Struggling with Rosacea? Look for these ingredients in the products

From symptoms of Rosacea to the ingredients in skincare that should be avoided in order to relieve symptoms, know all about Rosacea from the experts here.

Rosacea is a common disorder mainly of facial skin leading to episodic or persistent redness. It also leads to visible blood vessels on the face, often producing small, pus-filled bumps. Rosacea is Usually seen in fair skinned people in 30 - 50 years of age, sometimes with a past history of pimples. Speaking to HT Lifestyle, Dr. Sushma, Dermatologist and Cosmetologist, Skinology, Bangalore said, “It's more common in women and people with lighter skin, but symptoms can be worse in men. These signs and symptoms may show up for weeks to months and then go away for a while. Some people also show symptoms like eye irritation, burning and stinging, extremely dry skin, skin thickening, swelling etc.”

Struggling with Rosacea?  Look for these ingredients in the products(Unsplash)

Dr Nidhi Rohtagi, Senior Consultant- Dermatology at Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj noted down the causes of Rosacea – even though the exact cause of this disorder is unknown, it can be aggravated by multiple factors such as sun exposure, extremes to temperature, very hot tea or coffee, too much of alcohol or smoking, spicy food, stress. Very often it is visibly seen in people using steroid based creams on face.

However, a few precautions can help relieve symptoms and improve skin appearance in case of Rosacea. Dr Sushma further noted down the ingredients that we should stay away from in order to manage Rosacea:

Products with fragrance: Fragrances can heavily trigger Rosacea symptoms since it causes more allergic contact dermatitis than any other ingredient.

Lactic Acid: Lactic acid scrubs the skin by loosening the bonds between dead skin cells. However, in Rosacea, the skin’s natural barrier is already compromised and sensitive. So, it can only trigger and further worsen the symptoms.

Tea tree oil: Mostly tea tree oils are heavily concentrated and higher concentrations of tea tree oil can actually make skin irritation worse.

Scrubs: Physical and chemical exfoliations like scrubs, lactic acids or glycolic acids should be avoided.

Soaps: All soaps are high in detergent content that can harshly strip the skin. They also often contain harmful chemicals like formaldehyde or sodium laurel sulfate that can trigger Rosacea further.

Alcohols (Benzyl Alcohol, Methanol, SD Alcohol): Astringent alcohols are a complete no-no as they have a drying and irritating effect on the skin.

Heavily formulated oils/ make up: These can worsen Rosacea symptoms.

Witch Hazel: This ingredient is used as a toner and toners, in general, should be avoided for Rosacea as they are all too harsh on compromised skin.

Propylene glycol: It can excessively dry out skin and doesn’t suit people with Rosacea.

Hydroquinone: It can inflame and burn the skin, and can make flushness worse.