This is the fourth and final post (for now, anyway) focusing on rosacea. I’ve covered my experience and how essential oils can help rosacea; shared the facial oil blend I personally use for it; and shared a chamomile toner that’s great for rosacea and sensitive skin in general. To round it up, here’s the cooling facial mist spray I use for rosacea flare ups.

Before we get to it, I want to remind you that I am a Certified Aromatherapist, not a doctor. I 100% stand by aromatherapy as a complementary therapy for skin issues like rosacea, but the information in this post is not intended to replace advice from your dermatologist.

How This Cooling Facial Mist Can Help Rosacea Flare Ups

As we covered in the first post of this series, rosacea is primarily caused by poor elasticity in capillary walls. So what’s happening during a flare-up is that blood is rushing to the face and capillary walls are expanding in response. Because they’re not sufficiently elastic, however, they’re not properly contracting again to their original size or shape. This results in distended capillary that are holding blood cells and giving the red appearance on your face.

Peppermint Hydrosol (or Essential Oil)

Peppermint essential oil was chosen for this cooling facial mist because it cools by constricting the capillaries. Exactly what we want during rosacea flare ups! Now Peppermint can be a skin irritant if used in a strong dilution for any skin type, so we want to include it in the cooling mist, but never at a dilution of more than 1%. And while we’re on the topic of safety, Peppermint should be avoided if pregnant/lactating or if you have a history of epilepsy or cardiac fibrillation. Also you shouldn’t use on kids under the age of 2 (menthol vapor can inhibit respiration in young kids).

To get a low concentration of Peppermint in our cooling mist, we can either use a small number of drops of essential oil or we can opt for a Peppermint hydrosol instead of the oil. I’ve tried both and will include blend recipes for both below. If you have really sensitive and easily irritated skin, I’d strongly suggest skipping the essential oil and using Peppermint hydrosol instead. A hydrosol is the water produced during the steam distillation of Peppermint plant. It contains water-soluble fragrance molecules and only a very small amount of essential oil.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil is included in the cooling mist blend as well. It’s a gentle oil that’s safe for pretty much all skin types. It’s great for any inflammation of the skin, and is an adaptogenic oil, meaning it can both increase and decrease certain skin functions to normalize the skin based on individual need. In other words, it’s a balancing oil. I did a whole post on lavender essential oil if you want to learn more.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera gel is cooling and anti-inflammatory. Because we’re making a spray, you want to make sure it’s not chunky when you add it to the blend. I peel one side of the skin off a piece of aloe plant and then press the gel through a strainer into a bowl to achieve this.

You could stop there with your cooling facial mist: peppermint hydrosol, aloe vera and lavender essential oil. In the below recipe, you’ll see I do add in one more essential oil. I personally use Helichrysm, but any of the essential oils I’ve listed for rosacea will work. If you already use a facial oil blend and have found an oil that works particularly well for your skin, use that. Top three I’d recommend choosing from are Helichrysm, German chamomile and Rose essential oils.

DIY Cooling Facial Mist for Rosacea Flare Ups

Links in this section are mostly to Plant Therapy products (via Amazon), a brand of essential oils I personally use and recommend. They’re affiliate links. For other brands I recommend, check out this post.

Ok so building off the previous section, here’s the base of our cooling mist for rosacea flare ups:

I’ll go into ways to tweak it to fit your personal skin needs and preferences, but first here’s the exact blend recipe I use:

• 1.5 oz (3 tbsp) Peppermint hydrosol
• .5 oz (1 tbsp) Aloe vera
• 9 drops Lavender essential oil
• 3 drops Helichrysm essential oil (can use German chamomile, rose or another rosacea-friendly oil of choice)

You can make your own Peppermint hydrosol at home using the process I outlined in this post (just replace chamomile with peppermint). Or you can just buy it. If you do make your own, do so in a well ventilated room. The peppermint aroma and menthol vapor can be very overpowering and even irritating.

Especially if you have sensitive skin, it would be prudent to do a skin patch test before incorporating an oil into your blend. You can learn more about skin patch testing and essential oil safety here. Peppermint (and most essential oils) will irritate your eyes, so be sure to close them before misting the spray over your face. That probably goes without saying!

