The inflamed redness you describe: it isn't across the bridge of the nose and onto the cheeks is it? If it is, ask your doctor if this is a "butterfly rash" that is often associated with Lupus (a connective tissue disease). Just have to make sure your skin is not suffering due to another medical condition. As for rosacea, technically it is an infection and does quite well with oral tetracyclines. I would avoid the topical ones as they can be quite drying and harsh (even the ones marketed for 'sensitive skin').
First of all, you need to tackle the irritated part of you skin. This is the trickiest part -- especially due to the climate you live in and the goal you want to achieve (anti-wrinkle). Traditional 'anti-wrinkle' products can often be harsh to sensitive skin, so you would need to go a different route initially.
The Big "No's" for you: No AHA, retinoids, alcohol-based toners, Vit-c products (at least for now due to their drying tendancies), glycolic acids. These are all quite harsh and some (retinols, AHA, glycolics)thin out the skin -- not good if you have rosacea and translucent skin to begin with!
Make sure you have a good cleanser. I have somewhat sensitive skin with miniscule pores that clog like no other if I am not careful. I have used many different brands and my favorites are/were: AO seaware cleanser, Noxema cleansing lotion sensitive skin (no smell, no clogged pores, one of my favorites), Darphin Intral cleanser (very nice for sensitive skin), Clarins cleansing milk with alpine herbs, Sisley botanical cleansing milk with hawthorn, Caudalie cleansing milk, and my newest is Shiseido Pureness Cleansing water (I LOVE this!! No scent at all, and very refreshing and not an ounce of dryness). I have also used a great cleanser by Sage -- this is a nice company because it focuses on different skin types and the owner can tailor the product to you and your skin type. The website is www.sageadv.com
Some people really like Ceptaphil cleanser (the origional cleanser). It was very gentle for me, but it clogged my pores a bit. Avoid Neutrogena cleansers -- they are all quite harsh for your type skin. I would also avoid a soap-based cleanser for now. You mentioned Clinique -- I know that most of the time the 3-step program includes that bar of soap. I think this may be too harsh for you right now because this type of cleanser doesn't hold moisture to your skin. I would also avoid using the Dramatically different moisturizer -- choc full of mineral oil (VERY bad for you skin). And most of the toners contain alcohol so watch this too.
I would next recommend something to calm down the redness in your cheeks. I have used Darphin's Intral complex with great success. No irritation at all and it seemed to help me. Now, this isn't 'anti-aging' but you can always slap something on top of this once your skin has calmed down. This is quiet pricey (at least here in the states). There is an alternative that MAY work for you. It all depends on your skin and how irritated it is. It is called the Aspirin mask. You make it yourself by dissolving 3-4 uncoated aspirins in a few teaspoons of water and gently patting this onto your skin. Wash off after 1-2 minutes. This is salicylic acid and is a very mild form of Beta-hydroxy acid (BHA). This is quite good for rosacea and can be quite calming. It is also an anti-ager, so you can kill two birds with one stone!
For anti-aging, I would recommend something gentle to start with. If you are having no problems with the Roc, then I wouldn't necesesarily switch. But, if you find it is irritating, then I would buy something else. From my experience, I have found the following observations to be:
1. Vitamin C -- tends to be a bit drying (except for the one that I use -- more later)
2. ALA (alpha lipoic acid) -- works best when used in conjunction with vit c and is also a bit drying but not as bad as with the vitamin c alone
3. AHA -- can be irritating
4. Retin-A -- irritating, dry flakes, and thins out skin and creates telangiectasias (spider veins) on thin skin
5. BHA -- one of my favorite clarifying agents. Not too harsh. Great also for acne.
6. Kinerase -- a bit drying. A great substitute for retinols if they are too harsh for you.
7. Copper peptides - great but they smell funny (metalic). If you can get past the smell, these work very well to help rejeuvinate the skin.
The products I am using I rotate around depending on what my skin needs that day. I have read various reports about what should be used during the day and night, and I have come to the conclusion that it probably doesn't matter.
1/ Jason Hyper-C serum -- a 10% ester-c serum that contains vitamin E, green tea extract, and grape seed extract. If used sparingly, this is great stuff. (using too much is quite sticky) I have yet to find it dry out my skin (stay away from cellex-c!!). I have a tendancy of getting little broken vessles on my face and my newest one was on the tip of my nose. After using this serum for a few weeks it went away completely. Not bad!!
