Exploring the Root Causes of Rosacea

In this blog post, we’ll explore the root causes of rosacea and the underlying factors that may contribute to its development. Please note that this is not a deep dive but an overview.

Rosacea is characterized by redness, visible blood vessels, and sometimes small, red, pus-filled bumps. While the popular approach is to “treat” rosacea with pharmaceutical creams, antibiotics and other drugs, this approach never actually results in healing.

To fully heal rosacea, we need to understand and address the root causes. (There is never just one root cause, if there was, healing rosacea would be easy.)

To learn more about a functional way to heal rosacea, please visit my website healrosaceanaturally.com and watch the free rosacea masterclass.

Genetics as a root cause of rosacea?

A quick Google on the topic of the root causes of rosacea will reveal that a factor influencing the onset of rosacea is genetics. Research suggests a hereditary component, with individuals having a family history of rosacea being more predisposed to developing the condition. Specific genetic markers may play a role in determining an individual’s susceptibility to rosacea, highlighting the importance of understanding one’s family medical history.

However, in my work with clients, I have seen that genetics was rarely a factor as clients reported not having anyone in the family with rosacea. (I know this was the case for me.)

More recently, research has shown that genetics only account for 10% or less of an outcome, while epigenetics (influencing factors over the genetic component) accounts for over 90%. So to say that we have no control over the genetic expression of rosacea would be false. Nutrition, lifestyle and identifying the root causes while greatly affecting your skin.

Dysregulation of the Immune System as a root cause of rosacea

The immune system’s role in rosacea is a subject of growing interest among researchers. Some studies propose that an abnormal immune response may contribute to the development of rosacea. Inflammation plays a key role, and the immune system’s overreaction to environmental triggers may lead to the characteristic redness and swelling associated with the condition.

So what can trigger the immune system? Food sensitivities, pathogens such as viruses, parasites and bacteria, candida or bacterial overgrowth and an unhealthy, leaky gut.

Fix the gut and a big part of what triggers rosacea is taken care of.

Vascular Abnormalities in Rosacea

Vascular abnormalities are another aspect of rosacea’s complex puzzle. Blood vessels near the skin’s surface may dilate excessively, leading to increased blood flow and redness. Factors such as sun exposure, spicy foods, and alcohol, known triggers for many individuals with rosacea, can exacerbate these vascular changes.

Understanding and managing these triggers are important components of effective rosacea care but are only part of the puzzle, they are not getting us to the root causes. To fully heal rosacea, we need to look deeper than the skin.

Cathelicidin LL-37 and rosacea

Research has shown that cathelicidin LL-37 is strongly increased in the affected area of skin in rosacea. This peptide has proinflammatory action and an “alarm” function, affecting vascular growth, thus leading to angiogenesis and neovascularization.

Although this helps us understand a bit more about the physical manifestation of rosacea, we still need to dig deeper as to WHY cathelicidin LL-37 is increased in the first place.

Microscopic Demodex Mites and Bacteria

Another possible root cause of rosacea is Demodex mites. In recent years, researchers have explored the role of microscopic organisms in the development of rosacea. Demodex mites, tiny arachnids that inhabit human skin, have been found in higher concentrations on the skin of individuals with rosacea.

Additionally, certain bacteria, particularly Helicobacter pylori, have been studied for their potential connection to rosacea.

While these associations are not definitive causes (we still need to ask WHY are there an overabundance of Demodex on rosacea skin?!), they provide valuable insights into the intricate relationship between the skin and its microscopic inhabitants.

Learn more about a natural treatment for Demodex mites and rosacea here.

Environmental Triggers (not a root cause of rosacea IMO)

Sensitivity to environmental factors or triggers are not, in my opinion, root causes but influencing factors.  Ex: sensitivity to sunlight, extreme temperatures, spicy foods, and certain skincare products that can trigger flare-ups. Identifying and avoiding these triggers is an important aspect of “managing” rosacea, yes, but will not bring about full healing as to do so, we have to dig deeper.

I am mentioning it here because it’s important to know and manage triggers so that you can at least feel better temporarily WHILE doing the deeper healing work.

Environmental Toxicity

Environmental toxicity is different than a trigger as it can be a root cause of rosacea. Examples of environmental toxicity could be exposure to mold, chemicals and heavy metals just to name a few.

This brings us to gut healing…

Gut dysbiosis & pathogens as a root cause of rosacea

Other possible root causes of rosacea to consider are food sensitivities, leaky gut, SIBO, parasites and candida. All of these affect the gut microbiome which affects the skin. Addressing gut dysbiosis is crucial in healing rosacea. Gut healing is therefore the first step in the bio-individual rosacea healing blueprint I create for my clients.

More on gut health and rosacea here.

If you’d like to dive deeper into the topic of gut dysbiosis and the multiple rosacea root causes, watch the free rosacea masterclass.

Hormonal Imbalances and Rosacea

Hormones play a crucial role in regulating various physiological processes, including those related to the skin. Fluctuations or imbalances in hormone levels can influence the development and exacerbation of skin conditions, including rosacea.

Emotional root cause of rosacea

The emotional root cause of rosacea is not often talked about yet, traumas that were established in childhood can manifest later in life as rosacea, acne, eczema or psoriasis. This is a complex topic that Nadeije and I explore in our program Self-Heal.

Conclusion

Rosacea’s root causes are undoubtedly intricate and multifaceted, involving a delicate interplay of genetic, immune, vascular, and environmental factors. The sooner you shift from fixing the skin (rosacea is not a skin issue but an internal inflammatory issue) the faster you can see progress on your journey to glow.

For an extensive library of resources on healing rosacea naturally and holistically, please visit healrosaceanaturally.com

Never give up, there is ALWAYS hope. With the right support and guidance, you will regain clear skin.

Caroline Dalia Kaliani

Skin Herbalist & Functional Nutrition Practitioner healrosaceanaturally.com
Founder Journey To Glow journeytoglow.com
Botanical Skincare for Rosaceabshop.journeytoglow.com

Let's build your rosacea healing blueprint

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Rosacea Articles

 The difference between eating celery
& drinking celery juice

First, let’s talk about the difference between eating celery and drinking celery juice.

Eating celery stalks, while very healthy and important, is not the same as drinking pure celery juice. When celery is juiced, the pulp (fiber) is removed, and its healing benefits become much more powerful, especially for someone with chronic illness.

You’ll also be able to consume far more celery as juice than you would by eating it.

How to make celery juice

If you’re new to the celery juice craze, here’s how it goes:

First, you’ll need a bunch of fresh organic celery.

Why organic? Because you don’t want to be juicing pesticides; that would be counterproductive, wouldn’t it?

One bunch makes about 16 oz, and you’re supposed to work your way up to 32 oz a day. (I couldn’t do it.)

Depending on the season or where you live, finding organic celery can be tricky and pricey.

Here in Quebec, Canada, in winter, an organic celery bunch costs anywhere between $2.50 and $4. I’d buy enough for the week (which literally filled ¼ of my refrigerator!), so you’re looking at $17.50 to $24 for your weekly dose of celery juice.

Finding enough organic celery for the week can also be a challenge, so you may have to shop around. Ideally, you’d want fresh, organic, locally grown celery, but that just isn’t possible in Quebec in the winter.

Second, you want to juice your celery, not blend it.

Sure, there are many people who’ll tell you that you can blend it and strain it, but it just doesn’t have the same benefit as a proper masticating juicer.

Once you’ve juiced your celery, you’ll want to strain it to remove the fibers, which will make it much easier to drink, quite frankly!

Third, drink immediately on an empty stomach.

(I personally didn’t like the taste, so I’d drink it in one shot!)

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

What happened during the celery juice challenge

Day 1

I didn’t experience much of the usual detox symptoms — headaches, fatigue and extreme brain fog — probably because I’d slowly started cutting out sugar, gluten and alcohol a few weeks prior to starting the cleanse.

I think the celery juice definitely helped banish these symptoms as well, since it’s such a powerful detoxifier.

Day 2

By day 3, I started to feel the benefits of celery juice and the cleanse by way of more energy, no crash mid-afternoon and less brain fog, which was awesome.

