When Lex Gillies started blogging, she primarily wrote about nails and nail art; her online persona “Talonted Lex” reflects that original focus. She is now one of the most prominent rosacea social media influencers and patient advocates worldwide. We recently talked with her about her personal rosacea journey.

When were you diagnosed with rosacea and when did you start talking about it online?

For Natalie Flores, persistence paid off. Like many individuals with rosacea, she discounted the occasional redness that began occurring when she turned 30 years old.

“Just after 30, I noticed I would get that flushed redness, but it was pretty mild. I’m part Irish, and many people in my family had it,” Natalie said. “When I was closer to 34-35, my face started getting redder. It felt like sunburn, but it wasn’t. Then I got bumps and pimples.”

Video blogger and mother of three Kristin Moras had a particularly tumultuous start to 2020. The coronavirus pandemic meant that in early spring she suddenly found herself homeschooling her two sons while pregnant with her third child. Not only were the stress and pregnancy hormones causing her skin to flare, but she wasn’t able to take her prescribed medications for rosacea because of her pregnancy.

“I just hit a breaking point,” Moras explained. “I texted a client to say I couldn’t meet her because my skin was so bad.”

By Jenn Adele K., a patient who only recently discovered that she’s been living with rosacea for most of her life.

In 2012, artist Amelia Fais Harnas’ wine stain paintings began to attract attention online. She was elated, thinking that maybe this would be her big break. However, she noticed that the more she worked with wine, the more issues she had with her complexion.

“I almost always drank a glass of wine whenever I worked on a wine stain,” she explained. “Creating wine stains can prove to be very frustrating, and a big glass of wine was an obvious and easy way to make things more palatable.” 

Research work was made all the harder for 29-year-old biologist Cielo Figuerola because of her rosacea.

Cheryl Cope had never heard of rosacea when she saw a quarter-page ad in her local newspaper seeking participants for a clinical trial more than a decade ago, but she knew her symptoms matched those described in the ad. The retired advertising agency owner from Utah, now 73 years old, decided to answer the call to test a new product designed to treat those symptoms.

Eleanor Moore had never heard of rosacea before she was diagnosed 11 years ago, and she was stunned when, reading the information included with the topical therapy her doctor prescribed, she learned that rosacea is an incurable condition. But as she has discovered in the intervening years, incurable does not mean unmanageable.

Although Rosa Menchen had battled skin problems for years, she received her rosacea diagnosis less than two years ago – quite by accident.  The 59-year-old chaplain from Arizona accompanied her son to his dermatologist appointment, but ended up becoming the patient when the doctor walked in the examining room and immediately announced to Rosa, “I know what you have.  You have rosacea.”

While the two cornerstones of rosacea care are complying with prescribed medical therapy and avoiding personal triggers, a third component, appropriate skin care, can also play a role in coping with the condition. In fact, Eileen Schwartz, a rosacea patient from Oregon, credits much of her success in managing her rosacea to a simple change in her skin-care routine.