2/ Derma E Alpha Lipoic Acid and Green Tea Extract Advanced Repair Complex -- anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial. A nice moisturizer -- NOT greasy at all. I think this has help even out my skin tone. I use this after I have used the Jason Hyper-C serum. Dr. Perricone recommends using Vit C and ALA together in the morning to protect against free radicals.
3/ Jason Tea Time anti-aging moisturizing cream -- contains grape seed extract, SOD, beta-carotene, and vit A,C,and E. This is nice for evening. It is a bit more moisturizing than the Derma E, but it still doesn't seem to be greasy at all.
4/ Avalon CoQ10 wrinkle defense serum. I love this serum and use it on the wrinkle areas (around eyes and lips) before I use the Tea Time moisturizing cream at bedtime. I havn't had a reaction to it at all. It is not a drying serum at all and dosn't contain a lot of irritants.
5/ Neutrogena Skin Clearing Moisturizer -- says it contains salicylic acid (BHA) and Retinol (yeah, right. I can't find it on the ingredient list so I am quite doubtful). This is a 2% salicylic acid cream and I LOVE it for keeping acne at bay. It has never irritated my skin and keeps my nose and chin from getting clogged pores. I often use this on the t-zone and use the anti-wrinkle creams on the rest of my face. Works awesome.
6/ Skin bio's Protect and Restore Copper peptide cream -- I also like this but as I am very sensitve to smells I couldn't get past this one. I use this mainly on my neck at bedtime when I want a change in my routine. It has never irritated my skin or cause breakouts. I know a lot of people swear by the CP serum -- I havn't ventured down that road yet.
7/ Caudalie C20 moisturizing cream -- once again, another not greasy moisturizer with anti-oxidants. This was a sample I received and I probably won't buy it due to my other products being more "powerful" in my opinion.
8/ Shiseido Bio-performance Advanced super revitalizer, super-eye contour cream, and Intensivde Clarifying Essence -- got these as samples when I got my Pureness Cleansing Water. So far I love these!! The Intensive Clarifying Essence is in replace of AHA/BHA -- it has yet to dry out my skin and my skin has felt baby smooth since using these. I also love the eye cream. I have some Darphin eye cream that I like but I think I will buy this once I have use up the Darphin.
9/ Cream de La Mer -- I hated this cream. What a waste of my money. The premise of this is anti-oxidants with seaweed. I know people who swear by this cream -- those with oily and acne skin as well. It is supposed to even out skin texture and decrease oil production but all it did for me was block my miniscule pores and depleate my bank account.
10/ Kinerase -- I have both the lotion and the cream. Neither one is greasy and in fact I found them to be a little drying. The product is scent-free and not unpleasant to use. If I use this, I mainly use it on my neck and around my eyes and lips when rotating it in with my other produts as my cheeks have a tendancy to get dry and I usually avoid any product that might dry them out. However, this has NEVER actually dried out my skin -- I just like the feel of a more greasy mosturizer on it.
11/ Sunscreen, drink a lot of water, take multivitamins and hair/skin vitamins daily, good diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits.
I hope I havn't bored you to tears yet!!
I have gleaned my current skincare products from Dr. Perricone but instead of buying his products I bought the ones from Jason and Derma-E and Avalon (much cheaper!!) . So far so good. The thing about anti-aging is that only time will tell if the products helped. On a good note -- I am 33 and people often tell me I look in my mid 20's so something is working right.
I would avoid facials for now. Especially any type of steam -- very bad for rosacea!! I would also avoid any of the type of facials where they "sand blast" your skin or manipulate it too much (other than a gentle facial massage).
After getting a gentle cleanser (and an alcohol-free toner if you use it) I would start with either the aspirin mask or some of the Intral complex. You can always add one of the anti-aging products and use around the eye and lip areas until the rest of your skin calms down.
Wanting great skin and less signs of aging is not vain. No matter how wonderful your hair or clothes or makeup is -- you can't hide wrinkles. And, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound in cure!!
Let me know if you have any other questions!
I am sure I have the answers or can find them for you.
Dagny
2/22.5/32
