Rosacea is a skin condition characterized by chronic flushed skin especially on the cheeks and nose coupled with tiny but visible dilated capillaries as well as small bumps which look a bit like acne and leave scars when they go. Although the exact cause of rosacea isn’t clear, it’s said to be common among those with Scandinavian, English, Irish and Scottish heritage and people who suffer from sluggish digestion, poor lymph circulation as well as an excess of demodex mites attached to the skin cells which cause irritation and inflammation.
It can be aggravated by a number of factors including hot temperatures, too much sun exposure, excess consumption of spicy foods, drinking too much alcohol, taking hot showers, smoking and too much caffeine intake, among others. If you have been diagnosed with rosacea, here are a few remedies to prevent flare-ups and calm your skin:
- protect your body from getting exposed to too much heat
- incorporate cooling foods such as watermelons, cucumber and water in your diet
- do not take hot showers or baths and don’t use hot water when washing your face
- take probiotic supplements or foods such as kefir & raw apple cider vinegar to get rid of microbes that irritate rosacea
Most of the remedies mentioned above work in treating rosacea from the inside-out but in this post, I want to talk about how you can treat and calm your rosacea externally or through topical application!
Welcome Shea, Bye-Bye Rosacea!
If there’s one thing about red hot and painfully dry rosacea skin, it’s that you urgently need to get yourself a good soothing skin care product ASAP. Now there are a gazillion rosacea skin care products out there (what with almost 16 million people having this particular skin condition) and they do give relief but most of them contain chemicals, especially the big bad culprit – fragrance, which is one of the leading causes of rosacea flare-ups! Even if you get an unscented product, they’ll still be other nasties in it like artificial preservatives such as parabens that sink into the skin and cause health problems later on!
Is there any natural skin care product that soothes rosacea without any side-effects? Yes there is and you guessed it right – shea butter!
Nourishing Nutrients in Shea Butter for Rosacea
This natural plant butter, derived from nuts found on the Shea or Karite tree in Africa, is extremely nourishing and soothing for the most sensitive of skin types such as rosacea skin! Raw and unrefined African shea butter is the kind that you should use and it has the following nutrients:
→ Vitamin A – promotes cell regeneration, good for scar healing (if you have rosacea scars), removes skin discoloration
→ Vitamin E – good for preventing premature wrinkles, soothes inflammation, heals blemishes and tiny rosacea bumps
→ Vitamin K – reduces the severity of bruises blemishes and scars, used to treat rosacea, spider veins, stretch marks and even burns
→ Vitamin F – also known as fatty acids, form a protective barrier over skin shielding it from harsh weather, deeply moisturizes dry skin, soothes irritation
Shea Butter Rosacea Benefits
I’ve quickly listed down the benefits of shea butter for rosacea below:
- It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that heal inflamed skin.
- Reduces redness. Within 2 to 3 days of using shea butter, you’ll notice your redness has drastically reduced!
- Its high essential fatty acid content moisturizes skin without greasing it up or leaving a ‘heavy’ feel which is excellent for those with painfully dry rosacea.
- Being an antibacterial & antimicrobial, it not only wards off germs and microbes that worsen rosacea flare-ups but also treats the small bumps associated with rosacea that are sometimes filled with pus.
- Shea butter is a miracle worker when it comes to soothing irritated skin – whenever I get a mosquito bite or red rash forming, I immediately slather shea butter and I’m not kidding when I say my skin is instantly soothed! No more itching or irritation!
How to Use Shea Butter for Rosacea
Many people have had success using raw or plain shea butter on their skin, not in form of lotions or creams so this is what you should try out first. To use raw shea butter, simply get a small pea-sized amount then rub it between your clean palms and gently apply on your whole face using gentle circular motions.
If you want to include more natural ingredients to the shea butter to give it extra healing powers, then you can find a great recipe starring peppermint essential oil, vitamin E and coconut oil in this ebook!
I’m posting the recipe on this blog post so please go ahead and try it out:
“DIY Shea Butter Rosacea Treatment (from the Tried & Tested Essential Oil Recipes with Shea Butter eBook):
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp shea butter (get it here)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (get it here)
• Oil from 1 vitamin E capsule (get it here)
• 3 drops of peppermint essential oil (get it here)
Directions
- Melt the shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. Make your own double boiler by placing the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and resting it over a pot containing ¼ cup of water. Heat over a medium low flame.
- Once melted, place it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes for it to partially solidify.
When the time is up, get it out and add the vitamin E oil (snip the edge of the capsule with a pair of scissors then squeeze out the oil) and peppermint essential oil then whip using a hand mixer for about 5 minutes. - Your final product should be a creamy white mixture! Transfer to a clean jar.
- Gently massage a pea-sized amount on the affected areas to soothe and cool. You may store the cream in the refrigerator for extra cooling effects.”
Other Natural Ingredients to Calm Rosacea
Shea butter isn’t the only natural product that you can use to calm rosacea! Here are two other very effective ingredients I’ve found that work wonders in cooling inflamed skin, moisturizing dry rosacea as well as defending skin from further flare-ups!
→ Coconut Oil – I found this amazing article talking in depth about how coconut oil naturally treats rosacea, what it does and how to use it! Remember, coconut oil is so soothing just like shea butter plus it has a small molecular structure, which makes it easily penetrate deep into the skin. It’s also a great antibacterial as well, which helps fight off microbes like demodex mites which exacerbate roasacea.
→ Chamomile Extract – Chamomile is known or its soothing and calming properties whether it’s to get a good night’s rest or to alleviate irritated skin. It also has anti-redness and anti-inflammatory effects on the skin which helps treat rosacea. You can make a chamomile spray to refresh and cool down rosacea by steeping a pure chamomile tea bag in a cup of boiling hot water for 15 minutes. Now let it cool down completely then pour the chamomile tea into a clean spray bottle. Spritz this on your face whenever it gets uncomfortably hot and bothered.
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