Day 4

MY SKIN STARTED TO BREAK OUT LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

And I mean SERIOUS breakout. It was insane. (Insert shocked emoji here!!!)

My forehead broke out in a series of red acne-like pimples — I never break out on my forehead, and I’ve never had acne.

Eczema or psoriasis? I couldn’t tell the difference) started to appear on my cheeks, forehead and near my mouth. The last time I had psoriasis, I was 12 years old, so this was a bit of a shock, to say the least.

People with skin conditions tend to break out during a cleanse because, well, they’re cleansing the body of toxins, and they’re coming out through the skin. But this was much worse than I had ever experienced before.

But I was determined to see this celery juice cleanse through, and I thought the more I purged these toxins, the happier my liver will be.

Day 5 to 20

At some point, the breakouts stopped, but the patches of eczema (psoriasis?) on my face were still extremely itchy and were not fading, they seemed constantly “inflamed” even though I was eating a non-inflammatory, alkaline diet .

I now have a renewed sympathy for glowgetters who struggle with eczema and psoriasis on a daily basis. The itchiness can drive you crazy! Thank goodness for Calendula balms; they saved my life.

I bought 4 different kinds of balms and left them all over my house so I could have them when an itching attack hit!

Day 25

My skin wasn’t healing at this point, and I just had to come to the conclusion that the celery juice was doing more harm than good.

So I decided to stop the celery juice on day 25 of the challenge and give my skin a break even though the general advice from Medical Medium die-hard fans online is to “KEEP GOING, don’t stop!”

The eczema/psoriasis calmed immediately and my skin cleared up within a few days of stopping the celery juice.

Celery juice side effects

1. On your digestion

If it’s your first time drinking celery juice, be prepared to RUN to the bathroom in the first few days. Celery juice will CLEANSE your intestines, my friend! Plan your juice consumption accordingly!

2. On your skin

As you can see, it is possible to have a strong skin reaction to celery juice. From the comments I’m getting on my celery juice post on Instagram and from my research, I can see that many people have similar reactions to drinking celery juice.

My skin’s reaction to the celery juice cleanse

Why I think my skin broke out so badly
while drinking celery juice

There are many factors influencing our capacity to detox: if our liver is in good shape, the amount of heavy metals are in the liver, if we’re detoxifying too quickly…

Personally, I think I shocked my body by doing this detox AND introducing celery juice on top of it.

In Liver Rescue, William shares that a detox is actually hard on the liver and body. This was also mentioned by my guest Maggie Berghoff in episode #3 where she shares the proper steps to prepare our body for a detox. She always advises clients to nourish first (this can be over a period of 3 months) and then detox.

Self care to support detoxification

Exercise

Exercise helps with the detoxification process, so I made sure to sweat by way of movement every day. Exercise pushes the blood to circulate more efficiently through the body, allowing nutrients to easily reach our organs and muscles. At the same time, exercise helps lymph fluids circulate through the body, which helps remove toxins.

One of the most well-documented reactions that take place during and after a workout is the production of endorphins. These non-addictive, feel-good molecules are polypeptides that bind with neurotransmitters in the brain to reduce pain symptoms. The human body produces at least 20 types of endorphins, which benefit the body in myriad ways. Besides relieving pain, endorphins help reduce stress, boost immunity, slow the aging process and create a sense of euphoria.

So many women DM me saying that they won’t exercise anymore because it makes their rosacea worse. Exercise is so important to clear stuck energy in the body and mind!

Don’t stop moving, sweating, and living your life because you have rosacea! Moving the energy in your body and clearing your mind will sustain you on your journey to glow!

Saunas

I know that a lot of experts say to avoid saunas when you have rosacea, but I tend to disagree with that.

Saunas are detoxifying and relaxing. Since stress is one of the major culprits behind hormonal imbalance and poor health in general, I find that a sauna’s benefits far outweigh the temporary redness on my cheeks. Plus, the detoxifying effects of saunas help clear out toxins, and my skin looks much clearer and brighter the next day.

So personally, yeah, huge fan of saunas, and I’m grateful to have one in my home.

Relaxing baths

A relaxing bath with a few drops of essential oils mixed with a cup of Epsom salts will do wonders for your mind, body and soul. And yes, it’ll help support the detoxification process.

I like my baths really hot, but again, I’m ok with my skin being a little more red from the heat for a few hours. The benefits of a hot bath, feeling relaxed and a deep regenerative sleep does wonders for my skin and well-being in the long run.

*I’m writing a full blog post on busting the myths about the dos and don’ts when you have rosacea as I’m so sick of the generic advice thrown around on the internet. If you’re interested, make sure you’re signed up to the Glowletter so you can be notified when this post goes live.

Physical symptoms after the 30-day
celery juice challenge

Changes I saw after drinking celery juice: 

1. The mid-afternoon brain fog was gone
2. I had more sustained energy throughout the day (no more mid-afternoon energy crash with my bed calling me to take a nap)
3. Better digestion
4. Feeling less bloated in general, but that’s not just the celery juice; cutting all the “whites”, most grains, and gluten will make you feel immediately less bloated
5. Lost 5 pounds (I fit into my yoga jeans again!)
6. My skin was overall clearer, especially once I stopped the celery juice, which seemed to be really aggravating the eczema/psoriasis
7. My skin seemed more hydrated, and I had fewer breakouts in my cheeks which is where rosacea is for me

What didn’t change or improve

1. My rosacea did not improve enough for me to really say celery juice helped, but my skin was overall more bright and luminous
2. The reaction from the celery juice was so bad for the whole month that now, I had acne scars on my forehead and dark patches caused by the eczema/psoriasis which is annoying as scars can take a long time to heal :/

My skin now (June 2019)

Conclusion

Although the benefits of the celery juice were in large part positive, I just couldn’t reconcile the fact that my skin had reacted so badly.

After speaking to so many Journey To Glow Skin Healing Experts, I’m coming to the conclusion that it would have been much smarter to start more slowly rather than jumping in, to start by nourishing the body, then slowly moving into the detox phase and then incorporating celery juice when my body was ready.

I know that this post may raise more questions and comments from the journey to glow community, and I want to invite you to join in on the conversation either on Instagram or on FB by commenting under my “30-day Celery Juice Challenge post.”

Lastly, I want to remind you to always trust your own inner guidance, friend.

If you feel that a certain diet or path is right for you, trust yourself. We are bombarded by advice online, many times from people who have no expertise or training to back it up. Learn to shut out the noise and trust yourself, it’ll serve you on your journey to glow.

We’re working on a gentle yet effective Skin Glow program with Journey To Glow experts; if you’d like to join us when it launches, make sure you sign up for the Glowletter!

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Podcast interviews on the clear skin diet
& the Medical Medium protocol

Natural Treatment For Demodex Mites & Rosacea

If you’ve just learned about the link between Demodex mites and rosacea and are looking for a natural treatment, you’re at the right place.

In this article, we’re going to go over what Demodex mites are, why they affect rosacea skin, and how to treat Demodex mites naturally.

What are Demodex mites?

Microscopic Demodex mites are a natural part of the human microbiome — the ecological community of microorganisms that live within and on the body. There are two species of Demodex mites found in humans: Demodex folliculorum which live in hair follicles, primarily on the face as well as in the meibomian glands of the eyelids and Demodex brevis which live in the sebaceous glands of the skin.

Demodex folliculorum’s true connection to rosacea may be linked to a distinct bacterium associated with the mites, called Bacillus oleronius.

Not everyone with rosacea has an overabundance of Demodex mites so if you’re reading this and you’re unsure if you struggle with these buggers, read on to determine if that’s the case for you or not.

Why are Demodex mites more prevalent on rosacea skin?

While Demodex folliculorum are found on the skin of all humans, they frequently occur in greater numbers in people with rosacea. There has been much debate as to whether their increased numbers are a cause or result of rosacea. However, evidence appears that an overabundance of Demodex may possibly trigger an immune response in people with rosacea, or that the inflammation may be caused by certain bacteria associated with the mites.

From rosacea.org:

“Rosacea is currently considered by most authors as a disease of the immune system, an inflammatory process including innate and then adaptive immune responses, which gets out of control resulting in vascular, inflammatory, and hypertrophic symptoms.

