Does this seem logical ? reaction to products

[Guest guest]

After reading the posts by various folks, taking privately to a few, making

notes and taking some time to put emotions aside and think clearly, I wouldlike

to get your opinions onthe following.

In the big picture, my skin is not that bad, but when one has good skin that is

easy to manage and all of a sudden turns nasty, it is kinda disconcerting.

anway, over the past 12 years, sicne I first heard this awful word, " rosacea " , I

have had 3 bad flares. I think that I may understand now what caused them.

prior to this one, I had been using a very gentle cleanser, a heavy moisturizer

and a moisturizing foundation. For about 6 weeks my skin looked great. glowy,

dewy and not blotchy. Then I started notiicng flakiness so my reactionwas to

step up the moisturizing. vaseline at night a few times and then Dr.Sy's oils,

When the flakiness got worse, I decided to try another approach.A friend from an

online site who has rosacea sent me some stuff from SAGE www.zerozits.com

One of the products was a hydrating amsk/moisturizer containing salcylic as an

anti-inflammatory, not an exfoliant. the first few times I used the product, I

was delighted. It seems to soothe, moisturize and it got rid of all that dead

skin and flaky patches. After a little over 2 weeks of use, WOW, my skin got

awful Flakes in my eyebrows, eyelids, nose, chin ,nasolabial folds. My forehead

was the worse. greasy oil, itchy and pimples with a very rough texture, like it

had a million tiny raised pinpricks.At this time, I started having trouble wiht

stuff on my eye lashes. My family doctor prescribed drop which helped only a

little. My face started to feel tight and I noticed that my cheeks which are

only slightly pink ( I need to waer blush ) started to get blotchy and feel hot.

When I looked closer, the cheeks were flaky too. anywaym I know that I am

getting a little off track but I wanted to fill in some back ground info.

I think that my latest bount is due to the heavy occulsive mositurizers I had

been using, probably not getting my skin clean with the super gentle cleanser,

using a heavy foundation which suffocated my skin each day. And then after all

that, the hydrating mask/moisturizer completed the process of irritating my

pores and the blood vessels. I have quite a mess created but I promise

faithfully that when this mess clears, I will stop trying to fix my skin. I will

stop trying to fix my skin.

But for now, I need your help and guidance in this vey difficult time. My face

feels and looks awful but I need to let it heal with the help of the topical

Nizoral and the gentle cleaning.

Thanks to all of oyu who have taken the time to contact me privately and/or

answer my posts, I am forever in your gratitude. I am so lucky to have all of

you.

thanks from the bottom of my heart

Maybe some day, we will have a cure. In the meantime, we have each other.

All the best

I

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

In your post asking for opinions and guidance

from the group, you actually have answered your

own questions! See below part of your message...

I would suggest that you follow your own good

advice here and let your skin rest! The heavy

moisturizers, foundations, salycic acid,

vaseline, all that stuff can interfere with your

skins own ability to heal and cause/continue the

irritation. As you yourself have found, it isn't

helping; in fact it seems to be making things

worse.

To use a comparison that you may or may not

relate to, I would liken this approach (which I

have done myself by the way) to " thrashing

around " on the computer....when something isn't

working and you don't know why, or exactly how to

fix it, the tendency to wildly click around with

the mouse, to open and shut programs, to " thrash

around " is the worst thing you can do. The

computer gets confused, freezes up, crashes, etc.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is shut down

and restart. Sometimes the " thrashing around " can

do some damage that requires further

troubleshooting, maybe even a re-installation of

software.

So my point is, let your skin rest. Can you forgo

the make-up for awhile? My skin hates

foundations. Is it the preservatives, the oils,

the sunscreens, any of the other myriad

ingredients? I don't exactly know and to be

honest, I really don't care that much. The point

is they irritate my skin and always have. So I

usually don't use them. Do you have a light

moisturizer that you can fairly reliably use?

Consider just using that after washing with a

mild cleanser in the evening - and nothing else.

A few random comments:

Just because you see flakes on the skin, does not

necessarily mean that your skin is really dry and

requires heavy occlusive moisturizers. It may

very well be a reaction to the products you've

been using rather than an indication of serious

dryness. Try rubbing your face very lightly at

night with a washcloth or a cotton ball to remove

the flakes. When your skin isn't sloughing off

this stuff fast enough, then the underying skin

can get irritated and inflamed, worsening the

whole affair. Check the archives...I'm pretty

sure Dr. Sy elaborates on this in one of her

posts to the group. But regardless of that, I

have found this to be true myself.

How is your diet? The connection between simple

sugars and worsening of rosacea is absolutely

undeniable I have found. Someone recently posted

a message on the connection between a high

carbohydrate diet and rosacea/seb derm. Does any

of that ring a bell with you? Only you would

know.

