Your child has a tremendous amount on their plate these days. From school and extracurriculars to navigating the social scene, their troubled skin may be the last thing they want to deal with. Helping them understand their skin and the importance of caring for it properly will ensure lasting skin health. If your child is experiencing skin concerns beyond the usual tween dry patches and blemishes, such as rosacea, we’re here to help. We’ll guide you through all you need to know about rosacea and how you can help your child develop a safe and effective routine to address it.

What is Rosacea?

Rosacea is a chronic yet common skin condition that can and often does, worsen with age. While less common in tweens and teens, it can show signs and early beginnings at a very young age. Unfortunately, it is still unknown what causes rosacea, and there is currently no cure. The good news is that ongoing research has led to incredible developments in treating skin health conditions by minimizing rosacea signs and symptoms. 

What are the Symptoms of Rosacea?

The typical rosacea symptom will consist of tiny, red, pus-filled bumps. These bumps will appear during a flare-up, mainly around the forehead, nose, and cheeks. You will begin to notice your child’s flare-ups will occur in cycles, some lasting for several weeks or months at a time. Additional symptoms of rosacea include: 

• broken blood vessels that are visible
• redness or flushing of the skin
• burning sensation
• swelling of the skin
• oily, sensitive skin with acne-like breakouts
• thick, raised, bumpy patches of skin

Four Types of Rosacea

There are four different types of rosacea with some surprising symptoms that may affect your tween or teen's skin. Understanding the differences between the four types can be helpful when it comes to identifying your tween or teen’s skin needs and the proper skin health solutions that can help:

1. Papulopustular Rosacea:

Children and adults with this type of condition often experience facial redness, visible veins, and skin flushing. Typically, this progresses and becomes coupled with blemishes that become red and inflamed, presenting as patches of swollen bumps and "whitehead" pustules. This commonly occurs across the forehead, cheeks, and chin of adults and children.

2. Phymatous Rosacea

While it’s rare, this type of rosacea most often affects males, causing the skin to thicken and scar. The affected areas tend to appear more swollen and bumpier – particularly around the nose.

3. Erythematotelangiectatic Rosacea (ETR)

ETR presents itself with the typical symptoms of rosacea. It affects roughly half of sixteen million-plus Americans who struggle with rosacea. You'll notice flushing, redness of the skin, accompanied by visibly broken blood vessels.

4. Ocular Rosacea

This type of rosacea primarily affects the eyes but is still considered a skin condition. Discomfort, burning, itchy eyes, and eyelid cysts are common symptoms of this type of rosacea. In addition, children and adults may often experience chronic and recurring instances of stye and pink eye.

Recognizing the Triggers

If your tween or teen's skin shows signs of these conditions, it's important to begin monitoring triggers. Keep a journal handy and start with any known triggers that may have caused recent flare-ups. Have there been any exposures or changes to their health, diet, or activities you can recall? Are there additional skin health concerns that appear around flares? Now, begin recording possible triggers surrounding each new flare-up, including what helps their symptoms. When you consider the triggers that may be setting off their inflammatory response, you can better grasp how to minimize their exposure and support optimal skin health. Possible triggers may include:

• exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures
• overheating from playing sports or being out in the sun
• eating spicy foods
• consuming hot beverages
• irritating skincare that includes fragrances

Seek Treatment

A dermatologist should evaluate your child's skin health if you sense their issues may stem from rosacea. Upon diagnosis by your child’s dermatologist, they will begin early treatments to help address signs and symptoms.

Treat Symptoms Early

While your dermatologist should recommend a targeted skincare plan for your child’s specific needs and triggers, these tried-and-true methods have proven effective in helping minimize skin-related discomfort and flare-ups caused by rosacea:

1. Avoid Conventional Makeup and Hygiene Products

Avoid products that contain synthetic ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate, menthol, camphor, or any fragrances. Unfortunately, many detergents, toothpaste, shampoos, and skincare products sold at drug stores contain one or all of these ingredients, so it helps to do a bit of homework before purchasing any topical products to avoid further irritating your kid's skin.

2. Protection from The Sun Is Essential

Applying sunscreen every day is crucial to minimizing sun sensitivity and rosacea outbreaks for kids. Try using a fragrance-free option like Kidskin Daily Sunscreen SPF30 with calming ingredients like dermatologist-recommended Zinc Oxide and none of the synthetic stuff that may further irritate your kid's skin. 

3. Gentle Cleansing Is Key

Use a gentle cleanser regularly. Again, fragrances and sodium lauryl sulfate are found on ingredient labels storewide, are known as irritants to children and adults with rosacea. The Kidskin Gentle Cleanser for Sensitive Skin's list of clean ingredients will help deliver much-needed hydration, powerful peptides, and skin-loving antioxidants while removing acne-causing dirt and grime.

Gentle, Effective Skincare Formulas

To combat tween and teen skin concerns like rosacea, founder Michael Canepa and his team of dermatologists and chemists had to take a deep look into what rosacea is and how it affects your kid's skin health. Through targeted research, Kidskin was formulated specifically to help teens and tweens safely and effectively keep their rosacea under control, along with other skin-related conditions such as acne. Gentle skincare products were developed to address the needs of young, delicate skin without using harsh chemicals and unnecessary ingredients. Rest assured, you'll find nothing but the best for your child's skin health. Your tween or teen’s skin health relies on products that won’t further inflame young, sensitive skin that is prone to acne or rosacea. While taking on the battle of rosacea, you’ll also help them maintain well-balanced skin. Every product is formulated to be free of:

• parabens
• sulfates
• fragrance
• gluten

We’re here to help you keep your child’s rosacea needs at bay. Through kid-friendly skincare products and helpful resources, we can achieve optimal skin health together!