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Seattle dermatologist Dr. Brandith Irwin is well known for her SkinTour.com site, as well as her book THE SURGERY-FREE MAKEOVER: All You Need to Know for Great Skin and a Younger Face. Today, Dr. Irwin has provided three skin care tips exclusively for Raging Rouge readers!

1) What is the best method for conquering rosacea?

I really recommend a 3 pronged approach. Control dietary and lifestyle triggers, use a prescription rosacea cream like Metrocream, Noritate or Finacea every night, and lastly use the correct lasers to control flushing and dilated veins. There are other things that can be done but these are the basics to begin with.

There is a lot out there on dietary triggers. See AAD.org for help. Your dermatologist can help you with the best prescription cream for you and laser options.

2) What treatments should be used to fade hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation is a very complicated issue because some of it is driven by hormones, some by sun exposure and some by inflammation (the type that occurs after acne. In my opinion, the drugstore remedies really do not work well unless the pigment problem is very mild. We use a combination of lifestyle changes, controlling relevant skin diseases, sunscreens (look for zinc 10% or higher), antioxidants, changes in hormones, prescription creams and lasers.

3) Which is best for sun protection, physical or chemical sunscreen? Why?

I think the physical blocks generally are better because they don’t degrade on exposure to light. Some of the chemical sunscreens now have “stabilizers” in them which help keep them more active. It’s easier than it used to be to find physical blocks with zinc or titanium that aren’t chalky. Some are tinted nicely and are almost like a moisturizer with sunscreen and light coverage. For example, the DermaQuest ZinClear isn’t too chalky and comes in a tinted version as well. For a good chemical sunscreen try the La Roche Posay Anthelios with mexoryl.