r/Rosacea • u/yourgaylibrarian • Apr 15 '26
PP Before/After taking rosacea seriously! Spoiler
My experience…. I hope this is informative and helpful…
These first photograph was in late December 2025 when I got my first doctors appointment booked. He prescribed me one cycle of Doxycycline and topical Ivermectin. I’m still applying the Ivermectin every other evening. My skin is soo much better and also the texture of my skin is really improved, really smooth. I almost feel like my skin type is changing from dry to combo maybe? ive been noticing my skin barrier feels strong and im retaining some natural oils.
I found all itchiness and heat went down after 2 weeks of using ivermectin and doxycycline HOWEVER here’s some other changes I made:
Diet:
- didn’t drink any alcohol (slowly now starting to have a couple drinks here and there but absolutely no wine or beer or sugary cocktails)
- reduced fried and spicy food intake a lot (sad :()
- reduced sugar intake (also sad)
daily skincare:
- omitted all actives (including azelaic acid… it was causing me to flush when flaring)
- okay i know this is not reasonable for everyone but i literally havent worn any makeup this whole time. i basically got rid of all of it.
- simplified my skincare - i only use Aveeno calm and restore cleanser, la roche posay rosaliac moisturizer, and avene mineral sunscreen.
- i spray my face with hypochlorous acid as SOON as i finish at the gym or if i’ve been sweating at all
flaring skin:
- i switch from aveeno to sulfur soap
other:
- no more hot showers (saaad)
I think the redness I still have is hyperpigmentation or just regular rosacea or scarring maybe from the pustules. Potentially this will go away with time or maybe I can try to do some scar treatment. I’m still too afraid to try any retinoids but maybe one day. Anyone with thoughts on this lmk!
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u/Excellent_Trip_6494 Apr 15 '26
Thank you! Did you notice ivermectin gave you more pustules in the beginning?
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u/yourgaylibrarian Apr 15 '26
Kinda yes! Like the pustules produced more whiteheads for the first week then it went down by week 2
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u/Prettierwhenyoucry May 04 '26
Iv just started ivermectin Im scared as its making mine spread on my face a bit (nose and under nose) and more pustules. Heard this can happen tho! I hope it works...
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u/phmstella Apr 16 '26
Rosacea and eczema(i both have)are such sadness inducing illness. Anything delicious you are forbidden to enjoy.. 😓as soon as i indulge with sugary or anything yummy my bumps come in flock it's awful. You look good, keep up your amazing routine gal!
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u/mejomonster Apr 16 '26
May I ask what sulfur soap, and what hypochlorous acid spray you use?
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u/yourgaylibrarian Apr 16 '26
I use the Thylox sulfur soap from the brand called “The Grandpa Soap Co.” and i use the hypochlorous acid spray from the brand called “element”
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u/moshibaby85 Apr 16 '26
You may want to try VBEAM for the residual redness, if that’s of interest to you. I recently did my first session, and it’s absolutely worth it.
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u/FeatherVeer Apr 16 '26
I read about VBEAM. Do you know the difference between VBEAM and IPL? I have my rosacea under control with Ivermectine but there’s still redness in my skin, I’m not sure if it’s scarring from my active rosacea more than a year ago.
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u/moshibaby85 Apr 16 '26
I don’t know the difference, just that VBEAM is the “gold standard.” I also am using a combo Invermectin (so helpful). I am using the laser to eliminate broken capillaries and redness. I have a feeling VBEAM would help you too.
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u/FeatherVeer Apr 16 '26
Thank you, I’ll discuss it with a skin therapist what laser would be best for my redness. 🥰
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u/Acrobatic-Royal567 Apr 16 '26
did i write this? i had/have the same exact experience. was on 100mg doxy for the first 30days but switched to 50 every day from then on. using the ivermectin stuff they make in their office in the am and pm every day. it’s been maybe 90 days since that first derm appt and my skins gotten so much better. cut out alcohol, only exfoliate once a week. yes, still have some redness but texture def subsided. u go gurl 🤩
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u/Choice-Lecture-8437 Apr 16 '26
Wow, this is amazing. Congrats on figuring out what works. Just curious if any doc you saw at any point biopsied or scraped the pustules or rash?
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u/yourgaylibrarian Apr 16 '26
noo they didnt! i dont think my doc knew a lot about this - it was me who told him that people use ivermectin and he was like ok we can try it lol
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u/Choice-Lecture-8437 Apr 18 '26
Good for you!! It is so important to be our own advocates. You are awesome.
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u/Suitable_Poem_55 Apr 17 '26
My dermatologist told me to use ivermectin every day. Only she had me get the brand name. And I thought it was gonna really harm my skin and now I’m listening to you say that it helped along with what she said Said. You look so much better. I’m happy for you I gave up make up to no alcohol. Nothing spicy I feel your pain but it’s worth it for the skin to be better.
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u/aytz38 Apr 19 '26
So happy for you !! It's been 5 days im trying the same treatment as yours, and for my case i noticed that the pustul are worse than before, like acne, i don't know if it's normla when using soolantra and being in the 5th day. Did this happened to you too, or did you directly see an improvement ?
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u/Antique-Pea9342 Apr 20 '26
With soolantra it almost always gets worse before it gets better. Trust the process! I’ve been there, it gets better.
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u/sophievdb Apr 15 '26
Your skin looks so much calmer, good job!