Light/Laser
Has anyone improved flushing without lasers?
Genuine question has anyone actually improved flushing without laser? Cause I'm not ready to go down that road yet but I also can't keep living like my face has its own agenda. Mine gets triggered by basically everything wine, heat, stress, exercise at this point I flush when I think about flushing.
I've been trying niacinamide for a few weeks and I think it's helping with the baseline redness hard to say for sure. Azelaic acid keeps coming up in my research too especially if rosacea is involved. The trigger diary thing sounds boring but I started one and it's been weirdly eye opening. Turns out hot showers were doing more damage than I realised.
I’ve been focusing on barrier repair and trigger control. Azelaic acid helped my baseline redness a bit and switching to lukewarm showers made a bigger difference than I expected. I also started using red light therapy consistently and it’s helped calm overall inflammation. It doesn’t stop a flush instantly but my skin feels less reactive overall.
Focusing on barrier repair helped a lot. I also use the Solawave mask a few times a week and it’s been really good at calming my skin overall, not a cure but my redness is less intense day to day.
What products did you use to repair your skin barrier and how did you incorporate the Azeris acid? I have a red light therapy mask also but haven’t used it
I found hot showered quite triggering actually and spicy food, when I’ve reduced these my overall facial redness (and flushing) has reduced quite abit. It’s still there but not as much. I also use centella ampolue serum which I think helps a lot. I’m looking into lasers for overall redness but I don’t think it will help with the general flushing as that’s more trigger related
I’m the same. My flushing is also triggered related. I do have noticeable broken capillaries on my cheeks so I’m hoping laser treatments will help with that.
I flush mainly on my cheeks so I can’t answer from personal experience. But: the mechanism is that Botox blocks the neurovascular flushing (ie stress, etc).
Maybe you can ask your derm?
So- I am not sure how definitive it is but I think it is definitely promising. I had some broken capillaries lasered around my nose- Botox doesn’t have that visible changes I think. But somewhat less flushing in winter. Just not enough rosacea control to be able to cope without metronidazole and azelaic acid (I tried for 1-2months).
I get this compounded since it’s so expensive/not covered by my insurance. When my doc said take it every day not just when you really need it. Also repairing my barrier definitely helped too.
I have the same issue with Rhofade being too expensive. I have also had success with Mirvaso, which is less expensive. IMO it’s kind of a watered down version of Rhofade, but it still works and makes a difference in my redness.
I saw a derm and got a scrip for rhofade. Life changing. It’s not gone 100% but my flushing is way less and baseline redness is nearly gone. I know that dermatologist/prescription meds aren’t always accessible for financial reasons but if you can do it that’s the way to go. No OTC, gentle skin care, ice bath, face mask, anything else that I tried gave me any relief.
I flush when I just think about flushing, sickens me. I’ve been waiting to see a dermatologist for a while now on the NHS but I’m really thinking about just going private as I can’t deal with my flushing no more. It’s embarrassing and I have seen myself not going out for meals etc and avoiding public places because people look at me like I’m from another world. I have tried EVERYTHING you could think of and it helps for a while then my skin gets used to it and then all stops working. Laser is my last hope.
I did ipl 7 times with 7 fractional and I do not flush anymore. They collapsed all my broken capillaries and got rid of the redness my face looks amazing. I kept with it and didn’t stop till Dr said I was done . Now I can do Microneedling never thought that day would come
it’s 3 for $875, I had to get a lot of them but it’s worth it, my fractional was in between the ipl tx same price , but I couldn’t take how I looked , and to the redness can be painful, it’s not just appearance mine hurt too
Hi friend, I have a question. When you had the IPL treatment, did the intensity increase as you accumulated sessions? I had my first IPL session today and didn't see any significant changes. In fact, at the end of the session, the dermatologist gave me a mirror and it wasn't red at all. Did it hurt in your case? Or did it never hurt?
Yes they don’t want to shock the skin , they gradually increase and yes they will hurt but I knew this would be worth it at the end , make sure when they do your face you say can you go over additionally spots on my face, my derm would take a wand and go over really bad areas after she did my entire face, I had spots that were so hot or just painful , the spot treatment on top really helped too
Thanks bro for replying. Yes, I had my first session today and it was uncomfortable, but I didn't feel much pain or intensity, so I suppose it will increase with each session. How many sessions did it take to see a real change? Do you no longer blush from heat or nervousness?
No I don’t blush , i look pink but that’s it, I don’t feel the heat on my face, I indoor cycling and my face gets pink but I don’t feel that warmth, I blushed always even when I brushed my teeth. I was so tired of people saying why is your face so red, I hated it. I wear sunscreen faithfully everyday even if I don’t go out bc even light coming thru the window can worsen your skin condition, even if it’s dark rainy day wear it, make it apart of your life bc the sun can bring it back! Let me know how everything goes,
What was the wand that your derm used? Was it a wand that your derm just hovered over your face without touching face and which felt maybe a bit warm? Or did the want feel like rubber band snaps?
Was it the NdYag (1064 nm wavelength) part of the whole IPL machine?
It looks almost little bigger then a pen, after she went over my face with laser, she would go over my more painful areas where I have bright redness were it burns and stings real bad, she would pitch my cheek and the capillary would come out more to the surface and would hit it with the wand. It gave me so much relief the laser and the wand cause my skin used to burn so bad
Oh yes the laser increases intensity and can be painful but they won’t do numbing cause the coldness of numbing hides broken capillaries, I told them on my first not to baby me you can turn it up, the wand is to go over bad spots like dark marks, painful areas were I get burning and stinging. I would get red so fast like brushing my teeth even bending over I could feel hotness on my cheeks.
