Newbie here to introduce myself

[LoriB]

Hello everyone,

My name is Lori and I was diagnosed with rosacea and acne (both fun huh!) last year by my dermatologist. He has me using Differin cream every 3rd night and I have tried a few different topicals. So far I have used Metrocream which helps rosacea but is too emollient for acne so I am going to switch to the gel. Also Finacea but that is pretty irritating for my skin. I have combo skin and it's very very sensitive. My rosacea is type 2 but I don't have the red cheeks. I have p&p's and redness across my nose, chin, and forehead. I have acne on my jawline. When I saw my general doctor while waiting for an appointment with a derm he misdiagnosed me as having acne vulgaris. He told me I don't have rosacea because my cheeks aren't red. He gave me an rx for Retin A micro, and Clindamycin solution (this contains 50% alcohol btw)! Of course that was a disaster. I have not been able to find a successful skin care routine and would appreciate any help from you guys. I use mineral makeup that is water resistant but have been unable to find a tolerable makeup remover to remove it completely. This could very well lead to my acne component too.

Thank you all in advance for any help. I'm very grateful to find a forum like this.

[Artist]

Hi Lori:

Welcome to the group! I'm so sorry you went through that experience with the misdiagnosis. I think your derm is wise to advise only using the differin every third night. It has benzoyl peroxide, which would irritate the rosacea if overused. I'd be very vigilant with this one. It sounds to me like you may just have rosacea breakouts in the rosacea areas (across nose and cheeks), and acne on the jawline. Does your derm truly feel that you have acne mixed in with your rosacea area? Have you considered treating these two areas of your face differently? For example, use the metrogel on the rosacea area and differin on the acne area? You may want to run that by your derm to see what they think. There is no need to irritate your rosacea area if the breakouts there are not due to acne. The financia can be helpful for p&ps, but many do seem to stop due to irritation. I would definitely alert your dermatologist about anything that irritates. I always avoid any topical that irritates. Irritation means your skin is inflamed, and that's the last thing you want with rosacea.

Have you had any luck with cleansing and moisturizing? Oil of Olay foaming face wash "for sensitive skin" cleanses very thoroughly and many here have had good luck with it. Be sure to look for the one that says "sensitive skin" on the bottle.

Artist

[LoriB]

Thank you for your reply. Differin cream does not contain benoyl peroxide. It is a retinoid (synthetic) like Retin A but much more mild. I've been tolerating the Differin cream for almost a year but I do mix it with a moisturizer to dilute the strength. I'm not even sure anymore about the acne. I think it's irritation based. For example if I use a harsh product I will get clustered bumps on my jawline that sometimes itch. But I also get large pus filled bumps which I think may be pustules? It's very hard to tell the difference between acne and rosacea pustules. The papules I can identify but the pustules are difficult for me.

I have tried the Olay, my skin seems to hate foaming cleansers as they all give me itchy bumps. I am currently using Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser in the a.m. and La Roche Posay Toleriane fluid to moisturize. Still haven't found a sunscreen that doesn't sting or flush me. So I'm relying on my mineral makeup for sun protection.

I agree, the breakouts in the rosacea area are different. They are little red clustered bumps, the acne on the jawline looks different.

I have had no luck with skincare products. Search continues for me here....

[Peter]

Hello Lori

As far as I know there are two types of Clindamycin topicals available (Dalacin T) with one being the solution you tried and another called "lotion". The lotion doesn't contain alcohol and is therefore more suitable for the sensitive rosacea skin and will probably help your acne component as well. I have used Dalacin T lotion for years now as part of my skin care regime and never had any irritation. Another product I still use which you might want to try is Aloe Vera gel (Aloe99) which can help calm your rosacea skin and can have a moisturising effect if you layer it. Always do a patch test first as with any new topical.

Good luck

Peter