Those of you who have been following me since my blog went under the moniker, “Chickweed & Blush” know about my lifelong struggle with skin issues. I’ve even chatted with some of you about your own issues and what products we liked and what worked, etc. So I know you will be able to relate to this new, equally frustrating skin problem!

(Those of you who are new can read my previous posts on acne here. )

To recap: When I made the switch to cleaner skincare and beauty products and eating a cleaner diet, my skin had become much healthier, not to mention clearer. Also, my scarring began to look less deep or noticeable. Obviously, it didn’t happen overnight – I had to be patient for any significant results, but the breakouts did lessen right away, which was a huge win.

For the first time in my life, I wasn’t ashamed of my skin and I was even comfortable wearing my hair off my face and at times going bare-faced..and in front of people no less! It only took until my 30s for this miracle to happen and my skin stayed clear and healthy and happy…until my mid-late forties.

It was around that time that my adrenals noped out on me and then my thyroid and then, of course, my hormones went all out of whack. I also developed gut issues – food sensitivities and weight gain. On top of it all, my skin became an angry, inflamed mess that refused to calm down no matter what I used. At first, I thought my skin issue was just a result of everything else I was going through and that once I got those issues under control, my skin would calm down.

Ha ha. Nope.

While I did get help from a holistic specialist for my adrenals, thyroid, and hormones (though still healing and still trying to lose weight and regain my health), my skin remained red and unhappy with only a few calm days here and there.

Now, at 52, I was recently informed by an esthetician (who also happens to be an acne and sensitive skin specialist) that I have rosacea. Booo. I found out when I booked a facial with her for my birthday and she examined my skin with her wood’s lamp. She showed me the broken capillaries on my cheeks and then explained all about rosacea (she’s had it her whole life so is pretty much an expert). Since this is new territory for me that I am honestly not very educated on (though am doing my due diligence now!), I decided to follow the regimen that she customized for me.

Normally, I’d just go back to my clean beauty faves and go on my merry way, but since I haven’t learned what my own rosacea triggers are, I am going to be a good client and follow what the expert suggests.

Full disclaimer – While these brands are pretty clean, there are some ingredients I’m not crazy about, but since I haven’t had any kind of reaction and there’s nothing toxic in them that I can see, I’m ok with using them, and they also play well with my beloved Cocokind, Beauty by Earth, and Bella Aura, so I still get to use my clean faves! Oh, and they also mix well with the facial oils I am testing for the Cert Clean Clean Beauty Awards so woot woot!!!

But now for my regimen. I’m going to break down everything I am using, both day and night. This post is just going to cover my skin routine and later, I will write about my make-up and diet once I get all of that fully figured out.

The first three products are from my esthetician. These are all acne and rosacea safe.

1. Face Reality Ultra Gentle Cleanser – a low foaming, sulfate-free, fragrance-free face wash that leaves my skin really hydrated and soothed. It contains licorice and green tea as well as witch hazel. *at night, I use Cocokind’s Oil to Milk Cleanser first, then follow with this. In the morning, I only use the Face Reality cleanser.
2. Skin Script Glycolic & Retinol Pads – *night time only* – I use these after cleansing and before my next step. These are surprisingly gentle and provide anti-aging benefits, as well as help to stop breakouts.
3. Face Reality Cran-Peptide Moisturizer – I really love this moisturizer! It’s very lightweight, and hydrating, yet not greasy, and keeps my skin really calm. I use this after my serum and before my SPF (Cocokind, of course! The mineral sunscreen is my fave).

1. Before I use the moisturizer, I first use my serums. My two favorites are again, from Cocokind. I first use the *Postbiotic Acne Serum. This contains 1.5% salicylic acid to gently exfoliate, beta-glucan, postbiotics, and aloe to soothe and calm. Then, I add my absolute favorite serum (literally if the apocalypse happened & I could only save ONE product, THIS would be the one!) – The Ceramide Barrier Serum. This not only has a blend of 5 ceramides to help support and nurture your skin barrier, but it also has ceramide pre-cursors, which encourage new ceramide production, and also beta-glucan to help soothe.
2. *I alternate with the Face Reality Salicylic Serum during the day only.
3. Facial oil – *mostly at night* – I have been alternating the Cert Clean oils I’m testing to the mix to see how my skin reacts. So far, the Barrier Balm by Holistic Vanity gets a gold star for helping to keep my skin calm! It’s a very thick oil, but surprisingly not at all greasy, that contains blue chamomile, lavender, vanilla bean, and pomegranate oils to help keep redness and irritation away. My skin definitely likes this!

I also recently started adding the HA serum by Beauty by Earth to my daytime routine for extra hydration.

On days that my skin is particularly red (like in the pics below), I pare down my routine to just the Face Reality products until it calms back down. It seems like it’s going to be trial and error right now.

I’m trying not to let this get me down and feel insecure again, it’s hard though, I’m not going to lie. But I’m determined to get my health and the health of my skin back where it was. Maybe by Summer, I’ll feel comfortable enough to not only wear a bikini but no make-up and my hair off my face. 🙂

What are your go-to products for acne or rosacea? Any diet tips for me?

Chat soon,

Brie xo

*Affiliate links are used. Product photos are the property of Brie Zimmerman, please do not use them without permission.