WELLNESS
Psychologies wellness director – mindfulness expert and yoga teacher Ali Roff Farrar – shares advice, ideas, and the latest research on everything from nutrition and skincare to mental wellbeing
How to manage rosacea
April marks Rosacea Awareness Month, drawing attention to askin condition affecting one in ten people in the UK. Characterised by flare-ups of redness, the condition’s prevalence appears to be on the rise, with online searches for symptoms increasing by 83 per cent. Here’s how to manage it...
●Go natural. Dr Mariano Spiezia, founder of Inlight Beauty, emphasises the importance of avoiding irritants: ‘Artificial chemical fragrances cause more irritation than any other ingredient. Nature offers some wonderful alternatives that work well to soothe and calm rosacea without exacerbating the skin’s microbiome.’
●Think calm. Pro-age skin expert Justine Masters highlights the role of mental, gut, and hormonal health for rosacea: ‘Rosacea is much affected by external issues, gut issues, lack of enzymes and HCL (stomach acids), menopause, stress and anxiety, and some medications.’ She suggests breathwork to help calm the nervous system and reduce inflammation internally and externally, and lowering your intake of alcohol and sugar, ‘which can play havoc with gut bacteria’.
●Soothe with skincare. Dr Spiezia recommends Inlight Face Cleanser and Floral Tonic for calming rosaceaprone skin. ‘The Cleanser (applied at night) contains soothing lavender extract and astringent, antioxidant green tea, lemon, and rosehip extracts. These will help keep the skin clean but well moisturised.
‘The alcohol-free Floral Tonic is refreshing and calming at the same time, containing the purest flower waters of camomile, lavender and rose – all ingredients with anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. Use throughout the day when the skin feels hot and inflamed, to offer relief.’
●Repair your skin barrier. Masters tells her clients to ‘stop using actives such as retinol, AHAs, and vitamin C serums, until the barrierisstronger.is stronger. Use barrier-repair products and nonperfumed ranges that won’t disrupt your hormones, instead – and SPF is a must.’
