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How Can You Reduce Rosacea Redness?
ishonest: What is the best way to make rosacea redness less noticeable?
Jessica Wu, MD (drjessicawu.com)
I recommend avoiding extremes in temperature, since heat and cold can make the blood vessels more reactive, making redness worse. This includes hot showers, saunas, steam baths, and hot yoga. In addition, baby your skin. Harsh products (like bar soap, scrubs, and skincare brushes) can aggravate those with rosacea, who tend to have sensitive skin. Instead, use a gentle milky cleanser and wash with your fingertips; splash with lukewarm water. (Usually a milky liquid cleanser is better than a bar soap, which can be too harsh.)
Follow this with sunscreen during the day and a calming moisturizer at night. Look for ingredients like licorice extract, cornflower, or feverfew, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and redness.
Tinted moisturizers can help reduce redness, and they help camouflage large pores better than powder, which can settle into pores and make them more noticeable. Beware of green tinted makeup – use very sparingly on the most red areas and follow with normal-colored foundation – otherwise you may end up looking like Shrek.
Nicholas Perricone, MD (perriconemd.com)
Topical alpha lipoic acid can decrease the redness associated with rosacea, which is not lessened when treated by prescription medications such as Metronidazole.
Elizabeth Tanzi, MD (skinlaser.com)
Avoid rosacea triggers such as hot weather and sun, cold and windburn, and red wine. Most importantly, a series of laser or light-based treatments can be very effective to reduce the redness and improve rosacea by closing down those dilated blood vessels in the face
Howard Murad, MD (murad.com)
Keep it simple. The more ingredients and products you apply to your skin, the higher the likelihood that an ingredient or product may aggravate it. That's why it may be helpful to use multi-function products, such as a calming moisturizer with a green-tinted base. Also, sunscreen is a must! Always test a new product in a peripheral area — your neck, your arm — before using it on your face to make sure your skin doesn't react to it. Avoid any products that burn, sting, or irritate your skin.
Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, MD (drmacrene.com)
Use 37 EA and you see an immediate constriction of the broken capillaries and immediate reduction of redness. It decreases puffiness so the skin also appears smoother, and results in less pore prominence and less creasing. Then use a foundation geared toward warm-toned individuals such as L'Oreal True Match.
Dennis Gross, MD (dennisgrossmd.com)
There are many over-the-counter remedies that are designed to reduce redness and sooth inflammation. Maintain an extremely gentle cleansing regimen and avoid alcohol-based products to help reduce the frequency and severity of flare-ups.
Jeannette Graf, MD (askdrgraf.com)
Using mineral makeup is helpful in diminishing redness in rosacea by providing coverage and also having a soothing effect on the skin. Using green-based primers under makeup diminishes redness.
Neil Sadick, MD (sadickdermatology.com)
Treat with intense pulsed-ight (IPL) or Laser Genesis. At home you can try cold soy milk compresses as well as products by Park Avenue Prescription and Eucerin.
Marta Rendon, MD (drrendon.com)
The best way to get rid of the redness from rosacea depends on the type of rosacea the patient has. Anti-inflammatories, both topical and oral, that your dermatologist can prescribe are beneficial. Vascular lasers target the blood vessels that cause the redness are a good treatment option. Other possible ways to make the redness less noticeable is to avoid triggers and use makeup or a moisturizer with a green tint that helps to cover the red.
H.L. Greenberg, MD (lasvegasdermatology.com)
There are a few tricks that may assist in the treatment of rosacea including ice-chips in the mouth to reduce redness and antihistamines for people who get redness with exercise. Studies are under way for the use of topical Afrin to treat rosacea topically, although it is not FDA approved to do so.
