To keep skin calm, you’ll want to do everything you can to avoid a rosacea flare-up, a period when symptoms are worse than normal—skin gets redder, more irritated, and rougher in texture, with acne-like bumps and breakouts. There are common triggers that cause rosacea flare-ups, including unprotected sun exposure, extreme temperatures, stress, and the consumption of alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine. “While these things can cause temporary flushing in anyone, people with rosacea experience a much more pronounced and persistent reaction,” says Dr. Bottiglione.
You’ll also want to be careful with your choice of skin-care products, as harsh ingredients and formulas can irritate rosacea-prone skin. Below, we’re sharing the best skincare for rosacea as well as insights into ingredients and in-office treatments to consider on your quest for calmer, more comfortable skin. Just remember, no product is universal, and that’s especially true when seeking out skin-care for rosacea: “Since everyone’s skin reacts differently, patch-testing new products is always a good idea,” says Dr. Arora.
- Why We Love It: Azelaic acid, a dicarboxylic acid derived from yeast, is often prescribed as a topical treatment to address acne-like rosacea at a concentration of 15 or 20%. This budget-friendly, over-the-counter pick features the active at a potent 10% concentration in a silky, primer-like base. In addition to gently exfoliating away rough texture and decongesting pores, azelaic acid has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that make it great for rosacea, says Dr. Rabach.
- Key Ingredients: Azelaic acid
- Size: 1 oz.
- Why We Love It: Dr. Arora calls this product out as a game-changer for rosacea-prone skin. It helps cut through shine and buildup, making it especially ideal for oily skin types, without stripping your natural moisture. Anti-inflammatory licorice extract and nourishing allantoin are paired with caffeine in this formula. While beverages containing the substance can trigger rosacea flare-ups, topical caffeine helps instantly fade redness for a more even-toned complexion.
- Key Ingredients: Licorice extract, allantoin, caffeine
- Size: 8 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: Instead of sudsing, this glycerin-packed gel cleanser emulsifies with water to transform into a delicate milk, rinsing away grime while infusing skin with hydration and calming it with oat extract. The generously-sized bottle has a permanent spot on our shower shelf because of its elegant and multi-tasking formula—designed for face and body, it’s a rare two-in-one product that does its job well. (It’s a great shaving gel, too.)
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin, arginine, oat extract, aloe
- Size: 13.5 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: A favorite of Dr. Rabach’s, this sensitive skin staple is ideal for those with dry, rosacea-prone complexions. It has a luxe, milky texture that spreads beautifully to break down dirt while infusing skin with moisture barrier must-haves like glycerin, ceramides, and niacinamide. The fragrance-free formula also contains the brand’s signature thermal water, sourced from the French town of La Roche-Posay and packed with soothing minerals and antioxidants.
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin, ceramide NP, niacinamide, panthenol
- Size: 6.76 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: Accepted by the National Rosacea Society, this cleansing oil is clinically proven to reduce redness as it supports the skin barrier, hydrating with sodium hyaluronate and nourishing with squalane. Unlike most cleansing oils, it foams, so your skin will feel extra clean—yet still moisturized and comfortable—after cleansing.
- Key Ingredients: Squalane, sodium hyaluronate, jojoba oil, aloe
- Size: 6 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: There are only three ingredients in this beloved K-beauty essence: water, a mild preservative, and mugwort, a plant extract used in traditional remedies for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The lightweight formula goes on with a subtly viscous texture and a whiff of an herbaceous scent, absorbing with ease to rapidly provide relief and hydration to inflamed, tender skin.
- Key Ingredients: Mugwort extract
- Size: 5.4 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: Forget the astringent, skin-stripping toners from the ’90s and early aughts—many of today’s toners are designed to gently rebalance the complexion, including this one from Paula’s Choice. “It’s designed for all skin types and a must-have for anyone looking to combat sensitivity,” says Dr. Arora. Not only does it restore equilibrium to skin post-cleanse, but also hydrates, plumps, and soothes red, irritated skin with calming ingredients like allantoin and marshmallow root.
- Key Ingredients: Allantoin, marshmallow root, panthenol
- Size: 4 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: The entire Madagascar Centella collection from Skin1004 is revered by those with rosacea, but it’s this generously-sized serum that’s the cult favorite of the line. The starring ingredients here are hydrating glycerin and soothing cica, which penetrate the skin quickly to quell dryness, irritation, and even blemishes. It’s very lightweight, so it can be used comfortably by those with oily complexions as well as dry—it layers beautifully under richer formulas without pilling.
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin, centella asiatica extract
- Size: 3.38 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: Considered a holy grail product by many with rosacea, this formula is a quadruple threat, offering SPF 25 protection in addition to hydration, comfort, and color correction. The blend of green and encapsulated flesh-tone pigments helps cancel out angry redness to leave behind a healthy glow. While it may not be the perfect color match for those with fair or deep complexions, the shade is flexible enough to suit many light and medium skin tones.
