This article was first highlighted by Rosacea News in March 2006 as result of the 2006 Annual Meeting of the AAD, Poster Session in San Francisco. The paper was called Tolerability and efficacy of a moisturizing lotion containing 0.1% kinetin for improving the signs of acne rosacea in facial and neck skin.
The follow-on paper has now been published in a peer reviewed journal, Clinical and Experimental Dermatology.
Paula Begoun has this to say about Kinetin.
Kinetin is a plant-growth hormone, and its technical name is N6-furfuryladenine. What makes kinetin interesting are the in vitro and animal studies demonstrating its effect as a growth factor.
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I suspect that when it’s applied topically, kinetin isn’t of much use to the skin cell, and even if it could be utilized, there probably isn’t enough kinetin in any product to have a negative or positive impact but that is only a guess, no one knows for sure (Source: Dermatologic Clinics, October 2000, pages 609-615).
So the summary is that there appears to be some modest improvement in rosacea redness and lesions (papules/pustules) by using topical kinetin. Here is the abstract.
Topical kinetin 0.1% lotion for improving the signs and symptoms of rosacea., Clin Exp Dermatol. 2007 Sep 14; Wu JJ, Weinstein GD, Kricorian GJ, Kormeili T, McCullough JL. Department of Dermatology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Many patients with rosacea are unable to tolerate extended treatment periods with topical agents because of the unusually high skin sensitivity that often accompanies rosacea. Kinetin (N(6)-furfuryladenine) is a plant cytokinin that reportedly helps restore skin barrier function and may be useful to ameliorate the signs and symptoms of rosacea. The purpose of this open-label study was to determine the tolerance and efficacy of twice-daily application of kinetin 0.1% lotion for improving the signs and symptoms of mild to moderate facial rosacea. Subjects applied kinetin 0.1% lotion twice daily to the face, with daily use of a sunscreen of sun protection factor 30. Subjects were evaluated at baseline and at 4-week intervals for 12 weeks to assess efficacy and tolerance. Results of this study suggest that kinetin 0.1% lotion is a well-tolerated moisturizing lotion option for subjects with mild to moderate inflammatory rosacea.
3 comments ↓
I wonder if a professional “facial” will aggrevate my rosacea? I am 40 and have had mild rosacea for a few years, but in the last 4 months it has worsened significantly. I usually have a facial every 4-6 months, but am waiting out of concern that it might have a detrimental effect. Can someone please advise me?
Lori:
I get a couple of facials per year. When booking your appointment, make sure that you ask if they are trained to help customers with rosacea. The technician that helps me has rosacea and knows what aggravates her skin so I am very confident in her.
Always make sure that if they use steam to open your pores, that it is far enough away from your face. I’ve found that if its about 1.5 feet away from my face I’m fine. Also make sure that if they do micro-derm that they don’t use a machine. (If you’re comfortable, let them use their hands). Don’t be afraid to speak up if your face starts burning! Someone who performs facials is passionate about skin care and wants to help your complexion.
I will get a slight flair-up afterward (for about 20 minutes), but my skin does appear clearer and more even within a half hour or so. Plus it’s really relaxing!
I am 32 and my rosacea has gotten worse in the last 6 months and now I am on Metrogel .75%. I went in for a facial because my skin was really dry. I thought it would be good for them to remove the dead layer of skin. My facialist was young and apparently inexperienced because she started the facial by applying lactic acid to remove the dead skin cells. Lactic acid and rosacea are a bad combo! My face stung so much for the entire facial, even when she began using the calming, mild products. At first I wondered if it was the lactic acid irritating me due to my use of metrogel. From the research I did, it looks like it was just from having rosacea. I had the worst flare-up I’ve ever had. Bright red marks on my face – looked like a bad allergic reaction. The products they use are very important to consider in a facial as rosacea folks can’t tolerate the same products everyone else can. Get someone experienced with your condition.
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