While it likely induces immunotolerance, Demodex is also able to stimulate the immune system’s defense reaction [34, 43, 57, 58, 104, 110]. It stimulates Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) [58], resulting in an increased production of LL-37, with the subsequent angiogenesis and inflammation that are described in rosacea [15–18]. This implies the existence of a vicious circle including ETR, mite proliferation, and inflammation [10].

Demodex proliferation, therefore, seems to contribute to the continuum process in rosacea across all phenotypes.”

How do you know if you have Demodex mites?

You’ll know you have Demodex mites if you have red, blotchy breakouts every 3 weeks or so (this is the living cycle of mites, more on that below). Sometimes these breakouts will show up in strange patterns like a zig-zag or will occur at the same spots on your face.

You may also feel an itching, crawling sensation on the face, scalp, or other parts of the body. Usually, this is felt at night (the mites are said to be more active at night) but I’ve also heard people report that their skin would itch when their skin feels “hot” mid-day.

Another unfortunate side effect of Demodex mites is enlarged pores and you may also see pustular papular rosacea with damaged capillaries and thickening of the nose.

Although again, we’re not sure which one comes first, the Demodex causing the initial inflammation or the Demodex being attracted/finding it easier to thrive on inflamed, rosacea skin.

Photo from rosacea.org

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Diagnosis of Demodex mites

Definitive diagnosis of Demodex involves viewing an epilated eyelash under the microscope or scraping of the skin. An ophthalmologist, dermatologist, or Naturopathic practitioner equipped with a good microscope would be able to do this for you.

Dr. Sharol wrote on her blog You are The Healer: “You can see the mites with a good 10X magnifying glass in the skin if you tease them out with tea tree oil. It usually works best to put some diluted tea tree oil on the skin and wait for 5 minutes and apply again. Wait a couple of minutes and look. Be aware it is hard to find them and see them. You have to purchase a high-quality hand lens to see them. “

Why it’s difficult to get rid of Demodex mites (but still possible)

Because they spend most of their time tucked inside the pores and only come out at night to mate and then lay back inside sebaceous gland/follicles to lay their eggs (sorry, I know it’s disgusting) which will create the next round of mites, it’s a little challenging to get rid of them, in a short period of time at least.

Patience (and not losing hope!) is key as you will most likely need to stay the course with your Demodex / rosacea skincare regime for 2 to 3 months, maybe longer.

Tackling rosacea & Demodex mites from the inside-out

Even the best, most effective skincare products or Demodex mites treatments will not work if you do not address the inflammatory response in your body that’s causing rosacea in the first place.

Unfortunately, in our society where allopathic medicine dominates, we are told that rosacea is incurable (not true) and prescribes pharmaceutical quick fixes always end up making things worse. Suppressing symptoms only has your body speak louder trying to get your attention on what’s going inside that needs healing. The popular medications given to rosacea patients such as antibiotics destroy the gut microbiome, which you need for optimum digestion AND to have clear skin. Pretty much everyone that I’ve spoken to that was prescribed medications report temporary relief or worsening of symptoms in the long run.

Remember, rosacea is not a skin condition, it is the result of inflammation in the body. 

Your skin is a mirror showing you what needs to be addressed on a deeper level, the problem is most people are trying to “fix” their skin, never looking at the root cause. Rosacea is not a curse, your skin is not angry and it’s not her fault. Your skin is trying to tell you something, your job is to investigate to get to the root cause. 

In client’s sessions, I always make sure they have a clear plan to heal their gut, support their liver’s detoxification process, lower histamine and inflammatory foods, and lower the overall inflammation in the body which is one of the culprits causing rosacea in the first place. Looking into immune response, hormonal imbalances and stress is also key to getting to the root cause.

As you investigate the root cause, you may need to invest in functional testing in order to pinpoint specifically what’s going on in the body, especially if elimination diets haven’t worked.

Functional testing will help identify:

• Pathogens in the gut that may be causing dysbiosis
• Food sensitivities
• SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
• Hormonal imbalances
• Heavy metal toxicity

This is a functional approach to healing that ensures long-term success.

Making the terrain inhospitable for Demodex mites by lowering systemic inflammation and supporting your body’s overall health

As I just mentioned, to fully heal rosacea and achieve a healthy skin microbiome, going to the root cause is key.

While you are working with a Functional or Naturopathic practitioner, consider also supporting your body and skin health by ensuring that you have adequate levels of vitamins and minerals.

You may need to add Vitamin A, vitamin D, E, B vitamins, vitamin C (a building block for clear skin), magnesium, zinc, selenium, and high-quality omega 3 fatty acids. A probiotic can be a good idea to help restore the gut microbiome (assuming you’ve removed inflammatory foods in the first place) however since SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is present in a large number of rosacea patients, you’ll want to rule out SIBO before adding MORE bacteria to your gut microbiome or you’ll make things worst.

Low stomach acid (low levels of HCL) is also an issue, and addressing that can have an immediate effect on your skin.

I’ve mentioned the link between low HLC (hydrochloric acid) and rosacea and the need to restore the proper function of hydrochloric acid in the stomach: a good Super Enzyme formula with ox bile and HCL can make a huge difference in your digestion and ultimately the look of your skin. Before we even look at healing gut dysbiosis, we need to optimize digestion via the stomach. I’ve seen so many people go through SIBO treatments (including myself) only to have the protocol fail because not enough focus was put on stomach acid.

A reminder here that we are not after supplemental quick fixes but that knowing what to look for will have you be better prepared in future conversations with a holistic practitioner.

If this feels like too much information and you’d like some guidance on where to start you can book a rosacea consult with me. We’ll create a clear map with simple action steps so that you do not feel overwhelmed nor waste your time and money on supplements or treatments that you may not need.

Natural Treatment For Demodex Mites & Rosacea

*Please be discerning with essential oils if you have rosacea. Most rosacea skin is already sensitized and fragile, it may be a better option to opt for a face oil that does not contain essential oils such as Calm Skin Calendula and Radiantly Clear Face Oil.

Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) essential oil 

One of the most studied natural solutions for Demodex mites in rosacea is tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) in the form of essential oil.

Although tea tree oil likely has multiple modes of action and likely contains multiple molecular species with antimicrobial properties, since it has an action against bacteria, fungus, and parasites terpinen‐4‐ol is the most active tea tree oil molecular compound against Demodex. [Source]

“Australian tea tree oil (TTO) and its extract terpinen-4-ol (T4O) are found to be effective in moderating demodex-related diseases. Their possible effects are lowering the mite counts, relieving the demodex-related symptoms and modulating the immune system especially the inflammatory response.” [Source]

These are just a few of the studies you’ll find when you Google “benefits of tea tree oil in killing Demodex mites.”

But before you run out and get yourself a bottle of Melaleuca, I must warn you that tea tree oil is EXTREMELY potent and can burn your skin!

Essential oils are very effective plant medicine but why are VERY potent and can cause skin sensitivity. Knowing how to use them safely is paramount otherwise you risk damaging your skin barrier further.  This blend is formulated with essential oils and will work for most rosacea skin, including sensitized skin.

Other Essential oils for Demodex mites

Although tea tree oil is the most studied, there are a number of really effective essential oils that can make the skin microbiome unfavorable to Demodex mites as well such as:

Frankincense (from Boswellia carterii, frereana, sacra and papyrifera)

Frankincense contains a complex mixture of monoterpenes such as alpha-pinene, Limonene, alpha-Thujene, and beta-Pinene. Frankincense has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties. Frankincense benefits include the ability to strengthen skin and improve its tone, elasticity, and defense mechanisms against bacteria. Frankincense’s cytophylactic properties stimulate cell regeneration and also protect older cells from free radical damage.

Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium)

Manuka essential oil has a unique chemical composition, including several volatile aromatic compounds that are rarely found in other essential oils. These compounds are triketones: molecules containing three ketone groups in their chemical structure. By concentration, the most present triketones in Manuka essential oil are sesquiterpenes, E-calamenene, and leptospermone.

Manuka oil has antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiparasitic, medicinal, therapeutic properties. [Source]

We use Manuka essential oils in our Radiantly Clear EOS formulation.

