Hi, everyone! I am in love with Dr. Baumann's book...it came out at the perfect time this winter when I was literally skulking around the makeup counters looking and feeling like an old piece of shoe leather and willing to spend a fortune on something to make me look and feel better. I am a breast cancer survivor so I am and have been on a lot of medication. Part of my treatment has included having my ovaries removed so I am left high and especially dry without estrogen. This ordeal has really changed the nature of my skin. I have been trying some of the recommended products. I have used either metro gel or klarins gel for mild rosacea.(Samples from my Dermatologist). Both of these products have left me very dry on my nose. When I say dry, I mean very, very dry like flakes the size of potato chips! Unfortunately, in addition to all this I have thickened areas of skin along side clogged pores! Huh?! Anyway, I have been cleansing with La Roche Posay cleanser (which reminds me a lot of Cetaphil), not exfoliating (a fact which makes every makeup counter woman take a horrified gasp!), using DDF sulfur mask on occasion, moisturizing during the day with Elizabeth Arden ceramide cream for face and eyes (expensive stuff especially for the way I'm going through it),and moisturizing at night with the Atopalm MLE face cream. I have to admit that I bought some La Roche Posay facial water but haven't been using it all that much. I guess I wasn't really sure what it was for. On here I see that some of you use it on a daily basis prior to moisturizing. I also have some Philosophy Pigment of Your Imagination, but I'm kind of afraid to use it. I'm not sure what to expect from it and feel a little funny "bleaching" my face. I have been following this same regimen for months now. I can report that my skin is more hydrated, but still pretty dry. I am having a terrible time with make-up as it just seems to accentuate my flakes and look ridiculous. I went to a Bare Escentuals store where they made me up so heavily that I looked like my Grandmother! (Not pretty...especially since she's dead.) Seriously, every fine line was magnified. I'm only 38 for crying out loud! I also still have clogged pores, especially around my nose and on my chin. My fine lines are not as noticeable, but that's pretty much it. I am wondering if I'm not using the Atopalm correctly. Everyone seems to really love it, but I don't feel particularly moisturized with it and my face is very flakey in the morning. Can anyone give me some direction? I am not a huge makeup user, but I am fair skinned and uneven and would like to have some color that looks natural and healthy. One of the things I have noticed about myself is that I can't even wear concealer.(For covering blue circles or sun spots) It is just too harsh on my delicate eye skin. They are all so sticky that they never blend, and I end up pulling my skin around making more wrinkles! Aaargh! I purchased some Chanel foundation and it's okay but I still feel like my pores are clogged with the stuff after wearing it for one day. So, lately I have had to resort to going "au naturel" which in my case is French for pale, pasty, flakey, and tired looking! Help! ???

Hi, everyone! I am in love with Dr. Baumann's book...it came out at the perfect time this winter when I was literally skulking around the makeup counters looking and feeling like an old piece of shoe leather and willing to spend a fortune on something to make me look and feel better. I am a breast cancer survivor so I am and have been on a lot of medication. Part of my treatment has included having my ovaries removed so I am left high and especially dry without estrogen. This ordeal has really changed the nature of my skin. I have been trying some of the recommended products. I have used either metro gel or klarins gel for mild rosacea.(Samples from my Dermatologist). Both of these products have left me very dry on my nose. When I say dry, I mean very, very dry like flakes the size of potato chips! Unfortunately, in addition to all this I have thickened areas of skin along side clogged pores! Huh?! Anyway, I have been cleansing with La Roche Posay cleanser (which reminds me a lot of Cetaphil), not exfoliating (a fact which makes every makeup counter woman take a horrified gasp!), using DDF sulfur mask on occasion, moisturizing during the day with Elizabeth Arden ceramide cream for face and eyes (expensive stuff especially for the way I'm going through it),and moisturizing at night with the Atopalm MLE face cream. I have to admit that I bought some La Roche Posay facial water but haven't been using it all that much. I guess I wasn't really sure what it was for. On here I see that some of you use it on a daily basis prior to moisturizing. I also have some Philosophy Pigment of Your Imagination, but I'm kind of afraid to use it. I'm not sure what to expect from it and feel a little funny "bleaching" my face. I have been following this same regimen for months now. I can report that my skin is more hydrated, but still pretty dry. I am having a terrible time with make-up as it just seems to accentuate my flakes and look ridiculous. I went to a Bare Escentuals store where they made me up so heavily that I looked like my Grandmother! (Not pretty...especially since she's dead.) Seriously, every fine line was magnified. I'm only 38 for crying out loud! I also still have clogged pores, especially around my nose and on my chin. My fine lines are not as noticeable, but that's pretty much it. I am wondering if I'm not using the Atopalm correctly. Everyone seems to really love it, but I don't feel particularly moisturized with it and my face is very flakey in the morning. Can anyone give me some direction? I am not a huge makeup user, but I am fair skinned and uneven and would like to have some color that looks natural and healthy. One of the things I have noticed about myself is that I can't even wear concealer.(For covering blue circles or sun spots) It is just too harsh on my delicate eye skin. They are all so sticky that they never blend, and I end up pulling my skin around making more wrinkles! Aaargh! I purchased some Chanel foundation and it's okay but I still feel like my pores are clogged with the stuff after wearing it for one day. So, lately I have had to resort to going "au naturel" which in my case is French for pale, pasty, flakey, and tired looking! Help! ???

