How to Choose Makeup for Rosacea

First, let's understand the condition itself. Rosacea (roe-ZAY-she-uh) is a common skin condition that causes flushing or long-term redness on your face. It may also create enlarged blood vessels and small, pus-filled bumps. Some symptoms flare for weeks or months and then go away for a while. Rosacea can often be mistaken for acne, dermatitis, or other skin problems.

Flare-ups might be brought on by:

• Sun or wind.
• Hot drinks.
• Spicy foods.
• Alcohol.
• Very hot and cold temperatures.
• Emotional stress.
• Exercise.
• Drugs that dilate blood vessels, including some blood pressure medicines.
• Some cosmetic, skin, and hair care products.

You can find more helpful info about Rosacea here: [Mayo Clinic - Rosacea]

So, how can makeup affect people with rosacea for better or worse?

Throughout your day, your skin will get more and more irritated, and your rosacea will be inflamed and visible to the naked eye — especially in the summer when the sun is out! 

Thick formula, heavy chemicals, and rubbing your skin too hard when applying makeup... all of those factors will prevent your skin from breathing or put your skin under an emergency mood where your skin will start to react by getting inflamed, irritated, and much redder.

Here is what you can do to prevent irritations and get better application results when it comes to makeup.

1.) Use a thin formula that will allow your skin to breathe underneath.

2.) Opt for makeup free of heavy chemicals. Use products with ingredients that can heal and benefit your skin, such as:

•   Isononyl Isononanoate
•   Isododecane
•   Trimethylsiloxysilicate, and more.

These ingredients help with:

•   Softening the skin
•   Moisturizing the skin
•   Reducing the itchy sensation of dry skin
•   Reducing dryness or flakiness
•   Improving the stratum corneum, which is the outermost layer of the skin, by preventing the evaporation of the skin’s natural moisture.
•   Creating a stronger skin barrier
•   Stopping moisture from escaping

3.) Use SPF every single day of the year. Fun fact: even your light bulbs at home can affect and damage your skin! 

4.) Avoid rubbing your skin too hard when you apply makeup. Use soft/vegan brushes and latex-free makeup sponges, and be gentle with your skin; apply your makeup in soft strokes instead of dabbing.

5.) Every makeup product that you use will bring some of your redness back, so colors that might look very light on someone without rosacea, will actually look super peachy and much darker on someone with rosacea. Therefore, it’s best to avoid makeup (blushes, lipsticks, eyeshadows, etc) with colors that have red or peachy undertones in them. These colors will make the red areas on your face much more noticeable. Find products that have a beige/white undertone; these colors will hide the rosacea on your skin more effectively and help blend/lighten the rosacea. 

For example:

• Yes: 
• Cheek product with neutral undertones
• Lipstick with neutral undertones
•   No:
• Blush with red undertones 
• Lipstick with red undertones

6.) You need to find a foundation that has a lot of green in it. Green cancels out any red and makes foundation look more ashy grayish. When you first apply it, it's going to look dull and lifeless, but after just a few minutes your skin blends with your foundation, you will have beautiful, even skin without any redness for a long time throughout your day. 

TRUST ME — I know this because I custom-make the foundation for my customers of Puzzle Makeup with rosacea, and the results are amazing!