my photos rosacea and veins help? Suggestions Please Thanks

[bailey0397]

Ok I'm feeling brave

Just a little background these pictures were taken while I am not flushing so any redness, veins and broken caps are permanent. It is actually redder; pinker than this but with the flash it sort of blanches out some of the redness. I have really bad permanent veins and my skin is so hypersensitive in the red areas that water even hurts. I have combination skin so oily on nose and in nasal labia folds where I have enlarged pores. My pores before this have always been microscopic they been this way now for about two years. I also have these slightly raised red bumps of clustered veins and very blotchy skin. Very whit in patches and very red right next to it. My redness is very uneven. I really don't have p&ps but do get a few occassionaly mostly from sun or when some topical is particularly irritating.
Sunscreens, moisturizers, any makeup burns and stings so bad and I've tried them all. My face was never really sensitive before this could wear makeup and sunscreen I wore for years with no problems. Its the visible vessels that are the most troubling looks like someone drew on my face with a pen. I have actually had people try to wipe off the pen on my face. (ARG!)

Don't know if this worked but here goes

[bailey0397]

As you can see from the close up of my cheek I have bright white patches and then permanent red patches and dark blue and red veins all over the area. My skin is very sensitive so can't wear makeup to cover it up and i feel deformed truly. Do I have to just live with this? Because its so hard to. Really it is. Thanks.

[phlika29]

Hi

These pictures look very similar to how my left cheek used to look when I was in my twenties. I also couldn't wear makeup and so felt very self conscious about my appearance.

The good news is that with the right treatment they can look much improved. Getting your rosacea under control will help to stop new veins forming and allow the ones already there to fade a bit.

I found taking grape seed and/or pycngenol tablets helpful. For me it seems to help improve their appearance and maybe slow down the development of new ones. But the major improvements came with laser treatment. I am not sure if this is something you want to consider but for me it is has been pulse dye lasers and IPL that finally began to get rid of the veins.

[bailey0397]

Hi

Thanks for the reassurance philka. I am defenitely interested in laser treatments and one of my only concerns now I guess is finding a topical sunscreen since I know how important it is to keep the sun off your face. If I have laser I want to be able to protect myself so I am trying to get my skin to the point where I feel it may be able to handle laser. I know a few people on this forum can't use sunscreen but have laser what do they do?

Thanks for your reply and help!

Bailey

[roz]

Bailey--

I cannot tolerate chemical suncreens at all. And, most physical sunscreens are problematic as well. The last physical sunscreen I used and tolerated was DDF organic--bought at Sephora. I heard that they changed their product and haven't tried it since the change and my face has become alot more finicky now .
There are sunscreens that are in a face powder format....I use Peter Thomas Roth instant sunscreen with a spf of 30. It is simply no problem to use for me. There may be issues about whether you can know that you have actually covered your face adequately. My derm isn't really in favor of powder sunscreen ..but if you cannot tolerate sunscreen in a cream format then it's definitely better than nothing .I know Peter Thomas Roth also has a higher spf too in the powder format ..maybe a 45.
Also in the Jane Iredale powder which is "supposed " to be tolerated by people with rosacea and sensitive skin...there is a 25spf.
So if everything else is a problem for you as it is for me ..then maybe you should check these out.
I found the PTR at Sephora....so if you don't mind using a brush that touched someone else's face you could use the tester. I don't like using testers on my skin because it is so sensitive. Anyway, Sephora has a great return policy if it didn't work.
Then as I recall from you LED post that you are in NYC or therabouts and so finding Jane Iredale powder should be simple. In my area, they have Jane Iredale pressed powder at the Nordstrom's spa. And, Nordstrom's has a great return policy too. If you are lucky they may also have Jane Iredale loose powder.
I have had 5 lasers.
I try to stay out of the sun. If I am out, I wear a broad brimmed hat (4"). My husband thinks the hat looks great....I think it looks great on him too. It is a women's straw hat that I got at REI. It is the kind of hat that to me seems very ok for in the city (doesn't so much look country or out on the hiking trail).
It was great that you posted photos. I think with a good derm...one who is caring too and will listen to you that you could have significant improvement. After reading your experience on this thread, I can see how you want to go to a major specialist. But, especially with your fear and anxiety you need to find a good derm who is also a nice person to work with . This project will probably go on for sometime. If you are like some of us, your primary dermatologist may not even do your laser. You may have to be sent to a laser specialist for that part. Best of luck and I really do think you will see improvement.