For an added cooling effect, I like to store my facial mist in the refrigerator. If you tend to experience rosacea flare ups after working out, pack it in your gym bag! Be sure to shake your blend before spritzing over your face.

Alternative Blend Options

If you don’t want to make or buy peppermint hydrosol, but you have peppermint essential oil on hand, you can adjust the above blend recipe as follows:

• 1.5 oz (3 tbsp) distilled water
• .5 oz (1 tbsp) aloe vera
• 6 drops Lavender essential oil
• 3 drops Peppermint essential oil
• (optional) 3 drops German chamomile, Helichrysm or Rose essential oil – if you omit this, do 9 drops of Lavender instead of 6

In a pinch, you could also add 1 drop of peppermint essential oil to a quarter-sized dollop of aloe vera gel and smooth the gel over your face. If peppermint is too intense for your skin, do a drop of lavender essential oil in the aloe vera instead.

Other Considerations for Helping Rosacea Flare Ups

Having something on hand to help with rosacea flare ups is great, but you also want to figure out what’s triggering them in the first place. Some common rosacea triggers include:

• Sun exposure
• Extreme hot/cold weather or rapid change in temperature
• Stress/anxiety
• Consumption of spicy foods
• Intense exercise
• Alcohol
• Tobacco

Pay attention to what you’re doing/consuming/feeling prior to a rosacea flare up. Identifying your triggers and then avoiding them (within reason) is one of the best things you can do for your skin condition.

Currently for me, the most common trigger of a rosacea flare-up is emotion. If I get upset, anxious, or even just really excited—I feel that uncomfortable heat start building in my cheeks and I know what’s coming. This cooling mist spray is great, but I may tweak it and replace the peppermint with a more emotionally calming essential oil to help with the feelings that commonly trigger my flare ups in the first place. I’ll of course keep you posted throughout this process!

xo Nicole

The statements and blends referenced in this post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and/or information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, have a medical condition or are taking any medication, consult with your physician before using any essential oil or blend.

I’m a Certified Holistic Aromatherapist through the Institute of Integrative Aromatherapy and only share blends with you that I’ve personally used and from which I’ve benefited. I stand behind them 100%! That being said, essential oil blends are most effective when made with individual needs, goals and personality in mind.

In this post I’ll be sharing the facial oil blend that I’ve personally been using for my rosacea (with awesome results!), but then we’ll go beyond that. Everyone’s skin and body is different, so instead of just sharing my facial oil for rosacea, I’m going to also help you build your own that suits your skin best.

For more background info on rosacea, my experience with it (before & after pics), and how aromatherapy can help, check out this blog post: Essential Oils for Rosacea. And before we jump into things, it’s important to emphasize that I am a Certified Aromatherapist, not a doctor. I 100% stand behind aromatherapy as a complementary therapy for rosacea, however the information shared in this post should not replace advice from your doctor.

My Facial Oil for Rosacea

Links throughout this post are mostly to Plant Therapy, a brand I personally use and love. If you prefer shopping on Amazon (don’t we all), I’ve also included links to the oils there. Your local Whole Foods probably carries Aura Cacia, and that’s another brand I love and would recommend. For other brand suggestions, check out this post. Below links are affiliate, but I’m in no way sponsored by any essential oil brand.

The following recipe makes 1oz of facial oil at a 2% essential oil dilution.

Blend Ingredients

• 1/2 oz (1 tbsp) Jojoba oil
• 1/2 oz (1 tbsp) Rosehip seed oil
• 8 drops Helichrysum
• 4 drops Rose otto
• 400 IU Vitamin E

Direction for Blending & Using

To assemble: Add your carriers and antioxidant (Vitamin E) then the essential oils, and shake to combine. Adding an antioxidant like Vitamin E to facial oil blends will prolong the shelf life—also Vitamin E is great for skin. You can buy a bottle of Vitamin E gels where ever you buy supplements and simply rip open the gel casing and squeeze it out into your blend.

Usage: Facial oils should be applied to moist skin after cleansing and toning, by putting a couple drops on fingertips and gently smoothing/pressing on in an upward motion. I apply twice a day, in the morning and before bed. If you also use a moisturizer, put the facial oil on before the moisturizer. I personally just use more carrier oil as a moisturizer after applying the facial oil blend (rosehip seed oil usually).