Roman chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

Roman chamomile’s main chemical components (4-methylamyl angelate, isobutyl angelate, isoamyl tiglate) contribute to the oil’s calming, cooling and soothing properties for the skin. The biological effects of EOs cover a wide range of effects, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activity. [Source]

If you are sensitive to essential oils, look for a face oil that uses an infusion of chamomile and other medicinal plants such as The Appease Anti-Itch Face Oil.

Helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum)

Helichrysum is supportive of aging, damaged, and inflamed skin. helichrysum significantly enhances the rejuvenation process of cells which supports skin health. It has an overall cleansing effect while uplifting the mood and lowering stress. Due to its cooling action, helichrysum is beneficial for inflamed skin.

Helichrysum is used in our ultra-popular skin-saving balm.

Copaiba (Copaifera reticulata, officinalis, coriacea,and langsdorffii)

Copaiba help clarify the skin and reduce the appearance of acne and blemishes.

Beta-caryophyllene, a major constituent of copaiba oil, has been shown to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Dilute a few drops in a carrier oil and massage onto your skin to help reduce swelling and redness. It can also help with skin conditions like Rosacea and Eczema.

Copaiba essential oil and oleoresin contain large amounts of beta-caryophyllene, a molecule that interacts with cannabinoid receptors in your skin. This causes skin cells to produce beta-endorphin, one of the happiness hormones.

Beta-caryophyllene is also a potent anti-inflammatory agent and copaiba is one of the safest oils to use on the skin. It can be very useful in healing, soothing irritation and treating chronic skin disease. [Source]

Combining these oils to Melaleuca can make the formula that much more effective to combat Demodex mites. You’ll find this blend already made for you in the Radiantly Clear Botanical Rosacea / Demodex Skincare system.

Antibacterial carrier oils

When choosing a carrier oil for skincare products, you’ll want to look for carrier oils that have a potent anti-bacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory effect.

Carrier oils that will make the terrain inhospitable for mites are:

Black Cumin Seed oil (Nigella sativa) 

Used topically, Black Cumin Seed Carrier Oil hydrates, soothes, smoothes, and nourish the skin, addresses fungal infections and blemishes, promotes the skin’s reparation and regeneration, thus facilitating a smoother, clearer, and brighter complexion

Black Cumin Seed Carrier Oil eliminates harmful topical bacteria, stimulates a strong immune response, facilitates skin’s healing process, and eases muscular aches and joint pain.

Black Cumin Seed oil is the main oil I used in the Radiantly Clear Face Oil formulated to tackle Demodex mites while reducing redness and keeping the skin hydrated and plump.

Neem oil (Azadirachta indica)

Neem Oil is rich in fatty acids (oleic acid and linoleic acid), limonoids, vitamin E, triglycerides, and antioxidants. All of these ingredients provide immense benefits for the skin.

Neem oil is also medicinal. Due to its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, it’s used to treat many skin diseases and infections.

Organic Neem Oil is used in the Radiantly Clear Essential Oil Blend.

Hydrosols to balance the PH of your skin

While using a hydrosol will not kill Demodex mites, it will help maintain a healthy skin barrier. The healthier your skin barrier is, the better equipped she is to fight off the mites.

Using a pure flower hydrosol can also do wonders in maintaining an optimum PH balance as well as gently nourishing the skin when using hydrosols made with pure plant botanicals. In the Radiantly Clear Botanical Skincare System, I specifically selected pure organic rose, melissa, helichrysum italycum, and carrot seed oil hydrosols. Combined together, these magnificent flower waters hydrate, nourish and calm stressed, inflamed skin.

*Finding a pure hydrosol that does not contain alcohol is extremely hard to find. For my Radiantly Clear system, I’m working with a local master distiller that only uses and bottles pure hydrosols.

Learn more about hydrosols for sensitive, rosacea-prone skin here.

Other plant compounds that may help tackle Demodex mites:

• Aloe is a natural moisture retainer and has antibacterial properties. Ever since adding aloe + MSM to my skincare routine, my skin is less dry, especially in winter.

• MSM sulfur (used in my Aloe & MSM Serum) has been shown to kill Demodex mites when used consistently. From JAAD (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology): “These antibacterial properties have been demonstrated against Propionibacterium acnes, some Streptococci, and Staphylococcus aureus. Sulphur has also been shown to kill Demodex mites, which have been implicated as a possible causative factor in rosacea.”[Source]

Demodex mites and rosacea skincare ritual

If you are currently battling with Demodex breakouts you’ll want to be very consistent with your skincare regimen.

Here are my top tips to make the most of your skincare ritual:

#1 Once a week, use a gentle botanical exfoliating powder that will deeply cleanse and get rid of dead skin cells. Do not overuse exfoliants though, as they may aggravate your skin.

You may also want to look for a non-foaming tea tree oil cleanser (foaming cleansers are notorious for drying out the skin.)

#2 Use pure flower hydrosol to calm and soothe your skin throughout the day. I leave a few hydrosols in the frig and it’s wonderfully cooling and soothing! A pure hydrosol can be used even if you’re wearing makeup although you will get the most benefit on clean skin.

#3 Leave your face oil or EOS roller bottle by your bed at night so you can reach it easily if your skin starts to itch.

#4 A honey mask has natural antibacterial properties. You can DYI this by blending a teaspoon of the Botanical Cleansing & Exfoliating Powder with local organic honey to make a mask 2 or 3 times a week. This mask is deeply soothing and nourishing to dry, itchy skin.

#5 Change your pillowcase every day and wash your hair often. You don’t want to sleep on a dirty pillowcase or have greasy hair rub on your face during the night. We’re not aiming for perfection or obsession here so do what makes sense.

#6 If your skin is super dry, opt for a nourishing balm at bedtime. You can help the balm penetrate deeper by massaging your face with your fingers or using a gua sha or Kansa wand tool. It’s a beautiful ritual to do before bedtime. Learn more about gua sha and rosacea.

#7 Taking some time to rest and rejuvenate will do wonders for your skin by supporting your body in entering a parasympathetic state. A constant “on the go” stressful state can keep healing at bay, as the body cannot heal when stressed. So make sure you integrate self-care practices in your everyday life such as sophrology, meditation and yoga nidra.

#8 Be kind to yourself. There’s nothing worse than negative self-talk, especially when we look in the mirror and are unhappy with our skin. Change your inner dialogue and be kind to yourself. Our skin and body are constantly trying to get back into an optimum state of balance and health. Our language and thoughts play a key role in our healing. Being aware of negative self-talk and stopping it dead in its tracks is crucial if you’re ever going to experience full and complete healing.

How to use the Radiantly Clear System formulated for Rosacea / Demodex

In the morning, start with the Botanical Cleansing & Exfoliating Powder (which I leave on my face to “act” for at least 5 minutes) followed by the Aloe & MSM Serum.

Next, abundantly mist your face with Soothing Flower Water (inhale deeply, it smells so good!) following up with the Radiantly Clear Face Oil. Mist the hydrosol again and press the pure plant water molecule into your skin. You will love how plump and hydrated your skin feels!

If you have Demodex or rosacea breakouts, roll the Radiantly Clear Essential Oil Blend on targeted areas, and feel free to repeat throughout the day if you’re not wearing makeup.

Leave the products to work before putting on any SPF or makeup. If you can, allow for 10 / 15 minutes.

If you do not wear makeup you can use your hydrosol and Radiantly Clear Essential Oil Blend throughout the day if needed.

I hope this article was helpful, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions and most of all, don’t give up! Getting rid of Demodex mites and healing rosacea is absolutely possible and it’s possible for you too!

Healing rosacea is possible!

Getting rid of the overabundance of Demodex mites and healing rosacea is absolutely possible. As you’ve read today, it involves a holistic, mind-body approach.

Wherever you are on your journey to glow, please don’t give up. As someone who’s been on the journey myself, I know how challenging it can be. But if you take one step at a time and stay consistent and apply a functional approach to healing, you will see results.

Healing rosacea is possible!

Getting rid of the overabundance of Demodex mites and healing rosacea is absolutely possible. As you’ve read today, it involves a holistic, mind-body approach.

