently (within the past 6 months) gotten acquainted with Merle Norman products. I LOVE them all. The makeup is fantastic. It's a little more expensive than others, but what you get is well-worth the price difference. Mineral makeup has always made me itch horribly, so I haven't tried their line (although I did get a free sample kit my last purchase!).
ReplyDeleteI'm on the downhill side of life, but like Rosy, my acne has NEVER gone away. My skin is so sensitive though. What products do you recommend for us oldsters with thinning, sensitive skin?
And by the way... Happy New Year to the Mik Chiks! Looking forward to what God has planned for us all in 2011!! :)
I still get zits from time to time, and I'm old enough to be a granpa (oh, right, I *am* a granpa).
ReplyDeleteI postulate (pustulate?) a hormone called zitstrogen. Production normally fades slowly away after puberty. Not in my case. My theory is that I still have problems because I hang around with teenagers. Just as when a bunch of women live together they tend to get on the same hormonal cycles, a bunch of hormonal teenagers reaches critical mass, which excites whatever produces zitstrogen in non-teens.
Hanne, have you tried the samples of the Merle Norman mineral powders yet? Let me know if they make you itch, because all the mineral powders I've tried so far have made my eyes go nuts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice, Maddie!
Rosy Girl... it didn't exactly itch, but there was a burning sensation. Very slight, but I took it off. I think mineral makeup and me just weren't fated to get along....
ReplyDeleteMy acne never went away, either. :(
ReplyDeleteIt does a lot better if I use a very mild soap (say a clear glycerin bar, or Avalon lavender cleansing milk), witch hazel for a toner (cheap and works just fine), and a good moisturizer (like Clinique or, this is going to sound crazy, but, a tiny dab of hazelnut oil).
And like Maddie said, avoid using acne products regularly and as an overall wash. They just dry and irritate the skin and cause more acne in the long run. I will use them as spot treatments, once when I have a new blemish (for instance Desert Essence touch stick).
I found I like Physician's Formula organic line of foundation, because when I use it my skin is better after.
Also helps to change my pillow case frequently (twice a week at least) and use a fresh washcloth to pat my face dry.
All good thoughts, all good thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHanne--MN does have some good sensitive skin products, the Delicate Balance line, you should go into your studio and try them out. I'm not sure what your skin care routine is now, but sometimes that can effect the way that foundation feels on you. But it's completely possible that you and minerals just don't get along.
Everyone else--There are about a hundred million different potential causes for adult acne. Roadkill's Zitstrogen theory would be interesting to explore. :)
You may want to examine things like your diet and water intake. Try playing around with monitoring your sugar, and processed foods. Sometimes acne is just hereditary and you're stuck, but it never hurts to make these changes anyway.
BTW, the way to know how much water you need everyday is to take your body weight and divide it in half--that's how many ounces you need to consume. If you have any alcohol, coffee or soda you should add those ounces back with water as well.
Also, good call Janelle with the pillowcase changing. It's so important to keep your face in a clean environment at night, so you're not just rolling around in various oils and dirt for eight hours!
Nice post, thanks for sharing this wonderful and useful information with us.
ReplyDelete