The “Why” behind My Blend

I’ve tried a couple different combos of essential oils in finding one I liked best. At first I was using German chamomile and Helichrysm. German chamomile is anti-inflammatory, one of the gentlest essential oils out there, and is just wonderful for any sort of sensitive skin issues. But I hate the smell. It’s not even that bad (you might like it and want to include it), but just something about it doesn’t sit well with me personally. Yes, you could say the benefits outweigh the smell, but your visceral reaction to an essential oil should not be ignored.

This may sound hippy-dippy, but energy, thoughts, emotion, mind, body, spirit—it’s all connected. You don’t want negativity surrounding the scent of an essential oil blend. Aromatherapy is the science of what essential oils work for a condition based on their chemical constituents, and then the art of selecting oils and amounts that combine synergistically into a pleasant and effective blend.

I swapped German chamomile for Rose otto, which is an expensive essential oil, but indicated for rosacea and just great for all skin types in general. The result was a much improved scent (for me), while still being effective.

Jojoba oil is good for inflammation and closely resembles the sebum our skin naturally produces. I knew I wanted to use that as a carrier oil. I’ve also been using rosehip seed oil on my skin for close to a decade to prevent premature aging (see this post for more: Rosehip Seed Oil: Benefits & Uses). While it’s not specifically indicated in the treatment of rosacea (I used it before the onset of my rosacea and during the worst of it, so clearly didn’t make a difference for me), I know it works well for my skin in other ways. For that reason, I decided on a 50/50 split jojoba and rosehip.

Customizing Your Own Facial Oil for Rosacea

Some of the information in this section is also found in the general Essential Oils for Rosacea blog post.

With rosacea and any type of sensitive, inflamed skin, it’s best to avoid complex blends of essential oils. There may be several oils and carriers that sound perfect for you, but try to keep your blends simple. 1-2 carriers, 2-3 essential oils max. Start there and then if you want to try incorporating others into the blend, you can. With sensitive, irritated skin, It’s also always smart to do a skin patch test of the essential oils you plan to use to ensure you don’t have an allergy or sensitization to them that could worsen your skin condition. More on essential oil safety and skin patch tests in this post.

Essential Oil Options for Your Blend

In general, what these oils all have in common is that they’re gentle (great for not just rosacea but any sensitive skin!) and have anti-inflammatory properties. If you’re going to make a blend for yourself, I’d highly recommend incorporating one (or more) of the first three listed below (German chamomile, Helichrysum and/or Rose otto).

• German chamomile (via Amazon) – One of the gentlest essential oils, making it great for treating sensitive skin issues. Anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic and supports calmness.
• Helichrysum (via Amazon) – Great for sensitive skin and inflammation, broken veins, couperose skin and old scars.
• Rose otto (via Amazon) – Ideal for skin care, especially sensitive, mature and/or dry skin. Indicated for broken capillaries and poor circulation. This essential oil is pricey. I love it, but if you’re trying to keep the cost of your blend down, I’d use Helichrysum and/or German chamomile instead.
• Lavender (via Amazon) – Another gentle oil that’s safe for almost all skin types. Good for skin inflammations, and calming for both skin and emotions. You can read more about Lavender essential oil in the linked blog post.
• Neroli (via Amazon) – Tones the skin and is good for sensitive skin; also a circulatory tonic.
• Sandalwood (via Amazon) – Relieves itching and inflammation, can be helpful in calming a rosacea flare-up.
• Carrot seed (via Amazon) – Good for irritated skin. A depurative, which are used in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Carrot seed is an essential oil but is most often used as part of a carrier. Don’t use undiluted on the skin.
• Jasmine (via Amazon) – Good for dry and/or sensitive skin. Jasmine is also used to support anxiety, so if your rosacea is triggered by anxiety it can be helpful.

With papulopustular rosacea, sufferers have a higher density of Demodex folliculorummites on their faces. These bacterium have the potential to stimulate the inflammatory rosacea response (source: Lacey). If you have this particular type of rosacea, essential oils with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties (as well as anti-inflammatory) are going to be most useful in treatment. From the above list, Lavender and Neroli would be good options (especially Lavender).

