Rosacea Support Group
Rosacea is a common but often misunderstood condition that is estimated to affect over 45 million people worldwide. It begins as flushing and redness on the central face and across the cheeks, nose, or forehead but can also affect the neck, chest, scalp or ears.
Greetings, All:
My new derm (I recently moved from Missouri to Georgia, so I got a new derm because of the move... not because I didn't like my previous doc) just recommended that I add in blue light therapy along with the red light therapy that I've been doing for the past 5 months (red light therapy has been very effective for me). She says the combo may give me even better results than just the red light alone. I haven't done this yet, but I'm considering it at the moment. I'm also waiting for pay day before getting a blue light unit because the light units aren't exactly cheap. 
Does anyone here have any experience with either blue light therapy alone or blue/red combo?
I'd love to hear about some personal experiences.
Thanks!
I love how quickly Smarter Lights gets their units delivered!
I already did one session today for 60 seconds. I went ahead and did it after I completed my PM red light therapy (5 minutes of the red light)... giving my skin about 10 minutes between red and blue. The blue felt nice, rather relaxing actually, and I did wear my eye protective gear.
I plan to do 2 sessions a day, AM & PM, just like I do with my red. Should know more in a week or 2...
The blue light is going GREAT! I'm actually totally shocked to find it's helping (it wasn't something I would've considered adding to my routine on my own). I do my red light for 5 minutes first, then switch to the blue for 3 minutes (I want to work up to 5 minutes on this as well, but I'm taking it slow). I'm currently using both therapies 2x per day.
The derm wanted me to use blue after the red to essentially "make my skin barrier more resilient and balance my microbiome." According to my derm, rosacea folks tend to have a weakened barrier, which leads to a lot of environmental sensitivity and a greater risk of infection. I can say that I have had random infections pop up now and then since being diagnosed, so I'm praying this stops that completely.
While my red light seems to handle any inflammation well (decreased pinkness/redness, less itching, less burning, and the occasional bumps are pretty much gone), the blue light seems to tone down the circulation increase I get after doing red light. The blue light does also appear to be making me less sensitive to environmental stimulation (stong perfumes worn by others, increased heat and sun tolerance, and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with bug sprays and basic cleaning products that have mild scent). Plus, the tone and texture of my skin is becoming more even (I do have a fairly even tone anyway, but I'm noticing a positive difference on top of that).
So, I would say that I'm still seeing the biggest daily benefits from red light therapy, but adding in the blue light therapy took the power of red up a notch. I plan to continue with both, as this is giving me the best results so far.
Hope this post helps. Again, I'm only a week in... so that's 14 treatments. I didn't see the biggest results start to emerge from red light until the first month. It might be that blue light still has more to show me.
I'll report back at the end of week 2.
The blue light does seem to be doing something positive for me. I do feel less sensitive to external stimuli, and when I stopped by my dentist's office to get my new bite guard yesterday, he actually commented on how nice I looked. He said I looked very "refreshed and healthy." I don't wear any makeup, so this was a big lift to my spirits.
Still at 5 minutes per session 2x per day with the red light, followed by 3 minutes per session 2x per day with the blue light. I am planning to just keep on this regimen for the foreseeable future.
I'll report back more at the end of 1 month's time...
Blessings!!!
So, I had my follow up with the new derm here in GA yesterday, and it's going great thus far. She's super pleased and wants me to continue on doing both the red and blue lights, as I have been for the past 3 weeks or so. I think we are coming up on a month, but not quite there yet. Sorry, things have been super busy at the new house, and I feel like I'm losing all sense of time.
However, I can now comprehensively recommend folks who have subtype 1 (and maybe even subtype 2, as when mine was flared I'd get some spots) giving this a shot, if they are curious about it possibly helping them.
I'll be going back to the derm for a full-body preventative skin screening in early December. My mom had skin cancer, with lymph node involvement (I remember how scary that was when I was growing up), and I have a long history of sun exposure from working in the field with wildlife... so, yeah, I like to just stay on top of that, too. But, I'm also assuming the derm will do another rosacea check while I'm there, as well.
Blessings!!!
So to update as to what eventually cleared me up...
Every person will be different. Have you explored finding out what is triggering your rosacea? If not, I highly recommend visiting rosacea.org and requesting one or two of their trigger trackers to get started. I needed two, as it took about a month to figure out my triggers properly.
In addition to that, all I can pass on is what has finally/ultimately worked for me, personally. I wash my face 2x per day with raw honey and moisturize with aloe vera gel (I swear by the Mountain Rose Herbs brand, as it is very pure with a good pH). I apply topical Finacea 15% gel (this is a prescription azelaic acid gel that I get from my derm) once per day, in the morning, before I put on my aloe vera gel. And, at night I do 5-7 minutes of red light therapy (I don't need blue light anymore at all) after washing, but also before the aloe vera gel.
That's it.
It took about 6 months for this routine, as well as just avoiding my triggers, to get my rosacea to a well-controlled state... and, yes, there were moments of setback along the way due to stress... but it is going so well! I was super upset by my rosacea before, but I want you to know also that symptom management is possible. Hang in there! These forums are a great resource.
Oh, and I almost forgot, I also added in having a cup of raspberry leaf tea every morning. It's supposed to help balance hormones naturally. It takes about a month to see full effects, but this also appears to be of a mild yet definite help... so I might also have been having some hormonal issues adding to the rosacea. Just food for thought there...
Can you explain more, please? My Rosacea is mainly around my nose area. I did ALOT of sun tanning when I was young!
KK
Red light therapy is one of the absolute best things for rosacea skin. I'm also very, very impressed with Finacea 15% gel.
Here's some info on red light (as well as other colors) therapy:
http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/blog/2017/01/why-ill-gladly-use-led-light-therapy-for-rosacea-for-the-rest-of-my-life/
https://www.infrared-light-therapy.com/red-light-therapy-rosacea/
And, here is some good info on Finacea gel (it's prescription only in the USA):
https://www.realself.com/question/finacea-gel-doctors-recommend