For people prone to rosacea, make-up can be an important tool to help you feel your best and increase your confidence. While there are many make-up products that will cover areas of redness, some brands may use harsh ingredients that can actually worsen rosacea symptoms and leave your skin feeling dry, irritated and inflamed.
In this article you will learn natural make-up and skin care tips to create a flawless complexion, and to help reduce the appearance of redness caused by rosacea.
What is rosacea?
Rosacea is a common chronic skin condition, often mistaken for acne or sunburn. The face becomes flushed due to dilation of small blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. It is often accompanied with severe dryness and irritation around the chin, cheeks, nose and forehead.
Make-up tips for rosacea
1. Avoid make-up wipes
The backlash against cleansing wipes is well and truly underway, and for good reason. Make-up wipes can be drying and irritating, especially on sensitive, rosacea-prone skin. The harsh, synthetic ingredients often used in make-up wipes, can put your skin out of its healthy balance by stripping it of moisture and beneficial oils.
Instead of cleansing wipes, we recommend using a natural cream cleanser and lukewarm water to wash your face before make-up application. Use a soft, clean cloth to remove your cleanser and avoid washing your face in the shower, as hot water can be drying for your skin.
Our organic Scent Free Cleanser contains anti-inflammatory actives from Calendula and Aloe Vera, to help calm redness and leave the skin feeling soft and nourished. Made without any fragrance, including essential oils, this ultra-gentle cream cleanser and make-up remover is suitable for those prone to rosacea, eczema and psoriasis.
Scent Free Cleanser 150ml
This fragrance-free cleanser is a sensitive skin essential
£27.00
2. Prime with a natural moisturiser
One of the easiest ways to improve the look of your make-up is to ensure that your skin is properly moisturised. This is particularly important for rosacea sufferers, as areas of dryness can cause your make-up to look patchy, and redness will appear more prominent.
If you have dry skin that is prone to rosacea, we recommend priming your skin with our deeply hydrating Scent Free 24-Hour Cream, which is rich in antioxidants from Green Tea and Avocado, while also being gentle on sensitive skin. If your skin is oilier, try using our Scent Free Hydrating Calming Serum, which is deeply moisturising with a lightweight feel.
Apply a pea-sized amount of moisturiser or serum 5-10 minutes before applying your make-up, to get a seamless, natural looking coverage that lasts much longer.
3. Use silicone-free foundation
Foundations that claim to be waterproof, pore-minimising, or to have a blurring effect on the skin, may contain pore-blocking ingredients such as silicone, which can aggravate rosacea-prone skin. Silicones act like a barrier on the surface of your skin, preventing it from properly absorbing moisture and getting rid of toxins, which can lead to blocked pores and irritation. Check the ingredients list for ‘dimethicone’ if you wish to avoid silicone in make-up.
Mineral foundation is ideal for correcting an uneven skin tone and suitable for people prone to rosacea and acne rosacea. Green People’s Pressed Mineral Powder foundations are non-pore-clogging, silicone-free and breathable, with natural Beeswax and Earth minerals to provide buildable, long-lasting coverage that looks beautifully natural.
Professional make-up artist, Amy Saunders, says: “If you want fuller coverage that still looks fresh and natural, try applying Green People’s Age Defy+ Tinted DD Moisturiser with a beauty sponge, followed by Pressed Mineral Powder buffed into the skin with a Kabuki brush.”
4. Don’t be scared of blusher
If your skin is prone to rosacea you may avoid wearing blusher, believing that it exaggerates existing redness that you would rather conceal.
According to Amy Saunders this actually isn’t the case. She says,
“When I have a client with rosacea, they are often wary of using blusher. I always assure them that the right shade of blusher applied to the right areas of your face, actually livens up your complexion and stops your skin tone from looking flat or dull.”
Amy recommends applying a small amount of blusher to the apples of your cheeks and blending well in circular motions with a Kabuki brush.
5. Refresh with a cooling mist
When rosacea flares up it can cause an unpleasant hot or burning sensation on your skin, which can take hours or even days to calm down. Give your complexion some cooling relief with a natural facial mist.
If you use mineral make-up, apply a couple of spritzes over your make-up throughout the day. It provides instant hydration and helps to improve the look of your foundation by refreshing the mineral pigments.
Do you have any questions about make-up for rosacea? Please get in touch, you can talk to one of our friendly customer care team by calling 01403 740350.