[bailey0397]

Thanks Roz

thanks so much Roz for the information. I have tried the jane iredale and it seemed good at first than the itching started but I was using her compact so maybe i should try the powder me dry. I do try to wear a hat even if I have sunscreen on in the summer. Its strange as my forehead where there is perfectly normal skin does not react to the suncreen. Isn't that wierd? So I know I am not allergic to certain ones because of this. The skin with all the broken viens is sensitized I guess. I had been using oil of olay spf 15 complete for 10 years everyday as my moisturizer and sunscreen and it was wonderful and felt great on my skin. Then my skin went crazy. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences it really helps.

Bailey

[roz]

Bailey---

I understand that Jane Iredale used to have a bismuth in the powder. And, that somewhat recently it was reformulated without the bismuth...in both the pressed and loose format. So, if you tried the powder more than a year ago or so....maybe it was the bismuth. Apparently bismuth is irritating to alot of people and causes itchiness and redness.
When did you get the pressed powder?
Aside from the itchiness probably I would think caused by bismuth, what did you think of how the powder looked?
I am considering the Jane Iredale powder now...
I think with a few proper laser treatments...whatever that may be for your skin, that alot of those broken blood vessels should just be gone.

Roz

[Yvette]

Hi -

Roz is correct and that Jane Iredale recently reformulated her loose and powder mineral makeups without bismuth. The only thing though, is both contain algae and plankton, and for some these can cause irritation as well. I have the newer formulations, loose and pressed, they still make me itch a little though. I'm going to order some samples of Suncat minerals and try those out. They are comprised of minerals only and without bismuth, coloring agents, etc.

Cheers,

Yvette

[bailey0397]

Hi Roz

I defenitely used the one without the bismuth. It looked good on my face but I found it to feel very chalky and it defenitely clogged my pores. It was very difficult to get off but I have a problem with cleansers so just trying to wash my face to get it off was irritating. I wore bare escentuals for years with the olay complete spf 15 underneath. I never even had to wash it off. At the end of the day i would take a shower or a hot bath and it just wiped off easily. It now irritates me. I also think it is because my skin has changed that its hard to tolerate products. Many have good luck with Jane Iredale anf if the Peter Thomas Roth doesn't bother you it may work for you. Just try and see their is algae and I think pomegranate extract in it. I don't think that was the culprit for me. I think the high amounts of mica titanium and zinc in so many mineral makeups dry out my skin and cause problems. You might also want to try Everyday minerals. They have a pressed compact that gave great coverage and has some jojoba oil in it. if you don't have a problem with that I nthink it looked really good on me but unfortunately was again irritating. You should go to their website have a look. Hope it works for u wish I could wear it since it really covered everything so well.

Good luck.

[roz]

Bailey---

Thank you for that great info on Jane Iredale . If anything is the least bit hard to cleanse off my face I cannot even think about it. A few months ago I tried the Prescriptives Anywear stick...I liked it but that stuff was tough to remove . And, my experiments with cleansers only made things worse. I took back the Prescriptives stick makeup . Now that things are quieting down after my laser and several weeks into antibiotics...and my new La Roche Posay gycerin soap and oil free moisturizer are working out...I do not want to do anything to upset the apple cart so to speak.
It seems I can tolerate just a few light dabs of Prescriptives Virtual Skin Oil free makeup... with Peter Thomas Roth powder . And, they both are easily removed with the glycerin soap...so I am going to just maintain my routine . I have thought about alot of alternatives , the Iredale minerals makeup being one of them. But now it is off my list. Thanks for simplifying my life!
Roz