Oh dear! I guess my skin issues aren't so bad after all. I'm sorry that I don't have any great advise, other than go see a cosmetic dermatologist. Maybe some of the lasar light treatments would be good for your skin. Also, with skin as dry as yours, I think I would stay away from powder makeups. Good luck!

Well, I just re-read my post and saw that I had said the Dermatologist gave me samples of klarins when the samples I have are for Klaron. Oops. It was pretty late when I wrote my initial post. Maybe it didn't translate over the computer, but I was exaggerating a bit. (Obviously I don't have flakes the size of potato chips) It's just that the dryness is really annoying especially when it is in an area where I have clogged pores. This makes me unsure that I really need to be using a rosacea treatment at all. Has anyone tried any non-prescription remedies that are less harsh or drying? I have a sample of a Dermadoctor brand rosacea treatment, but it wasn't listed in the book. Here are my symptoms that made the Dermatologist say I have mild rosacea: I have clogged pores on my nose, chin, and occasionally on my brow and inner cheeks. They are not terribly huge but they are noticeable to me. I rarely if ever get an actual pimple. Usually it is only because I have used something particularly greasy. I have patches of dryness elsewhere on my face. I am fair skinned, get very red with exercise (and suffer from hot flashes due to menopause), have a red nose, have some fine spider veins around my nose and lower cheeks (again, not too noticeable). I do not get blackheads. I have noticed that I do get thickened skin in the area where a large deep pore has been clogged. (Is this cystic acnea? I've never understood what that is.) I used to do a lot of squeezing to unclog my pores (since nothing else works) or exfoliating (which never worked), but I don't anymore. I have had stinging reactions to anything too harsh. My skin is moister after putting on moisturizer, but not after I wash it. Is there a better choice of moisturizer perhaps? Like I said, the Atopalm MLE feels good going on, but doesn't feel all that moisturizing. My atopalm comes in a tube but I see there is one in a tub. Is that perhaps a different formulation that is more hydrating? Should I be using the Atopalm in the AM instead of the PM? There is sunscreen in the Elizabeth Arden, so that's why I use it in the AM. I also have Prescriptives redness relief gel but I haven't noticed that it does much. Does anyone else use it and if so, do you use it daily? The very nice woman at the Elizabeth Arden counter gave me a tube of tinted moisturizer that gives me a hint of color, but it too seems to end up in my pores. Other than the dryness and early aging symptoms, my skin doesn't look all that bad. It is mostly that I fear that the dryness and rosacea could get worse over time. I do not want to end up with a large red nose. (My nose is already red.) Has anyone tried Philosophy Supernatural foundation with dry skin? Is it not recommended for us? Is any cosmetic recommended? I'm sorry that I have so many questions at once, but I'm really stumped. I've always been a fairly minimal upkeep kind of person so all of this has left me really confused.

