Trying something new with my skin
I won't say what it is yet, but will report in a week with an update.
Meanwhile, the reason for the experiment--
You have probably heard me gripe about my rosacea. It is something that largely bothers just me. Most people don't notice it, or attribute it to exersize or sun if they do. Here's a definition from the Mayo Clinic- I bolded a couple of words:
"Rosacea is an inflammatory skin disease that causes facial redness. You may mistake some of its characteristics - small, red, pus-filled bumps or pustules - for acne. In fact, rosacea has been called adult acne or acne rosacea, but the disease has little to do with the pimples and blackheads that commonly afflict teenagers. It's also a misconception that this red-faced condition is caused by drinking alcoholic beverages.
Rosacea affects mostly adults, usually people with fair skin, between the ages of 30 and 60. About 14 million Americans have this chronic skin condition. Although it's more common in women, men may develop more apparent signs of the disorder. It's not life-threatening, but it can affect your appearance and lower your self-esteem.
Left untreated, rosacea tends to be progressive, which means it gets worse over time. However, in most people rosacea is cyclic, which means it may flare up for a period of weeks to months and then signs and symptoms lessen for a while before rosacea flares up again. Besides acne, rosacea can also be mistaken for other skin problems, such as skin allergy or eczema. Once diagnosed, it's quite treatable."
Chronic and cyclic. This is a condition that I will have to deal with for a couple more decades. It can't be cured. It can be managed-- thank God! Also, thankfully, mine isn't too terribly bad. But I am still looking for the best way to treat it. Here are the methods I've tried:
-- Consulting a dermotologist: http://www.joycedavismd.com/home.nxg and on her advice doing the following
-- Using extremely gentle facial cleanser (Cetaphil or generic equivelant)
-- Using oil free make up (I rarely wear make up and sometimes fudge this with concealer for auditions)
-- Wearing oil free spf daily (titanium dioxide is my FRIEND-- truly great stuff)
-- Ditching all my old make up and buying new
-- Spring 2006- to look my best for Tanglewood, I tried laser foto facial treatments with Dr. Davis. At first she used a strong laser that caused much redness and swelling, then switched to a gentler one that seemed to reduce a most of my redness, though perhaps it was a cumulative effect. My skin looked better than it had in a long time, and it lasted for about a year. Gradually the rosacea came back. (See "chronic", above)
-- Tried Eucerin's redness relief products. On the whole they don't work for me. The green tinted spf in particular is a failure. Green tint is supposed to blend and hide the redness. This stuff doesn't blend, it just sits on top of my skin giving me an "Elphaba with a sunburn" effect. Then it worms off my face later in the day. Eecch.
-- Prosacea:
The active ingredient is sulphur. I tried it out for a couple of weeks. It seemed to help for a couple of days, but then was too drying and seemed to stop working. Plus, it smells like the active ingredient.
That brings me to the present. There was an interesting article in the NY Times Health section a few weeks ago that got me thinking and researching, and I finally worked up the courage to try the treatment. We'll see in a week, but I'm hopeful it will help. In any event, it can't hurt.
Someday I'll go back to Dr. Davis for the laser treatment again, but will need to save up for it. Good results, but at a big (for me) cost.
Meanwhile, the reason for the experiment--
You have probably heard me gripe about my rosacea. It is something that largely bothers just me. Most people don't notice it, or attribute it to exersize or sun if they do. Here's a definition from the Mayo Clinic- I bolded a couple of words:
"Rosacea is an inflammatory skin disease that causes facial redness. You may mistake some of its characteristics - small, red, pus-filled bumps or pustules - for acne. In fact, rosacea has been called adult acne or acne rosacea, but the disease has little to do with the pimples and blackheads that commonly afflict teenagers. It's also a misconception that this red-faced condition is caused by drinking alcoholic beverages.
Rosacea affects mostly adults, usually people with fair skin, between the ages of 30 and 60. About 14 million Americans have this chronic skin condition. Although it's more common in women, men may develop more apparent signs of the disorder. It's not life-threatening, but it can affect your appearance and lower your self-esteem.
Left untreated, rosacea tends to be progressive, which means it gets worse over time. However, in most people rosacea is cyclic, which means it may flare up for a period of weeks to months and then signs and symptoms lessen for a while before rosacea flares up again. Besides acne, rosacea can also be mistaken for other skin problems, such as skin allergy or eczema. Once diagnosed, it's quite treatable."
Chronic and cyclic. This is a condition that I will have to deal with for a couple more decades. It can't be cured. It can be managed-- thank God! Also, thankfully, mine isn't too terribly bad. But I am still looking for the best way to treat it. Here are the methods I've tried:
-- Consulting a dermotologist: http://www.joycedavismd.com/home.nxg and on her advice doing the following
-- Using extremely gentle facial cleanser (Cetaphil or generic equivelant)
-- Using oil free make up (I rarely wear make up and sometimes fudge this with concealer for auditions)
-- Wearing oil free spf daily (titanium dioxide is my FRIEND-- truly great stuff)
-- Ditching all my old make up and buying new
-- Spring 2006- to look my best for Tanglewood, I tried laser foto facial treatments with Dr. Davis. At first she used a strong laser that caused much redness and swelling, then switched to a gentler one that seemed to reduce a most of my redness, though perhaps it was a cumulative effect. My skin looked better than it had in a long time, and it lasted for about a year. Gradually the rosacea came back. (See "chronic", above)
-- Tried Eucerin's redness relief products. On the whole they don't work for me. The green tinted spf in particular is a failure. Green tint is supposed to blend and hide the redness. This stuff doesn't blend, it just sits on top of my skin giving me an "Elphaba with a sunburn" effect. Then it worms off my face later in the day. Eecch.
-- Prosacea:
The active ingredient is sulphur. I tried it out for a couple of weeks. It seemed to help for a couple of days, but then was too drying and seemed to stop working. Plus, it smells like the active ingredient.
That brings me to the present. There was an interesting article in the NY Times Health section a few weeks ago that got me thinking and researching, and I finally worked up the courage to try the treatment. We'll see in a week, but I'm hopeful it will help. In any event, it can't hurt.
Someday I'll go back to Dr. Davis for the laser treatment again, but will need to save up for it. Good results, but at a big (for me) cost.