★★★★★
I have noted through my research that there are many types and causes of rosacea. Some people can simply give up certain foods or topically apply something to their face and their rosacea disappears! I'd say those are the lucky ones who are able to do that. I was not one of those lucky people and I imagine there are many more like me. For many people they must get to the root of the problem, which can sometimes be complicated, but firstly does involve cleaning up the diet (no gluten, no sugar, no dairy; eat alkaline foods, vegetables, greens, green tea, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar; avoid spicy foods, too much red meat; take probiotics, work on healing the gut, etc, etc. You can read the details on other websites.)
Rosacea is caused by a certain inflammation in the body, meaning something is out of balance and this causes a type of heat to rise upwards and usually (according to Chinese medicine) this heat can involve or come from organs such as the liver, stomach or lungs. So get that diet cleaned up first, BUT sometimes cleaning up the diet is not always enough, at least it wasn't for me. (For some people it will be, however.) I had to take special herbs to finally get rid of it. (It also might be helpful to read up in Chinese medicine about a diet that supports "Yin" in the body.)
It's interesting to note also that the location of rosacea acne on your face can sometimes tell you which organ the inflammation is coming from. Typically if it's all over your cheeks then it might be coming from the lungs. If it's around the mouth or nose area then it could be stomach and/or liver. Good to know, because there are different herbs to take if it comes from one or the other! I'm no expert and I would really advise you to see a Chinese acupuncturist if you can (acupuncture can help bring that heat down as well as herbs) but here's what I have observed: If it's on the cheeks you can seek out an herbal formula containing gypsum, rehmannia, scutellaria, gardenia, forsythia, (and probably a few other ingredients), and see if that may help.
My rosacea however was more around my nose and mouth area so I tried an herbal formula containing very bitter herbs to drive the heat and toxins from the liver and I supposed it helped my stomach as well. This type of heat and toxins must exit the body via the bowel...and bitter herbs help to accomplish this.
So the ingredients were COPTIS (very important and very bitter), Bupleurum, Scutellaria/ Scute/ Skullcap (same thing), Gentiana, Lonicera, Forsythia, Gardenia etc. There were a few other ingredients but those are the main ones. I would say if you're interested just look for a formula containing those ingredients, more or less, and give it a try.
When I tried this formula (I took the tablets 3 x daily) my face started to clear up within a month, so I stopped, but then it returned, so I took the formula for another 2 months and it went away completely after that. I couldn't believe it! I had tried everything under the sun. NOTHING topical ever worked for me. The cure had to come from within the body. After I finished taking this formula for about 3 months I then took another Chinese formula called "Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan" as a maintenance protocol (for several months) to keep my "Yin" healthy and I think this formula has helped to keep the rosacea from returning. It is a cooling formula. But I needed to take those really bitter herbs first to clear out the toxins and heat and then continued with my good diet and maintenance protocol after that.
I should add that taking these bitters herbs containing Coptis are quite potent and should only be taken for the short term. They can be very drying and you will feel them working. You may need to adjust or cut back the dosage to fit your needs. Drink lots of water between meals while taking them. And if for some reason this herbal formula doesn't work for you, I would say look around for some other Chinese herbal formulas and you may find one that fits your needs. But I wanted to share what worked for me. I hope this may help someone.
