For the last few years I have suffered with Acne Rosacea, which is apparently very common on people with my skin type – I am fair skinned with a tendency for rosy cheeks – in fact when I am ill I always look flushed instead of pale!!
The symptoms of rosacea are extreme redness of the cheeks, spots, raised bumps and sometimes I get dry sore eyes. Triggers include stress, alcohol, spicy food, sunshine etc.
When not pregnant or breastfeeding I managed the symptoms with antibiotics and a topical application, but they never really got rid of it, and over the years I have spent a fortune on creams promising a cure, that never ever worked.
A few weeks ago I stumbled on a post which linked Rosacea to a mite that naturally lives on the skin called a Demodex mite which release a bacteria into the skin which causes an immune reaction. Apparently there are 10x as many mites on Rosacea sufferers than are on the rest of the population – you can read more here.
I also saw companies advertising creams that would kill the mites, but were charging a premium for them when the active ingredient was Tea-Tree Oil, so I decided to try it for myself.
I bought a small pot of Tea-Tree oil and added a couple of drops to my cheap and cheerful supermarket own sensitive moisturiser on each application as you must never ever put an essential oil directly on the skin!
I have to admit it doesn’t smell great, although the smell does wear off fairly quickly and as they said the symptoms did get worse before they got better, which is apparently due to the mites decomposing on the skin – YUK!
But, do you know what…………it only bloomin worked!!! After three weeks my skin was clear if spots and bumps and even the redness had reduced. It won’t ever go away completely unless I have laser treatment, but I was impressed and it cost me £1.68 for a small pot of Tea Tree oil that has lasted ages.
That isn’t the end of the story however – I got an email from a company that I have previously bought cream from offering their new Rosacea product at a fraction of the selling price, claiming that it killed these mites using a silver compound. As it was so cheap and I had almost run out of moisturiser and Tea Tree Oil I purchased it – big mistake!! The Rosacea is back with a vengeance after only a week of using it!!
The moral of this story is………if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it!!
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