Wherever you are on your journey to glow, please don’t give up. As someone who’s been on the journey myself, I know how challenging it can be. But if you take one step at a time and stay consistent and apply a functional approach to healing, you will see results.

If you need extra guidance, visit my new website healrosaceanaturally.com

Natural & Holistic Solutions Rosacea

EDITED October 2023 / IMPORTANT NOTES: I initially wrote this post in 2019 and some of my opinions have changed since then. Instead of completely re-writing this post which contains useful information on healing rosacea naturally, I’d like to invite you to read my latest articles on my new website healrosaceanaturally.com.

Article at a glance

Putting things into context:

• My journey healing rosacea naturally & holistically

• Why it’s hard to find high quality information on natural solutions for rosacea

• Who’s behind top ranking articles on Google on rosacea (and why they suck)

• The biggest myth about rosacea

• Examining your beliefs around healing your skin

• There is no one size fits all formula to healing or treating rosacea

• Why taking the healing process into your hands is key to achieve clear, glowing skin

Natural Solutions for Rosacea-Prone Skin:

• The link between food and rosacea 

• Heavy metals & toxic burdens

• Functional testing to pinpoint the root cause of rosacea

• Supplements & herbal medicine

• Essential oils & flower essences

• Non-toxic skincare

• The impact of stress

• Working with a holistic skin healing expert

Natural solutions & remedies to heal rosacea

Early on in my journey looking for natural solutions for rosacea, I was lucky to find a Naturopath and Functional Medicine practitioner who both shared a holistic approach to skin healing.

Working with these practitioners taught me a lot about healing rosacea from the inside-out. But I also wanted to empower myself to take the healing process into my own hands and learn everything I can on the clear skin diet, gut health, liver detox, holistic nutrition and organic skincare.

So, I fell down the rabbit hole called the internet. 🙂

Very quickly, it became clear to me that a lot of the articles on the topic of ‘natural solutions for rosacea” offer “surface” information.

These articles talked about the usual triggers (sun, heat, spicy foods, alcohol, coffee….) but offered NO REAL solutions.

Even more frustrating was realizing who was behind these articles (more on that later).

The cookie-cutter information and pharmaceutical-based treatments didn’t resonate with me. Intuitively, I knew there was more to healing rosacea than managing triggers or using internal and external antibiotics. 

I also knew, deep down, that rosacea is fully and completely “healable”. I don’t believe in a cure in the form of a pill or cream plus, the current medical paradigm has told us rosacea is incurable BECAUSE big pharma hasn’t manufactured a drug to “cure”. 

Yet, after interviewing 60+ Holistic Skin Healing Experts, many of them womxn who have COMPLETELY healed rosacea naturally and holistically, I believe it’s way overdue to change the narrative around our skin’s capacity to fully heal.

Why generic information found on Google won’t help you heal rosacea

If you’ve been going down the rabbit hole researching the internet, you’ve probably noticed that articles ranking on the top pages of Google on the topic of “natural solutions or natural remedies for rosacea” often sound the same and contain no substantial information whatsoever.

These articles are paid content written by internet marketers hired by big media firms (and big pharma) or paid writers who have zero understanding of skin health or rosacea. These posts aren’t designed to provide quality information but to “rank high” to get the most traffic and make money from targeted Google ads.

YouTube is another search engine built on an algorithm designed to feed you content based on popularity, not quality, and make money through advertisements.

Search “natural solutions, cure or remedies for rosacea” on YouTube and you won’t be shown a video from a Ph.D. in skin health (which could actually be of REAL VALUE). Instead, you’ll be shown a 20-something influencer whose video has millions of views because it was strategically titled “I CURED MY ROSACEA OVERNIGHT!!!”. Unfortunately, undiscerning people click on these videos in the hopes of finding a miraculous cure for rosacea. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find that this influencer has never had rosacea in her life and that she’s an affiliate for a brand that promises overnight results from their miracle cream/pill.

So….After a few weeks of research and realizing it was much harder to find high-quality information on healing rosacea naturally, I decided to do something about it.

I sought out the help of the best skin experts in the field of holistic medicine, then got trained in functional nutrition and herbal medicine. You can learn more about my work on healrosaceanaturally.com.

The disclaimer

1. This blog post does not constitute medical advice, I’m not a doctor. If you need medical advice, seek the help of your trusted advisors.

2. This is by no means an exhaustive list of natural solutions or remedies for rosacea. I plan on adding to this article, so feel free to bookmark it or sign up to the Glowletter to be notified when new resources become available to you.

3. What’s working for me might not work for you. There is no “one size fits all formula”. There are, however, effective principles that, if followed, will support the healing of your skin from the inside out. The key (and I say this all the time on the podcast) is for you to feel empowered to take the healing process into your own hands.

Letting Go of Beliefs That Don’t Serve You

Hear this: you can heal your skin.

Yes, that means rosacea, too.

I was talking to a Naturopathic ND specializing in Integrative Dermatology who admitted (off-record because she can’t speak freely about this) that rosacea is absolutely curable.

The problem is, doctors aren’t permitted to say so for fear of being sued or giving false hope. (Why they can, however, say that there is “no cure for rosacea”, which can cause severe emotional trauma in patients suffering from this skin condition, points to how broken the medical system is.)

Speaking to womxn in the Journey to Glow community, many of whom are frustrated and even depressed because of their skin, I feel that it’s time to shift the conversation into a more empowering one: one that addresses the root cause and focuses on FINDING solutions.

These podcast interviews feature real womxn who have found effective natural solutions to heal rosacea. Every post includes untouched, unfiltered, unphotoshopped before-and-after photos of their skin. To say that we have gathered evidence that rosacea can be fully healed is an understatement.

Our mission at Journey To Glow and healrosaceanaturally.com is to invite readers and listeners to examine their beliefs about healing and to connect with the body’s innate healing intelligence.

If you hold the belief that rosacea is incurable or that a natural approach isn’t going to work, you won’t make progress because your mindset will stop you from actually trying something new, whether it’s, at the very least, changing your diet or trying out a holistic healing modality.

Our mind is a powerful thing: it dictates the actions we take and the changes we make.

Healing a skin “issue” whether acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis… is, first and foremost, about pinpointing the root cause and bringing the body back into balance.

But it’s also about mindset or “state of mind”: being aware that your inner state and inner dialogue will dictate a lot of the outcome.

Personally, I’ve had to become really discerning about my thoughts and my daily practice is to ask: “Are these thoughts coming from a loving, accepting place?” or “Am I nasty and critical about my skin?”

Another avenue to explore is the emotional root cause of rosacea. This is a fascinating topic and one we explore in our 4-week program Self-Heal.

So, having established that clear glowing skin is attainable no matter what your skin looks like now, let’s explore natural solutions for rosacea.

Natural Solutions For Rosacea:
A Holistic Approach To Nutrition

The foundation for clear glowing skin is very much linked to the foods we eat. That some dermatologists still don’t see (or ignore) the link between food and skin (or gut microbiome and skin microbiome), makes absolutely no sense to me.

If you have food sensitivities, gut issues, an overburdened liver with heavy metals (often found in food!), a histamine intolerance, eat a highly-processed diet laden with pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs, clear skin just ain’t gonna happen.

Want a simple yet effective, natural solution to heal your rosacea? Look at the foods you eat!

Finding the right anti-inflammatory, rosacea-diet for you

There are so many books that offer food and diet guidelines to help clear skin issues but I find that the best approach is one based on bio-individuality. I write about the rosacea diet here if you’re interested.

Anthony William (The Medical Medium) talks a lot about celery juice and the benefits of heavy metal-detoxifying foods. I had a strong skin reaction drinking celery juice for 30 days but I know a lot of people get great results following his principles.

I’m an epicurean who loves cooking organic foods and prefer local, in-season fruits + vegetables as much as possible. Living in Quebec, Canada means I don’t have access to fresh fruits in the winter and tend to crave warm foods rather than a green smoothie in the morning, especially when it’s -30 degrees Celcius outside.

So I’ve learned to trust my body to navigate which foods are best for me during different seasons.

Ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you.

The bottom line on food

Making simple changes such as eating an organic plant-based diet, drinking pure water, cutting out inflammatory foods (sugar, gluten, corn, dairy, highly processed foods), and keeping caffeine and alcohol in check is essential if you have rosacea.