Sarah Swanson (sarahswansonskincare.com)
Use a mild cleanser that has calming properties and cool water. A concealer with a green tint will cover redness best. A photo facial with intense pulsed light (IPL) will drastically reduce the redness associated with rosacea, and the improvement will typically last for months. With careful skin care, lifestyle changes, and topical and noninvasive therapies, oral antibiotics and oral retinoids can be avoided in the vast majority of cases, avoiding the risks of oral therapy and providing a more natural solution to this chronic disease that adversely impacts appearance and quality of life.
Eric Schweiger, MD (nyccosmeticdermatology.com)
I find the best treatment for the redness of rosacea is laser therapy. The vascular lasers ( KTP laser and pulsed-dye laser) are very effective at eliminating the tiny blood vessels and matted telangiectasias, which are responsible for the redness in rosacea. Usually about three to four treatments are needed for best results.
Nelson Lee Novick, MD (youngerlookingwithoutsurgery.com)
If think back to your days experimenting with primary colors in kindergarten, you may recall that red plus green makes brown. So the use of a green-tinted makeup foundation will mask the underlying flush. Following this, ordinary makeup may be used. Certain companies, such as Physician's Formula, make green- tinted products for both men and women for this purpose.
Another useful trick is to apply oxymetazoline (for example, Afrin) nasal spray directly to the reddish areas twice daily. The vasoconstrictive action of the product can be helpful for suppressing the flush. Unlike its use in the nose, which is restricted to three consecutive days, these products may be used on the face for extended periods of time without concern. Topical niacinamide and topical azelaic acid products may also be helpful for controlling the redness in some individuals. Likewise, the use of crotamiton lotion for two weeks may do so in others.
Darrell W. Gonzales, MD (coastaldermonline.com)
Patients with rosacea have a number of options to lessen and perhaps improve the redness of their face. There are newer physician-grade cosmeceuticals available that can help reduce redness, including topical products containing caffeine and green tea polyphenols. There are also lasers that can help target the capillaries of the face and reduce redness, including intense pulsed light laser and pulsed dye laser. Finally, make-up with a green tint base can help to dramatically offset the redness. This make-up can be purchased at department stores and even some large chain pharmacies.
Jeffrey Ellis, MD, and Amy Slear, MD (belaray.com)
Rosacea redness can be challenge to hide. Some tricks are to use a gentle cleanser with cool water. Remember to use sunscreen religiously and to apply camouflage if needed. There are laser procedures available that may also help to reduce facial redness.
William Ting, MD (drwilliamting.com)
Practice strict sun protection and work with a board-certified dermatologist. Direct skin application with Afrin (or a generic equivalent) spray may offer few hours of redness camouflage with its vasoconstrictive effect.
Dina Strachan, MD (dinastrachanmd.com)
That will depend on the kind of rosacea you have. Medical treatment works for acne and inflammation. Light devices such as lasers and IPL work for broken blood vessels. Other than that there is camouflage makeup.
Brad Abrams, DO (abramsderm.com)
The best way to make rosacea redness less noticeable or eliminate the sign of rosacea is the Vbeam treatment. The Vbeam Perfecta laser uses a unique micropulse technology, which spreads out a single laser pulse into eight evenly spaced micropulses, providing gentle vessel heating and allowing consistent effective results. The compression handpiece pushes vascular fluids out of the way, enabling the laser to precisely target pigmentation without impacting underlying blood vessels, thus offering precision results and greater comfort for patients during treatment. Permanency of results depend on may factors, like the condition being treated or the lifestyle of the patient. Results have been amazing.
Eric Huang, MD (plasticsandderm.com)
No single treatment regimen is effective in all patients. Topical metronidazole is sometimes effective for mild cases, and topical sulfacetamide/sulfur and azelaic acid preparations are also useful. Tretinoin is sometimes an effective option as well, though the potential irritation makes it more difficult to tolerate and I do not use this often. In more severe cases, oral antibiotics in the tetracycline family are helpful, as is low-dose doxycycline. When these are not effective, or if telangiectasias are a primary concern, intense pulsed light or pulsed dye laser can reduce the redness. The addition of redness relief creams is an easy adjunct to any regimen.
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