Lastly, I think you have GOT to find a way to

stop worrying about your skin. As you yourself

say, " it is not that bad. " Stress makes most

things worse as I think we all know, deep down.

Can you find a way to pay more attention to all

the things that are " working right " with you and

obsess about those for a month or so?

Since all the topicals, cosmetics, etc. aren't

helping, consider the area of diet, lifestyle,

emotions much more closely. The times I have

reached for a new product are times when I have

wanted a " quick fix. " Consider the notion that

there may not be a quick fix for this, but that

it can be greatly improved, over time, by

adjusting many areas of your life, not just one.

Well, that's all for now. If I have any other

worthwhile ideas, I'll post 'em!

Hope that helps,

> I think that my latest bount is due to the

> heavy occulsive mositurizers I had been using,

> probably not getting my skin clean with the

> super gentle cleanser, using a heavy foundation

> which suffocated my skin each day. And then

> after all that, the hydrating mask/moisturizer

> completed the process of irritating my pores

> and the blood vessels. I have quite a mess

> created but I promise faithfully that when this

> mess clears, I will stop trying to fix my skin.

> I will stop trying to fix my skin.

> But for now, I need your help and guidance in

> this vey difficult time. My face feels and

> looks awful but I need to let it heal with the

> help of the topical Nizoral and the gentle

> cleaning.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

In your post asking for opinions and guidance

from the group, you actually have answered your

own questions! See below part of your message...

I would suggest that you follow your own good

advice here and let your skin rest! The heavy

moisturizers, foundations, salycic acid,

vaseline, all that stuff can interfere with your

skins own ability to heal and cause/continue the

irritation. As you yourself have found, it isn't

helping; in fact it seems to be making things

worse.

To use a comparison that you may or may not

relate to, I would liken this approach (which I

have done myself by the way) to " thrashing

around " on the computer....when something isn't

working and you don't know why, or exactly how to

fix it, the tendency to wildly click around with

the mouse, to open and shut programs, to " thrash

around " is the worst thing you can do. The

computer gets confused, freezes up, crashes, etc.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is shut down

and restart. Sometimes the " thrashing around " can

do some damage that requires further

troubleshooting, maybe even a re-installation of

software.

So my point is, let your skin rest. Can you forgo

the make-up for awhile? My skin hates

foundations. Is it the preservatives, the oils,

the sunscreens, any of the other myriad

ingredients? I don't exactly know and to be

honest, I really don't care that much. The point

is they irritate my skin and always have. So I

usually don't use them. Do you have a light

moisturizer that you can fairly reliably use?

Consider just using that after washing with a

mild cleanser in the evening - and nothing else.

A few random comments:

Just because you see flakes on the skin, does not

necessarily mean that your skin is really dry and

requires heavy occlusive moisturizers. It may

very well be a reaction to the products you've

been using rather than an indication of serious

dryness. Try rubbing your face very lightly at

night with a washcloth or a cotton ball to remove

the flakes. When your skin isn't sloughing off

this stuff fast enough, then the underying skin

can get irritated and inflamed, worsening the

whole affair. Check the archives...I'm pretty

sure Dr. Sy elaborates on this in one of her

posts to the group. But regardless of that, I

have found this to be true myself.

How is your diet? The connection between simple

sugars and worsening of rosacea is absolutely

undeniable I have found. Someone recently posted

a message on the connection between a high

carbohydrate diet and rosacea/seb derm. Does any

of that ring a bell with you? Only you would

know.

Lastly, I think you have GOT to find a way to

stop worrying about your skin. As you yourself

say, " it is not that bad. " Stress makes most

things worse as I think we all know, deep down.

Can you find a way to pay more attention to all

the things that are " working right " with you and

obsess about those for a month or so?

Since all the topicals, cosmetics, etc. aren't

helping, consider the area of diet, lifestyle,

emotions much more closely. The times I have

reached for a new product are times when I have

wanted a " quick fix. " Consider the notion that

there may not be a quick fix for this, but that

it can be greatly improved, over time, by

adjusting many areas of your life, not just one.

Well, that's all for now. If I have any other

worthwhile ideas, I'll post 'em!

Hope that helps,

> I think that my latest bount is due to the

> heavy occulsive mositurizers I had been using,

> probably not getting my skin clean with the

> super gentle cleanser, using a heavy foundation

> which suffocated my skin each day. And then

> after all that, the hydrating mask/moisturizer

> completed the process of irritating my pores

> and the blood vessels. I have quite a mess

> created but I promise faithfully that when this

> mess clears, I will stop trying to fix my skin.

> I will stop trying to fix my skin.

> But for now, I need your help and guidance in

> this vey difficult time. My face feels and

> looks awful but I need to let it heal with the

> help of the topical Nizoral and the gentle

> cleaning.

__________________________________________________