16 August 2010

solution to rosacea

Just a little break time from all those travel entries I've been posting--although I'm so happy and grateful that several people have come up to me to say they love my little posts on my Europe trip, and that these are well-written and super interesting to them. (Wow, I'm overwhelmed, because I honestly think my writing's pretty rusty and the stuff I write about are rather mundane, but thanks everyone for the love. Will post more about my Europe trip when I have the time. It's Paris up next, by the way!)

On to a bit of frivolity.

Well, not really. It was a necessary purchase, but a bit costly on the pocket.

I've had mild rosacea all my life, and I recently discovered Jurlique's Calendula Lotion, which is excellent in soothing sensitive skin. I checked a website dedicated to people with diagnosed rosacea (ranging from mild to serious rosacea), and Jurlique's product was recommended for those with a condition like mine.

Actually if you know me and see me everyday, you wouldn't really notice the rosacea. Like I said, it's pretty mild. At most, people think I have a rosy tinge on my cheeks (so yeah, this blogger obviously doesn't need any blusher--ever). It only flares up during extreme heat, or when I'm encountering a rapid change in temperature, like going from a warm place to a cold one, and vice versa. It also shows up at the most inopportune moments, like when I'm laughing real hard or when I get embarrassed--so please don't tease me, because I do end up blushing!

And the redness is most apparent after I'm done with a workout or a run. Whenever I get out of my bikram yoga class, for example, my face feels like a glowing tomato, which is so not sexy. One of the reasons why my rosacea manifests itself is because I love, love, love spicy food, and I cannot live without that.

But on most days, my cheeks just exhibit the slightest tinge of rosiness, and other people think it's cute and all--but it's the vain, hypochondriac side of me that really fusses over this condition in the most paranoid of ways.

I ended up buying Jurlique Calendula Lotion because it promised that the soothing properties of calendula would help decrease the redness. Tried it, and my first reaction was: "Oh, f#$%! It smells like soy sauce!" Definitely not something you'd want to put on while you're with a bunch of people. It's not the cream kind of lotion that one slathers on--it's more like toner actually, so the "lotion" on the product box may actually be misleading.

Like toner, I just apply several drops on a cotton pad and pat my face, compressing the pad into the problem area, just like what the instructions on the box say. The "lotion" does have a cooling, soothing effect and lo and behold, it really did dramatically reduce the flaring up.

The lotion still stinks to the highest heavens, like other Jurlique products, but people really swear by this brand. I'd used to pass by the Greenbelt 5 branch of Jurlique and wonder why the prices of their hand creams and such were ridiculously expensive, but I guess as long as the product works for me, I'm good. Even if my face smells a tad like soy sauce--despite the facial night cream slathered on top--before I go to sleep.

2 comments:

  1. can i bring along manggang hilaw when we have your fitting? isawsaw natin sa lotion. hehe. :)

    i have a friend who swears by jurlique. mahal nga but if it works, worth it naman.

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  2. Haha, pwede! Soysauce actually smells better!!

    The calendula lotion I got has pure concentrated amounts of calendula, witch hazel and other herb stuff, so it smells pretty weird. Heehee.

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