Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group "Rosy Cheeks". Causes?

Oncearunner ... may I ask what kind of coconut oil? Fractionated? Unrefined? Refined? I have some unrefined tubs of the stuff here for cooking that I never end up using. Plus, I avoid using coconut oil in my practice because the smell just makes people hungry (like cocoa butter does!) However, if I can get rid of this scaly red stuff on my face ... I'm in!

This facial stuff and sjogen's-like stuff is really blowing my mind because I have spent a lifetime being so "oily" that I needed to soap and loofah my face, hair, and scalp every. single. day. Missing even one day would send me into itchy-itchy land and I'd have to resort to a dandruff shampoo. So, the upside is that I only have to shampoo about twice a week now. But adjusting to all this dryness is difficult because it is so foreign to me!

interesting ! I think I was oily as a teenager as well, although had relatively good skin that blushed if you looked sideways at me -:) Now I get acne, flakiness and broken capillaries and STILL blush all the time -:(
I use Nutiva organic unrefined cold pressed virgin coconut oil for both cooking and on my face and body. I smell like the beach -:) but it seems to dissipate quickly …either that I I get used to it !
I also use it as a deodorant with a little baking soda since learning about aluminum content in commercial deodorants and what they do to our brains !

Okay ... I can use the coconut oil I have already in the house, thank you!

Today, I put Shea Butter on; I had tried a new "healing" soap ... and it dried me out even more, so resorted to the shea, which is nice. Have no idea, though, if it would help this condition. (I spy a new experiment coming up.)

Have I got a cool deodorant idea for you! Have you tried Primal Pit Paste? Way cool

Listening in on the conversation about what to use on face…

What I've been reading is to do essentially what I've always done…

Be very gentle to face, wash with gentle cleansing lotion and tepid water….

No hot water, no scrubbing, no scrubs, no soap, etc…..

Then use a gentle SPF 15 moisturizer.

Read that pure aloe also good to use on rosacea.

Hope it is okay to disagree on some things:

SPF15? Those are chemicals and I suspect most of us have chemical sensitivities. I would never put anything on my skin that I would not also be safely able to eat. Everything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream within minutes.

The skin is best served when it is stimulated. Not harshly but as many cultures have been doing for centuries, with sand, salt, sugar scrubs, loofahs, dry brushing, etc. This includes facial skin. I will forever keep my skin well stimulated as it stimulates and nourishes the nervous system, lymphatic system, circulation, connective tissue, etc. I also believe it is possible that these habits are why I am able to keep some of my symptoms at a more manageable level.

I do agree that hot water isn't too good for our skin, unless in the form of steam

I also agree that 99% of soaps out there are just too harsh. A clean olive oil soap for tender skin areas is wonderful, though. And the weird "miracle soap" I've been using for years has solved all my soap problems, except when I was stupid enough today to try a bar of soap that claimed to be ... everything it was not!

ndgo,

do what works for you.

since this is something very new to me, I'm getting my advice from:

http://www.rosacea.org

Since they certainly know more than I do on the topic, I've decided to start with their advice.

And anyone here who has been successfully dealing with it.

If you are allergic to "sunscreen", then avoiding the sun is another way to go. But since sun exposure is a common trigger, however one avoids the sun….

As for stimulating the skin, well, that is the opposite advice from the Rosacea website….just saying. Lately I have been using an apricot scrub, not something I normally do, so have decided to lay off it for now, see if that helps me.

I suppose it depends on ones skin types, but I've found that even the mildest soaps, which are OK for my body (the only ones that I can use on my body), they are too harsh for my face. I use things like:

http://www.burtsbees.com/Orange-Essence-Facial-Cleanser/06899-00,default,pd.html

http://www.albabotanica.com/face/cleansers/deep-cleansing-coconut-milk.html

things like those two products are about all my face can tolerate, but you may find you can use something like a mild olive oil soap…I can't.

on the other hand, those facial cleansers may not be enough for someone with oily skin? I don't know.

But years ago, I discovered that anything other than a facial cleanser like these dried out my skin terribly.

Again though, for the rosacea, if that is what we are dealing with, and at this point, I'd still need to be dx'ed by the dermatologist next time it flares badly, I'm mostly relying on that website I linked.

They certainly know more than I do about this.

Oooh I love the primal pit paste page ! think I may have to try this -:) thanks for the link ndgo !
I think Sue is right too in that we should do what works - I wonder if, as our body PH changes, the environmental triggers and likely quality and amount of sleep ….so too does our skin's response to different treatments ….mine sure seems to change anyway ! Nothing ever seems to work consistently from a medication /treatment point of view and it is sooo tiring ! I guess we keep educating ourselves !?

Hi ndgo,

Been thinking about your post and my response and that got me to realizing that being new to this, rather than the two of us debating what we really don't know much about….well instead, found this forum:

http://rosacea-support.org

plan to ask them my questions.

a lot of good advice on there, if what we have is rosacea.

You might want to check it out too


and to everyone who suggested rosacea….

as I read more and more, it just seems to fit so perfectly,

so thank you!

I respect all the wonderful information that is online, including and especially here, but I rarely take anyone's word for anything. The times that I have, I have gotten burned. I read, I research, I experiment. My experiments are then extended to my clients dealing with the same issues. THEN, I decide what is and is not useful. Therefore, when I disagree about something, it is not opinion lacking fact, nor is it a regurgitation of someone else's approach, nor is it personal: It is based on my considerable efforts to determine what actually works best ... in the long term. I have no interest in short-term solutions.

I have to do these things and think this way because allopathic medicine has let me down more than 99 times out of a hundred. They do not yet understand the biology and chemistry of Highly Sensitive People or those of us who are neurologically wired differently. I haven't met a person with chronic health problems that wasn't either HSP or wired differently. So, I speak up when I disagree with an approach that I believe is not beneficial to our tribe. I do not disagree to hurt anyone's feelings or to make myself superior. If any of you find that my disagreement upsets you, then perhaps we should just avoid each other because I no longer have the energy or tolerance to deal with what I see as completely unnecessary reactions to alternative data.

As for my current rosacea-like issue (I will not attempt to seek a diagnosis,) maybe it is just a coincidence, but my face has been much better since that dose of shea butter. It is still red, but less scaly, less dry, and less "bumpy." I will continue to experiment until I am certain, however. For all I know that nasty, drying so-called healing soap actually helped (Dr. Ohhira's Probiotic Kampuku Beauty Bar.)

Oncearunner ... I thought you might! Isn't that a fun company? I read something recently regarding which formula to choose. It was feedback from a customer. They initially made assumptions and tried almost every formula except the regular one, and none of them worked. When they finally tried the regular one (kudos to them for their perseverance!), it was the one that worked for them. So, I pass that on to you in case you run into the same conundrum. I bought the regular paste and find I enjoy massaging it into my armpits. An unusual sensation that I am certain is good for the lymph in that area

Note: I often use the word "they" as a gender gender-neutral convenience.