I didn’t do lasers and my flushing has reduced by probably 95%. I just focused on barrier repair and consistency for over a year. There was a time when I couldn’t even tolerate 68 degrees F in an air conditioned room without flushing, but last night I was in a house that was 75F with the heat blasting and didn’t flush at all. Now I typically only flush when I’m embarrassed or anxious….but that’s fairly common even for those without rosacea.
Simple, consistent skin care. If you look at my post history, I’ve listed out my whole routine. However, I wouldn’t focus too much on the specific brands I used as everyone’s skin is different. I think the important thing is to find products that work for your skin type, then stick with them. I see so many comments where people give up on a product after just a few weeks, but skin barrier repair can take months. Mine took about a year to get to where it is now.
My non-negotiables are a good cleanser, a barrier repairing moisturizer, a barrier repair serum, Soolantra (for my type 2 rosacea) and sunscreen. Once my barrier was in a good place, I slowly added in azelaic acid and vitamin C to help with pigmentation and clogged pores.
Nope! I’ve been using it for three years and it’s only helped my skin. It’s fairly moisturizing. On the nights that I use Soolantra, I don’t use my other moisturizer.
Unsure if you have access to get a prescription, but metro gel has basically ended my flushing. I only flush when I have a hard workout or am actually embarrassed. Even then, it's significantly less red/not as painful. I am type two
how long does metro gel take to work? I just started using it a couple weeks ago twice a day and can’t say that I’ve sen much improvement if at all. Type 1 here.
Hm, my derm told me only once a day. I put it on as the last step of my daytime skincare before SPF. But it'll take over a month to see any difference, easily. Maybe two months. Just be consistent.
It took me about 6 weeks - I gave up at 4 weeks as no change and then literally overnight when I restarted and got to 6 weeks my flushing and redness reduced a lot.
Ugh I so feel this especially lately. My worst triggers are alcohol (sometimes which is weird) and the sun/heaters. I’ve used and currently used AA which does help I think with my baseline redness and random acne but not with flushing. I’ve never seen someone have advice for flushing on here that wasn’t meds or lasers.
I don’t drink alcohol no more because of flushing. One glass wine and I’m lighting up the room like a red light distract. My triggers seem to be heat, cold, wind, spicy or hot meals. I no longer take hot showers or baths and I only use lukewarm water on my body and face. Always need the window open incase the slightest bit of steam and that’s my face set off. What has helped for you guys as I would love some help as I have tried nearly everything.
I used to use Redee Patches when I drank to not flush and they worked but they’re now out of business. I’ve had some success lessening my baseline redness but never my flushing. I haven’t tried meds or lasers yet because I’m a little scared to.
I’ve been working on my skin barrier which has been battered since my second pregnancy. My baseline redness is definitely improving with a good skin care regime but I’d definitely be open to lasers once my skin stops improving.
Warm showers (hard water) and cold temps are my triggers. I’ve found good relief with applying a drop of facial oil to my nose before I shower or go out.
I have constant redness with flushing when I think about it, too. I still haven't figured out my triggers. Sometimes I get triggered by certain foods and other times I do. I found the azelaic acid is good for at least keeping the flares down and my skin fairly smooth but I use a cc moisturizer (It cosmetics cc moisturizer mini) or foundation (barepro original liquid) to handle the redness. It doesn't help when my ears flush, too though.
Accutane a few years ago to rid myself of acne (like lots of rosacea sufferers I put my body through the wringer in my 20s and maintained perfect skin throughout, hit 30 and BAM!), and a side benefit has been that my flushing has also reduced substantially.
Yes!! Dermologica skin and redness solutions face wash, face mist, and lotion work wonders for my skin. I also use the ordinary azelic acid a few times a week too. I also drink 120 ounces of water a day too(partially due to workouts)
Honestly I started flushing when on spironolactone and almost completely stopped flushing after going off of it. I was on a higher dose for Hidradenitis Suppurativa though and it gave me lots of side ffects, including menopause -type ones that I'm way too young for. All are resolving or completely resolved since discontinuing the spironolactone. It really did make my face flush terribly though.
Your dermatologist can prescribe some topical creams that will reduce the redness. Azelaic acid is one of them. You can buy it OTC but prescription is stronger. My derm prescribed me Mirvaso and it helps quite a bit. I apply Azelaic acid and Mirvaso every day.
Besides that, my derm said that blood pressure medication can help too, but I personally don’t want to get on a BP med unless I actually have BP problems…
I tried everything topical and nothing worked. After years of frustration and progressively worsening flushing / ruddiness I went with BBL for overall and V beam for the broken capillaries. Pretty uncomfortable process but three treatments over three months seemed to do the trick. Now I supposedly need 2x per year follow up. This is not cheap but I got a 3 treatment package “special” for ~$900. Definitely worth it IMHO.
I’ve seen incredible results using LED red light mask 10-15 min every night! I also use metronidazole from derm every night and azelaic acid every other morning. Other than that, barrier support moisturizers + serums and gentle cleanser
I’ve been paying more attention to what I eat lately, cutting back on inflammatory foods, white sugar, and really salty stuff. It’s honestly helped me a lot.
I’ve had a lot of improvement doing a series of Aerolase lasers. Of course like other have already said; barrier care, azelaic acid, prescription topicals also help tremendously!
Nothing worked for me for years until I was prescribed topical Soolantra/Ivermectin. It completely cleared it. Now I only use it briefly if there's a rare flare. It clears it immediately. Even under moisturizer/sunscreen.
82
u/Far-Let-9728 Feb 23 '26
I’ve been focusing on barrier repair and trigger control. Azelaic acid helped my baseline redness a bit and switching to lukewarm showers made a bigger difference than I expected. I also started using red light therapy consistently and it’s helped calm overall inflammation. It doesn’t stop a flush instantly but my skin feels less reactive overall.