Carrier Oil Options for Your Blend

Carrier oils are the vegetable oils in which you dilute essential oils before applying to your skin. Rosehip seed oil isn’t listed here because it’s not specifically indicated for rosacea, but as I mentioned already, I love it for preventing premature aging and use it in my blend.

• Jojoba (via Amazon) – Good for inflammation and all skin types. Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax and is similar to the sebum our own body produces, making it ideal for skin care.
• Tamanu (via Amazon) – Has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties; used in healing damaged skin and rashes.
• Apricot kernel (via Amazon) – A fine, light seed oil that helps with healing and rejuvenating skin cells. Used frequently in facial preparations and is great for delicate, inflamed and/or sensitive skin.
• Borage seed (via Amazon) – High in GLA (gamma linoleic acid), which is an anti-inflammatory and important for healthy skin. Recommended to used in 10% dilution.
• Hazelnut (via Amazon) – Useful in facial oil blends because it’s easily absorbed and good for all skin types. It’s rich in vitamins, minerals and protein.
• Avocado (via Amazon) – Great for aging, dry and/or undernourished skin. It’s rich and heavy, and good for all skin types. Short shelf life so store in the refrigerator and buy it in small quantities.
• Safflower (via Amazon) – Good for all skin types and helps soften the skin. Has a light-medium consistency and is pretty odorless if you’re sensitive to scents.
• Sesame oil (via Amazon) – A lightweight oil rich in Vitamin E, minerals, protein and lecithin that can speed healing and prevent drying. Not to be confused with the toasted sesame oil you find in the grocery store.

Building Your Facial Oil: Best Essential Oils by Skin Type

The most successful facial oil will take into account more than just your rosacea—the more personalized for your skin type, the better! Cross-reference the above list of essential oils for rosacea with the following lists. To make things easy, the ones that have been bolded below also appear on the suggest list for rosacea.

Including an oil that appears on both in your facial oil is encouraged. But you could also choose one from the rosacea list and one from your skin-type list.

Normal Skin

• Bergamot
• Cedarwood
• Geranium
• Lavender
• Neroli
• Roman chamomile
• Rose
• Rosewood

Dry Skin

• Cedarwood
• Geranium
• Jasmine
• Lavender
• Orange
• Rose
• Rosewood
• Ylang-ylang

Oily Skin

• Bergamot
• Camphor
• Cedarwood
• Cypress
• Frankincense
• Geranium
• Juniper
• Lavender
• Lemon
• Rose
• Sandalwood
• Grapefruit

Mature/Aging Skin

• Cypress
• Fennel
• Frankincense
• Lavender
• Myrrh
• Neroli
• Orange
• Patchouli
• Rose
• Elemi
• Vetiver

Assembling Your Custom Facial Oil Blend for Rosacea

Once you’ve found your oils and carriers, here’s the general blend amounts to use:

• 1 oz (= 2 tbsp) carrier oil(s)
• 12 drops essential oil(s)
• 400 IU Vitamin E

This will make 1 oz of facial oil at a 2% dilution. For really sensitive skin, you may want to reduce the number of drops of essential oils further so it’s more like a 1-1.5% dilution. However, the oils recommended for rosacea are gentle and specifically suited to sensitive skin, so I wouldn’t anticipate problems at 2%.

In addition to this facial oil, I use a floral water toner for sensitive skin and have a facial mist spray for rosacea flare-ups. In getting rosacea under control, there are also lifestyle, dietary and other changes that may need to be made in order to see real change. Read more about those here.

Leave any questions below or slide into my DMs on Instagram if you’d prefer they not be publicly visible (@nicolepearce).

xo Nicole

The statements and blends referenced in this post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and/or information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, have a medical condition or are taking any medication, consult with your physician before using any essential oil or blend.

I’m a Certified Holistic Aromatherapist through the Institute of Integrative Aromatherapy and only share blends with you that I’ve personally used and from which I’ve benefited. I stand behind them 100%! That being said, essential oil blends are most effective when made with individual needs, goals and personality in mind.

Source Cited

Lacey, N., Delaney, S., Kavanagh, K., Powell, F.C., Mite-related bacterial antigens stimulate inflammatory cells in rosacea, British Journal of Dermatology, 2007 (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08028.x). Jan 25, 2018.