Have you tried using a sulfur mask?  Sulfur can sometimes be helpful with rosacea.  (is the Klaron sulfur?  I am not familiar with that.)  I have the DDF mask that Dr B recommends and like using it once or twice a week.  It helps with clogged pores too.  Since you are dry, don't leave it on too long and apply moisturizer after using it.  I too have the Atopalm and I don't think it's very moisturizing either.  I'm also very dry.  Try evening cleansing with Ponds Cold Cream, it's cheap and it leaves some moisture on the skin.  Spray with the facial water you have after cleansing, then apply a light layer of moisturizer--not a heavy one.  Pat in into the skin instead of rubbing it on.  Let it sink in a bit and then spray more water and apply another light layer of moisturizer.  You might have to reapply during the day too--sometimes I pat some on right over my makeup.  Dry skin is a pain!  Tell your derm that the rosacea meds are drying you out, there may be some other options to try.  Always get samples!

Hi Alane

I am also a DSPW, almost 38 years old (I haven't figured out how to get my skin type info into my profile yet), and have early stages of Rosacea. It sounds as if my symptoms are very similar to yours: I have little bumps (some, noticeable only by me) on my cheeks, slight redness on cheeks and nose; sensitivity to heat, and my cheeks get very red with exercise (I run outside so it happens when I run in very hot or cold weather, even though I am vigilant about protecting my skin with sunscreen when sunny and shea butter/ face masks when cold and windy).

So, about a year or two ago I complained to my derm about the texture of my skin, thinking it was from sun damage. He told me immediately that it was not sun damage but rosacea- very early stages. He reccommended that I get Photo Rejuvenation/Fotofacial treatments which would be perfect for the redness and bumpy texture and help with fine lines, and be good for long term control of the condition. I was really hesitant b/c of the high cost and my unfamiliarity with the procedure, plus thinking I was being super vain about the whole thing. I did a bunch of research and b/c I really trust my derm (has an excellent reputation and longstanding practice) I decided to do it, and boy was it worth it! Now I hardly wear makeup at all and feel great! I am not sure if you're even thinking about this kind of treatment but I wanted to at least mention it b/c it really made such an incredible difference in the way I feel about my face and how I look! ;D The treatment I had was the Elos (http://www.syneron.com/skin.html. This was a combo of light/radio frequency; five intital treatments taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours each (not regular IPL therapy) I know there a lot of treatments (Dr B talks about some in her book; she also says somewhere in the book to go for photorejuvenation treatments ASAP if possible for lines) and I don't know so much which treatments are good for what, but I can say what this did for me:

Facial redness lessened alot, almost completely gone!! ; dark spots/freckles almost gone (skin is much more even toned); texture is phenomenal--so smooth I freaked out when I was done with just the first treatment-it knocked 10 years off the feel of my skin! ; and also I can tell the skin holds more moisture; I don' have to use so much lotion/oil on my face now. I still go for maintenance treatments every 6-9 months as needed, so far only once back in a year and a half (my derm says b/c I run/exercise I will continue to cause new capillaries to break and thus keep causing redness, so this is really a good preventative/maintenance treatment) I feel like I am doing something to keep my face from getting worse as I was concerned also about the rosacea as I get older...)

Also--make sure you have a good derm who you trust and feel comfortable with; esp. when it comes to them being able to make recommandations for (cosmetic and other) treatments. Like mine says, "Your face is your Rolls Royce, you need to take care of it".

About moisturizing-I just read 'The Book' a few weeks ago and until now had no idea that any of this skincare stuff actually worked! I have ordered all the stuff for my DSPW regimen but haven't gotten any of it yet; I got the MLE Cream--now I am wondering about the choice. I also ordered the La Roche Posay Facial water so will try Patrish's suggestion.. At the moment I am in the habit of using Apricot Kernel oil w/ evening primrose and borage seed oil on my face (sometimes mixed with soothing essential oils such as chamomile or lavender). At night I put the oil on my wet face after showering, tap it on and let it sit. Then again right before bed, wet my face again, more oil (be careful of sheets/cover with an ols tshirt or towel). The apricot kernel is a light oil and absorbs very quicly. It is a good moisturiser, can also add vitamin E capsules to it for an antioxidant. Sometimes I put moisturizer on first then the oil. I have some clogged pores on my nose; maybe the facial water will help with that...

Sorry such a long post!