Rosacea Support Community

This post may be of interest to rosacea and seb derm sufferers who are also coping with gastrointestinal issues.

I learned about the benefits of water kefir just recently (thank you, Mask, for all the great advice!). I tried to find water kefir grains locally but couldn't so I wound up ordering fresh grains online from the kefirlady with great results - the grains are growing fast, healthy and produce a nice soda-like drink but I'll have to wait a few more weeks for the kefir grains to yield a half a gallon per brew.

Two weeks ago, Bellableu posted about rejuvelac (thank you, darling!) - she has a history of malabsorption leading to underweight, and went through an anti-candida treatment about a year ago. After adopting a traditional diet and adding daily raw live non-dairy fermented probiotic drinks like kombucha and rejuvelac, her digestion has improved markedly.

I don't keep my house warm enough during the winter to brew kombucha successfully. It does well in the summer but it just...

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UPDATE (Feb 17, 2010):
I think I'm going to start doing this every three weeks or even once a month from now on because my skin has stayed smooth for well over two weeks now.


Artist and Crabby Cathy have written several posts about the benefits of using a super soft microfiber cloth to exfoliate without irritating the skin.

This is what I've been doing, once a week, with splendid results:

You need a super soft microfiber cloth (mine are yellow and the mix is 80% polyester and 20% polyamide - just be sure to use one that's velvety soft).

Place a couple of teaspoons of raw honey in a dish.

Wet a corner of the microfiber cloth with lukewarm water and wring it out a bit so it isn't dripping.

Rinse your face with lukewarm water, do not dry.

Dip the damp microfiber cloth in the raw honey and apply to your face in gentle, circular motions. Continue dipping in the honey...

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My grandma had beautiful soft hands. Her secret: used coffee grounds.

All you need is about a tablespoon's worth which you rub for a half minute or so between your hands, just like when you wash vigorously with soap, really. Rinse well with plain water (no soap) and towel dry. Your hands will smell like coffee for a little while, yes, but they will also feel amazingly smooth.

This works best with very fine (espresso) and fine coffee grounds. Be sure to rinse under rings, if you wear them.

Last year I stopped drinking green tea in place of water (about 2 liters per day) because I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had been drinking it for years because of its health benefits but all the brands I tried would upset my stomach. Because of this, and since I just can't make myself drink plenty of plain water once the weather starts cooling down, last winter I wasn't hydrating enough and, perhaps not coincidentally, I started having skin problems. Very dry body skin, first, and then a bout of seb derm and increased flushing.

Sometime in the spring I learned about Long Jin (Dragon Well), a very special green tea that tops the Ten Great Chinese Teas list. It makes a beautiful bright green infusion with a lovely floral scent and doesn't upset my stomach. However, this tea is awfully expensive...

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I've been thinking of writing this post for a while now but I kept putting it off because writing about how useless a "specialized" doctor can be is such a depressing thing to do...

This doctor is the dermatologist I've been seeing for the past three years. He's in his 60s, soft spoken and has a pleasant bedside manner. Is he competent? You tell me:

One day, back in July, a spot below my left eye started to itch. I blamed it on the seb derm and tried to ignore it but it kept bothering me all day. Next day the spot was slightly inflamed so I put a bit of raw honey on it, which helped, but by night it would get itchy again. By the end of the week the itching had almost gone away but now the spot looked a little wrinkly and puffy and something seemed to be growing on it and, whatever that was, would go away after cleansing/moisturizing just to reappear next day. By day 10 I'd had enough, called the derm's office and told them I had a "growth right...

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