Since there’s no one size fits all formula as to the best rosacea diet, you’ll have to do some investigative work to find out the best healing foods for your skin.

When diet changes are not enough to heal rosacea naturally

Even though foods play a major role in skin health and potentially healing rosacea, sometimes changing our diet isn’t enough, which is why you may need to investigate further.

Sometimes there is more to the equation than changing our diet and cutting out inflammatory foods which is why a functional approach is key.

Some people make simple dietary changes and see a HUGE improvement in their rosacea (like Eva!) others will have to dig deeper to find out what else is going on. (This was certainly the case for me.)

Eliminating Heavy Metals & Toxic burdens

One of the books that were instrumental for me in learning about toxic burdens on the liver (toxicity that can translate into dermatoxins that trigger skin issues such as rosacea, acne, eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis)) is the Medical Medium’s The Liver Rescue.

This is an excerpt from the book:

“Almost every single skin condition comes from the liver. The intestinal tract often becomes involved by default in a forced collaboration; however, conditions labelled eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, lupus, cellulitis, vitiligo, age spots, other discolorations, and more start and end with the liver.

Your liver releases dermatoxins (formed by viruses feeding off heavy metals and other toxins in your liver) to the surface of your skin to protect you. The skin knows your liver is getting overwhelmed with pathogens and their byproduct and toxins, and in a panic, it pushes poisons up to the surface in a rush. The dermatoxins, which are at least far away from your internal organs now, do make life uncomfortable; they’re highly inflammatory to skin tissue, causing blemishes, fissures, cracks, scabs, flaking, scarring, bleeding, and rashes of all kinds. The associated irritation occurs because of tiny nerve endings all through the epidermis. When inflammation occurs, the nerves get squeezed and pulled apart, causing the itchiness, discomfort, and outright pain of the rash.

The level to which these symptoms disrupt your life can depend on the strain of EBV or other virus present, the levels of heavy metals or other toxins present inside the liver, how sluggish the liver is, and your current diet, which could contain unhelpful foods that are feeding the underlying cause, the viral strain.

Rosacea is usually mercury-based, with that mercury present in both the liver and the small intestinal tract, plus a virus, most commonly EBV.”

Mercury fillings (yuk!)

Besides looking at heavy metals in foods, water and in my home/environment, the Liver Rescue prompted me to do more research on mercury fillings which I still had in my mouth even though they were over 35 years old!!! YUK!!!

Now, a quick Google search shows that quite a few studies connect skin/health issues to mercury fillings so I oriented my research toward functional medicine which, turns out, has been talking about the effects of heavy metal toxicity and skin issues for years.

Here are some resources to get you started on the subject:
https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/20/mercury-get-this-poison-out-of-your-body/
https://draxe.com/health/heavy-metal-detox/
https://wellnessmama.com/302581/detox-heavy-metals/

Podcast: Wendy Myers https://myersdetox.com/category/podcast-category/

Even though there are sources out there trying to discredit the link between mercury fillings and health/skin issues, intuitively I knew I was on to something. So I promptly booked a series of visits to my holistic dentist and got mentally prepared to get my old mercury fillings replaced with non-toxic ones.

I also talked to my naturopath, who suggested a gentle protocol to support my body’s detoxification before and after the removal of mercury fillings.

Without getting into details here (because you should absolutely talk to a holistic expert about detoxing the body of heavy metals) it involved daily doses of cilantro (fresh herbal form or the essential oil), spirulina, adding chlorella to my water, shilajit, and milk thistle.

I’m now happy to say that I’m mercury fillings FREEEEEEEE and I’m so glad I made the investment, even though it was painful on the wallet and mouth!

And, to my amazement, I saw a HUGE improvement in my skin, within days. Specifically, the redness on my cheeks went down drastically. More on this topic in this video.

If you feel intuitively called to explore if and how heavy metals are burdening your liver and possibly impacting your skin, a great investment is to work with a knowledgeable Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Naturopathic ND, or Functional doctor who can order the right tests for you.

Let's build your rosacea healing blueprint

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Functional Testing

Before embarking on my journey to glow a few years ago, I had no idea there was such a thing as functional testing!

New to functional medicine? Dive into these episodes.

Functional tests are used by Naturopathic or Functional NDs to get straight to the root cause of an issue as opposed to treating symptoms.

Because of advancements in functional medicine in the last 5 years, we now have access to an incredible variety of cutting-edge tests to help us get to the root cause quickly and effectively.

These tests are not typically used in allopathic/conventional medical hospitals or clinics where doctors focus on treating symptoms, not getting to the root cause. (Hence saying that rosacea is incurable. Because a pill or cream hasn’t cured rosacea doesn’t mean it’s incurable, it just means they haven’t investigated the root cause yet.)

Functional testing can get pricey, so working with a functional expert is key and in the end, will save you time and money.

Personally, I invested my fair share in functional testing partly because I’m interested in learning more about functional medicine and because I’m determined to get to the root cause of my rosacea. But you don’t have to spend a tonne of money to get answers when you work with an expert.

Testing your water

We’ve talked about the importance of drinking pure water. Well, unbeknownst to me, my well water –—  which I was convinced was “free of heavy metals or pathogens — could be better which we found out thanks to a water test my Naturopath suggested.

If you’re currently drinking tap water, you might want to skip the test (save some money) and invest in a good filter asap instead. Tap water needs to be filtered as we talked about with Melissa in this episode.

Heavy metal test + DUTCH Test + SIBO Test + Live Blood Test

I also did a heavy metal test (a urine test done from home), the DUTCH test (also a urine test) which is a complete hormonal panel, a SIBO test and, when I visit my naturopath’s office, she’ll do a live blood test (a prick on the finger) which is always SO TELLING as to what’s going on in my body, blood, or gut (urgh, hello parasites!).

Without getting hyper-focused on ALL the tests available today (food sensitivities! MRT!) I wanted to mention it here as a possible natural solution for rosacea as it can really help you make incredible progress on your journey to glow.

The last test I’d like to mention is the MRT test (Mediator Release Test) which is a blood test to detect very specific food sensitivities. It’s also quite pricey (around $500USD) but if you have the extra cash, it might be worth checking out. Learn more about the MRT test here.

Also, this interview with Ramona Remesat is INCREDIBLE and gets into the details of testing for SIBO, EBV and Lyme. Plus, Ramona’s journey to glow is very inspiring: she’s now free of SIBO!

Supplements & Herbal Medicine

There’s no denying that plant medicine in the form of supplements, tinctures, powder or tea is an incredibly reliable option when looking for a natural approach to healing rosacea or any other skin conditions.

The challenge, however, is finding the right plant combination at the right medicinal dosage, which is where, again, working with a Naturopathic doctor or Skin herbalist is very beneficial.

Supplements that support skin health:

✔ Milk Thistle (liver support)
✔ Turmeric (protects the skin from free-radical damage)
✔ Vitamin C (an immune-boosting antioxidant that prevents cell damage)
✔ Polypodium Leucotomos (a powerful antioxidant)
✔ Astaxanthin (said to promote healthy skin tone, texture, elasticity & moisture levels)
✔ Zinc is said to relieve the symptoms of acne, pimples, and minor skin eruptions
✔ Burdock is traditionally used in Western herbal medicine as a blood cleanser and to relieve minor skin eruptions and symptoms of mild eczema and dermatitis
✔ Calendula can be used externally to repair skin tissue + reduce redness as well as repair gut tissue

Since finding the right supplements or herbal protocol is key, I can’t emphasize enough that the best way to go about it is to resist the temptation to buy everything that promises clear skin but to work with a herbalist that can craft the right formula for your own unique need.

Flower Essences

I also wanted to mention flower essences because they’re really not that well known and hold tremendous healing powers.

If you don’t know about flower essences, they work very differently than essential oils as they work on an energetic level.

So what are flower essences exactly?

They’re a bioenergetic imprint of a flower that has been transferred to water via the sun or moon.

The process was first discovered in the 1930s by Dr. Edward Bach and has since been created and used by many holistic practitioners.

Flower essences work on our energy bodies and help support emotional, mental, and spiritual healing by shifting energy blocks, limiting beliefs or destructive/sabotaging behaviors.