- Key Ingredients: Centella asiatica extract, glycerin, zinc oxide
- Size: 1.5 oz.
- Why We Love It: This is a rare lightweight moisturizer designed specifically for the needs of oily, rosacea-prone skin. As it quenches skin’s thirst with sodium hyaluronate and soothing cucumber extract, the gel-cream’s soft green tint helps instantly reduce redness while niacinamide and azelaic acid help fade it over time. “It helps even out skin tone, unclog pores, and calm inflammation,” confirms Dr. Arora. “Patients love the glow-up effect and keep coming back for more!”
- Key Ingredients: Alpha arbutin, azelaic acid, niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, cucumber extract
- Size: 1 oz.
- Why We Love It: Dry skin will drink up this thick (yet not greasy) cream, which gets its rich texture courtesy of shea butter. The star ingredient, though, is lactobacillus—a probiotic extract that helps repair the microbiome to help rapidly calm redness and irritation. Bisabolol provides additional soothing benefits as well as protection from free radical damage.
- Key Ingredients: Shea butter, lactobacillus extract, bisabolol
- Size: 1.7 oz.
- Why We Love It: This tinted sunscreen was formulated to be gentle enough for the most compromised and irritated skin. Not only does it instantly neutralize redness with its green tone, it reduces it over time with centella asiatica while preventing future irritation by repairing the skin barrier with amino acids and ceramides. And, of course, it protects your skin from sun damage. “EltaMD uses the physical blocker zinc oxide, which is anti-inflammatory,” explains Dr. Rabach. While some mineral SPFs are thick and chalky, this one feels like a luxurious moisturizer (and may be nourishing enough for you to skip your day cream).
- Key Ingredients: Ceramides, centella asiatica, amino acids
- Size: 1.7 oz.
- Why We Love It: Avène clinically studied the combination of the key ingredients used in this formula to determine its effects on rosacea. The data proves this blend significantly reduces blood vessel dilation, heat, swelling, while cutting facial redness by 50% in just two days—all without clogging pores. Just slick it on for instant relief and wipe off any excess after 15 minutes. (Chances are that your skin will have absorbed much of the moisture by then.)
- Key Ingredients: TRP-Regulin, dextran sulfate, hesperidin methyl chalcone, thermal spring water
- Size: 1.69 oz.
- Why We Love It: Produced by your white blood cells to fight off invaders, hypochlorous acid is gentle and highly effective at both sanitizing and comforting irritated skin. We’ve tried a lot of sprays formulated with the ingredient, and this one is our favorite—while most others smell like bleach or chlorine, this one has a gentle floral aroma due to the inclusion of soothing chamomile. It also has a unique nozzle that releases the formula in an ultrafine mist, providing broad coverage and a spa-like experience with one spritz.
- Key Ingredients: Hypochlorous acid, chamomile
- Size: 8 fl. oz.
- Why We Love It: Not only does this formula from Dr.Jart+ maximize slugging’s moisture-sealing benefits, it makes them accessible to all skin types, too. While most products used for the technique are too heavy for oily skin, this sleeping mask boasts a gel-cream texture that effectively nourishes skin without suffocating it. In addition to cica extract, the mask contains compounds derived from the plant extract (including asiaticoside, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid) plus allantoin and niacinamide to intensely calm skin.
- Key Ingredients: Centella asiatica, niacinamide, allantoin
- Size: 2.53 oz.
What is the best skin-care treatment for rosacea?
There’s no single treatment that will necessarily work for everyone, but in addition to avoiding common triggers, “a mix of prescription medications, over-the-counter skin-care, and in-office laser treatments can work wonders,” says Dr. Arora. Your derm might prescribe oral or topical antibiotics, sulfur-based soaps or lotions, or topical vasoconstrictors. In more severe cases, isotretinoin (Accutane) or prednisone can help, says Dr. Bottiglione. Lasers and light therapy like CO2, IPL, and ND:Yag can help reduce redness and visible blood vessels over time. When it comes to over-the-counter options (like the products we shared above), there are specific ingredients to look for as well as to avoid.
What to Look For in a Rosacea Treatment
Simplicity is key, says Dr. Rabach, who recommends seeking out formulas designed for sensitive skin. That means any product you use should not contain common irritants like alcohol, fragrance, physical exfoliants, or chemical sunscreens. Look for actively hydrating and soothing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, aloe, allantoin, ceramides, and niacinamide, all of which can help repair the skin barrier, as well as anti-inflammatories like centella asiatica (cica), mineral SPF zinc oxide, and azelaic acid.
