exfoliation and rosacea

Hello...first I must say...I love this site and look forward to hearing everyone!!!

I have been working in a spa for three years and have seen several stages of rosecea in that time...I always try to keep the skin as calm as possible and not stimulate the capillaries anymore than they already are. I have rosacea clients that have recieved microderm and glycolic peels by other esty"s and I don't feel comfortable performing aggressive exfoliation on them to their disappointment...also some come in using retin A prescribed by doctors which goes against everything I was taught. I use products with vit k, vit c, chamomille, green tea and oatmeal... with no steam, no hot towels and limited massage. my question is...are there exfoliation techniques for this condition that don't exaserbate the problem and does anyone know any education that will help me keep my clients happy with anti aging demands and keep me happy knowing that I am not doing damage?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gina Williamson on May 9, 2011 at 6:16pm

Check out Skin Scripts Coconut enzymes.

Permalink Reply by Joanne Charron on May 23, 2011 at 8:24pm

I checked out skin script and am going to order some enzymes and take advantage of their sample sizes to play with.

thanks Gina

Permalink Reply by Lisa Hewetson on April 27, 2013 at 12:00am

Thank you, I think I will look in to this also! I'm glad Joanne asked this question because I was wondering the same thing. I find that enzymes work really well on rosacea! I am now only working with one product (Yon-Ka Paris) but they don't have any enzyme peels and I am a little nervous using their chemical peels on rosacea skin. Thanks again Gina! I will look in to this.

Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on April 27, 2013 at 10:32am

@Lisa - you don't want to use enzymes with steam because heat can exacerbate rosacea. I use mild chemical peels on rosacea clients all the time with great success. Most of the time their skin is not that sensitive - they are sensitive to certain "triggers" (like heat and cold, alcohol, spicy foods, etc). But, the main thing is to get them on some antibacterial homecare - their skin responds very quickly to this. Most of my clients see their rosacea completely under control within a month. http://facerealityacneclinic.com/rosacea_testimonials.php

Permalink Reply by Lisa Hewetson on April 27, 2013 at 12:55pm

Yes I agree steam can exacerbate rosacea. I usually do not use steam with the enzyme peel, however enzymes need to be activated by water so I usually use a wet towel or esthetic wipes. I was always to afraid to use chemical peels on rosacea clients. At my other place of employment I used a gel based enzyme peel - which was real easy to remove and worked fabulous on my rosacea clients! However, now that I'm a business owner I only have one product line which doesn't offer an enzyme peel, but it it does have a peel that has a blend of pyruvic, lactic,mandelic and black willow extract. It is between a 3.0 & 3.5 pH @ 22% . I asked the Yon-Ka reps if I could use this on rosacea and they said it would depend... sooo I choose not to do it (error on the side of caution). What mild chemical peels are you using? What's the pH and percentage? I am using a enzyme peel from another line, but it is a powder that I have to mix and the moisture delivered through towels and esthetic wipes are not enough and I'm having a hard time removing at times. Thanks so much for input!! I greatly appreciate it.

Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on April 27, 2013 at 2:38pm

I have my own chemical peels in my acne line. They are 5 and 7.5 percent TCA peels blended with lactic, mandelic, kojic and azelaic. The pH is around 2, I believe.

Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on May 11, 2011 at 4:38pm

I sometimes do a mild salicylic peel on my rosacea clients. Rosacea seems to respond pretty well to salicylic peels and serums. I would never, ever do microderm on rosacea (or glycolic) - your instincts are right on.

Permalink Reply by Bollygirl on May 23, 2011 at 12:16am

I was told the diamond microderm would be okay to use on rosacea. I have not tried it yet but what does anyone else think?

Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on May 24, 2011 at 5:24pm

I sure wouldn't!

Permalink Reply by Cat Tunick-Cabeche on August 13, 2011 at 7:31am

Neither would I.

Permalink Reply by Joanne Charron on May 23, 2011 at 8:28pm

Laura

I checked out your website and I am ever so excited to order the DVD. so glad I found you and this website with all its great resources.

thanks Laura

Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on May 24, 2011 at 5:23pm

Hi Joanne - that's SO cool! Let me know how you like the dvd. Glad you are enjoying the website! You will have to keep me posted about your acne clients... they will love you.