Since flower essences are energetic in nature, their benefits are not due to a biochemical interaction with the body. Instead, they work on the various energy pathways (such as the acupuncture meridians) to create health and well-being in the body, mind, and spirit.

What does that have to do with healing skin issues you ask?

So much!

If you feel stuck on your journey to glow because you’re just not making progress, you’re not implementing the lifestyle and diet changes you know you need to make, you’re feeling depressed or beat yourself up every time you look in the mirror, you’ll need to change a deep-seated belief or energetic pattern in order to fully heal.

That’s where flower essences come in. Plus, they’re super safe, and affordable, and you can’t do it wrong.

I’ve been working with flower essences for years and they have supported me through big life transitions, grief, emotional blocks, and mental well-being. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without them!

PS: If you’re interested in flower essences and botanical skincare, check out my new website shop.journeytoglow.com

JTG #74 The Link Between Histamines, Rosacea & Acne With Holistic Nutrition Practitioner Luka Simons

JTG #74 The Link Between Histamines, Rosacea & Acne With Holistic Nutrition Practitioner Luka Simons

In this episode of the Journey to glow podcast we talk to Holistic Nutritionist Luka Simons about the link between histamines and rosacea, acne and other skin “issues”.

Luka Symons is a Holistic Nutrition Practitioner for people who are wondering where their food + body groove has disappeared to.

Through her uplifting & informative workshops, talks, and one-on-one consults, she’s here to shake up your approach to food and your gorgeous self — while making it all feel like a walk in the park.

As a former radio host and child #3 of 4, she isn’t known for being quiet nor shy. When she’s not being all nutrition-y, you can find her daydreaming of driving her red scooter with a milk crate full of books on the back with her two favourites in tow (husband & daughter), on the hunt for the best cup of joe on the planet.

Luka works one-on-one with clients via private consultation and runs classes around her adopted hometown of Calgary. Check out both the live and online classes to see what might best suit you!

Luka is one-half of the mavens at Histamine Haven; she is also on staff as one of the instructors at The Light Cellar in Bowness, Calgary.

In this episode Holistic Nutrition Practitioner Luka Symons and Journey To Glow founder Caroline Frenette talk about: 

1. Your skin is NOT against you, she’s showing you what’s happening IN the body
2. The link between histamines and rosacea, acne and other skin “issues”
3. What is a low histamine diet
4. The SIBO + histamine aka BI-PHASIC diet
5. How histamines and SIBO may be the missing link in healing rosacea
6. How histamine can actually “trigger” skin “issues”
7. What are histamines and how they work
8. What are mast cells and how they influence inflammation in the body
9. The immune system, inflammation and rosacea
10. Foods to avoid if you have a histamine intolerance
11. Hidden ingredients that can trigger a histamine reaction and make your rosacea worse

If you loved this conversation on the topic of histamines, rosacea and acne, you’ll love episode #32 Histamine Intolerance And Acne With Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist Vivien Allred.

Link & Resources:

Luka’s website lukasymons.com

Histamine Haven histaminehaven.com

Luka’s Instagram instagram.com/lukasymonschnc

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Key takeaway from the session

Ingredients that can trigger a histamine reaction and make your rosacea/acne worse:

• Guar gum
• Carrageenan
• Acacia gum
• Preservatives
• Colorants
• Fake foods / processed foods

What to do about it:

Tip # 1 Eat REAL food meaning make your food from scratch using fresh organic ingredients

Tip #2 Eat as fresh (in season) as possible

Tip #3 Reduce high histamine heavy hitters: bone broths, vinegar, fermented foods

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

JTG #71 The Queen of Thrones Dr. Marisol And The Benefits of Castor Oil Packs For Skin Health

JTG #71 The Queen of Thrones Dr. Marisol And The Benefits of Castor Oil Packs For Skin Health

My guest today is the amazing Dr. Marisol Teijeiro aka The Queen of Throne who shares with us the incredible benefits of castor oil packs to support skin health via the detoxification of the liver, healing of the gut and rebalancing stomach acid.

About our guest:

Dr. Marisol Teijeiro (ND) is the founder and original Queen of the Thrones™ (as dubbed by her patients). On top of working in the natural health world for almost two decades, she has experienced feeling sh*tty and figured out the hierarchy to getting healthy. She’s built a Queendom of support for people searching for health freedom, and recently published the award-winning gut & digestive health book like no other.
Oh, Sh*t! takes readers on a 3 step journey to discover the root causes of their digestive disturbances and reset their gut to finally feel better.

In this episode we cover:

• The role of chakras in healing skin
• Which chakra is linked with inflammation
• The benefits of castor oil packs for skin health
• The role of stomach acid in rosacea
• The emotional and spiritual connection to healing
• How to get off the “fix me” bandwagon and step into your inner healer
• How shining the light of consciousness on the subconscious mind is key to full and complete healing
• How castor oil packs support the liver, gut, and stomach acid production
• How stepping into our true power is key to healing
• Do castor oil packs cause breakouts?
• Probiotics to consider especially if you have SIBO and/or rosacea

Dr. Marisol’s website + shop castor oil packs drmarisol.com

Queen of Thrones on Instagram instagram.com/queenofthethrones

The Sophia Code by Kaia Ra on Amazon.com

The Link Between SIBO & Rosacea written by Sara Kahn, MS, CNS, CDN

The Link Between SIBO and Rosacea
Guest post by Sara Kahn, MS, CNS, CDN
Clinical Nutritionist & Founder of Belly Bliss Nutrition

1. What are the underlying causes of SIBO?

SIBO is essentially a symptom of digestive dysfunction that has resulted in the slow motility of the small intestine.  Normally, it should move food and bacteria down and out towards the large intestine.  With SIBO, the motility has slowed allowing our good gut bacteria to overgrow.

The key to resolving SIBO is determining and addressing the root cause or the underlying reason for the slow motility.  Some of the more common causes we see in our practice include:

• Food poisoning or traveler’s diarrhea.  The bacteria that cause these types of stomach upset can lead to an autoimmune response from the body attacking cells that are involved in the motility in the small intestine.

• Hypothyroidism or slow thyroid function can cause slow motility.

• Adhesions caused by abdominal surgery such as c-section, hysterectomy, gall bladder removal, appendectomy, and more.  Abdominal surgeries can create scar tissue that can cause narrowing of the intestines.

• Chronic stress can cause SIBO in numerous ways.  Chronic stress can lower stomach acid, which is one of our defense mechanisms against bacteria entering the body through the mouth. We need stomach acid to activate enzymes, which help digest food and also help kill bacteria.  Stress also produces a hormone called cortisol.  Too much cortisol can lead to intestinal inflammation, which can cause slow motility in the small intestine.

Altogether, this can create a perfect storm setting one up for SIBO.

2. Why would someone with rosacea consider looking at SIBO for the possible root cause?

Rosacea is associated with various GI disorders in addition to SIBO such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Celiac disease H. pylori infection, and more.  If you have symptoms of SIBO such as bloating, gas, constipation, and/or diarrhea then a SIBO breath test may help determine if this is contributing to rosacea.

3. Is it possible to have SIBO but not have symptoms?

A practitioner well-versed in SIBO understands that the test results need to be interpreted in the context of symptoms.  In the medical literature, there are healthy controls, who based on test results, would be diagnosed with SIBO but were not experiencing digestive symptoms.  They would not be diagnosed with SIBO because they don’t have symptoms.

Because we specialize in digestive health, all of our clients have GI symptoms.  So if it’s not SIBO then we keep digging.

4. Any recent research you’ve found helpful on SIBO and rosacea?

A January 2021 systematic review entitled Rosacea, Germs, and Bowels: A Review on Gastrointestinal Comorbidities and Gut–Skin Axis of Rosacea by Wang and Chi (2021) nicely summarizes the current theories on how various gastrointestinal conditions, including SIBO, are related to rosacea.

Wang, F.-Y., & Chi, C.-C. (2021). Rosacea, Germs, and Bowels: A Review on Gastrointestinal Comorbidities and Gut–Skin Axis of Rosacea. Advances in Therapy, 38(3), 1415–1424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-021-01624-x

5. A question we get a lot is: “How does SIBO actually affect the skin, specifically rosacea?” It is difficult to understand how gut dysbiosis is mirrored on the surface of the skin as localized redness/inflammation.

One thing people may not realize is that up to 70% of our immune system cells reside in our gut.  Our gut microbiome (the collection of bacteria in the colon) plays a huge role in modulating our immune system.  So when we have dysbiosis and our gut is inflamed, this can cause increased inflammation in areas besides the gut and can manifest in symptoms across the whole body.  Further, gut inflammation can result in increased intestinal permeability (otherwise known as “leaky gut”).  This means bacteria, toxins and allergens can escape into the bloodstream and cause trouble elsewhere.  We have many clients who have GI issues also have eczema, psoriasis, hives, rashes, and rosacea.

6. We know that to treat SIBO we can go with herbal anti-microbials or antibiotics, how does one choose?

There is no right or wrong but rather it’s about finding a treatment that works.  We have seen antibiotics work well and we have seen herbal antimicrobials work well.  We have also seen both approaches not work well.  Xifaxan (Rifaximin is the brand name) stays local to the small intestine and doesn’t affect the good gut bacteria in the colon.  However, methane dominant SIBO requires the use of Xifaxan plus either metronidazole or neomycin.  These antibiotics do have an effect on other bacterial populations such as the colon, vagina, etc.  All antibiotics have benefits and risks associated with them along with the potential for side effects.

Herbal antimicrobials may have a halo effect because they are natural but they are not benign.  For those with environmental allergies, or for those on certain medications, herbal antimicrobials may not be appropriate.  Further, they don’t stay local to the small intestine so there is a risk of causing further dysbiosis in the colon.  One of the benefits is that they can be used in small doses with increasing doses to tolerance.  This may be better tolerated in those who are sensitive to the powerful effects of antibiotics.

Keep in mind, that antibiotic or herbal antimicrobial treatment is just one piece of the puzzle.  We still need to address slow motility and the underlying root causes to clear SIBO and prevent it from returning.

7. How do we pinpoint the root cause of SIBO, what are the underlying causes, and do we treat the root cause of SIBO first or the bacterial overgrowth?

Identifying the cause of slow motility of the small intestine is the key to resolving SIBO.  If we are able to work with our clients before SIBO treatment, we prefer to improve digestive function as much as possible first before their SIBO treatment.

This may mean naturally increasing stomach acid and enzyme production, chewing food thoroughly to make digestion easier, eating in a calm environment, reducing stress, having regular bowel movements, and improving motility of the small intestine.   We find when we are able to do this work first, not only do our clients feel better but it makes clearing SIBO and tolerating SIBO treatment much easier.

8. Once SIBO is addressed, how quickly does it reflect on our skin?

Every client has a different experience.  We are often not just addressing SIBO but also histamine intolerance, allergies, food sensitivities, leaky gut, nutrient deficiencies, etc.   Some clients see improvements in their skin even before SIBO is treated because we are determining triggers and improving digestive function.  And for others, their journey is longer.  Just like with fitness, if you stop exercising, you’ll be less fit.  Same with gut health.  Gut health needs constantly evolve and there are always opportunities to make sure our digestive system works optimally.

Wanna learn more about healing rosacea naturally and holistically? Dive into our podcast interviews with holistic skin experts.

Sara Kahn, MS, CNS, CDN is a board-certified clinical & functional nutritionist in New York City and as the founder of Belly Bliss Nutrition works virtually with clients all over the country.

Like most of her clients, she struggled with digestive issues for years as well as anemia, nutrient deficiencies, and skin conditions. It wasn’t until she understood the root cause of her symptoms that she started healing.

To learn more about Sara’s work and her program Solving SIBO visit sarakahnnutrition.com/solving-sibo

Journey To Glow readers can save $50 off the pay in full price using code SIBOGLOW.

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

FREE ROSACEA MASTERCLASS

9 Misconceptions About Rosacea

Enter your name + email and get access to a FREE 30-minute video masterclass where we'll explore the 9 misconceptions about rosacea that are keeping you from healing your skin.

The why behind
Journey To Glow

Hello! Bonjour!

I’m Caroline Dalia Kaliani, Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist & founder of Journey To Glow.

I created this free educational platform to share natural, holistic and effective solutions to skin “dis-ease”.

On the Glow blog, you’ll find articles and interviews with Holistic Skin Experts diving into natural protocols to heal rosacea, eczema, acne and psoriasis.  We cover everything from diet to supplements to lifestyle.

If you’d like to learn specifically about natural solutions for rosacea, please visit my website healrosaceanaturally.com. For natural rosacea skincare, please visit shop.journeytoglow.com.

I hope these free resources help you on your journey to healing your skin,

Caroline Dalia Kaliani

JTG #67 How To Treat Rosacea Naturally with Naturopathy

with Dr. Julie Greenberg

How to treat rosacea naturally with naturopathy, Dr. Julie Greenberg.

In this episode, my guest Dr. Julie Greenberg, Naturopathic ND & Registered Herbalist shares how we can treat rosacea naturally with naturopathy. We also dive into the link between gut health and hair loss and how she approaches both skin and hair with an inside-out approach to healing.

About our guest

Dr. Greenberg is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor (ND) and Registered Herbalist RH(AHG) who specializes in integrative dermatology. She is passionate about natural skincare and believes that many of today’s chronic skin diseases can be healed by using evidence-based alternative treatments.

Dr. Greenberg’s health journey took her from a career in business to becoming a health care warrior. She received a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford University and had a successful career in finance.

But a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism made her rethink everything she knew about health. A leading endocrinologist wrote her a prescription and told her that there was nothing more they could do for her. So, she got to work researching.  She learned that women put an average of 125 chemicals on their skin every day through personal care products and that many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors and toxins. She started studying and making her own skin care products and saw the healing power of herbs and plants firsthand. She decided to dedicate her life to her passion and attended Bastyr’s four-year naturopathic medical school.  While there, she received advanced clinical training with leading experts in dermatology at the University of Washington Medical School and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Greenberg practices functional medicine and is an expert herbalist.  She writes peer-reviewed medical dermatology articles for LearnSkin.com and is dedicated to using science-based research to find better solutions for our skin care diseases.

In this podcast, we dive into the following:

1. How to treat rosacea naturally with naturopathy Dr. Julie Greenberg ND
2. Steps to restore gut balance
3. How to reduce exposure to toxins in our everyday life
4. Skincare to keep the acid mantle acidic not alkaline
5. How to support the detoxification process of the liver
6. Stool tests to give you a clear diagnosis of the pathogens in the gut
7. Tests to look for mold and candida with a dry urine test
8. Our favorite hydrosols & face oils for rosacea skincare
9. How she goes about treating hair loss from the inside-out
10. The link between h pylori, SIBO and rosacea

Scroll down to watch my video interview with Dr. Julie Greenberg and learn all about our favorite rosacea skincare, the gut / skin connection and how to treat rosacea naturally thanks to the inside-out approach of naturopathy.

To dive deeper into a functional approach to healing rosacea + skincare for rosacea, please visit our sister website: healrosaceanaturally.com

Resources for rosacea:

• healrosaceanaturally.com/blog
• Free rosacea masterclass
• Podcasts and articles on rosacea journeytoglow.com/category-rosacea
• Rosacea botanical skincare shop.journeytoglow.com
• Natural rosacea skincare for Demodex mites

Functional Nutrition & Herbal Medicine For Rosacea

As a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, Skin Herbalist, Certified Advanced Transformative Coach, and someone who’s personally been on a rosacea healing journey, I’m equipped to work with clients in a unique capacity.

My approach – which is personalized and designed to support each of my clients’ bio-individuality – enables me to get to the root cause(s) that brings about skin inflammation.

Once we’ve pinpointed the possible root causes (emotional, physical, or environmental), we work to support the body back into balance, so it can heal itself.

The result? Clear, glowing skin.

Dr. Greenberg’s website integrativedermatologycenter.com

Recommended water filters + article on the benefits of drinking clean water

FREE MASTERCLASS

Get FREE access to a 30-minute masterclass where you’ll explore 9 misconceptions about rosacea and how to create momentum on your healing journey.