Skin Care Tip: Treatment to improve rosacea and revitalize skin

I have been experimenting with mixing my own skin care lotion. So far, I have gotten excellent results, and would like to share this with the community. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was doing. However, I've been making educated guesses regarding the formulation. Now that I have Dr. Todorov's e-book, I plan to make some adjustments to my formulations. I was surprised to find in his book a recipe that closely matched what I was already doing, but with some differences, which I'll provide below.

I am 58 years old, and have had a slight case (not bad, but noticeable) of Rosacea on the cheeks and forehead for many years. I had previously tried some over-the-counter medication with only moderate results.

Since using my lotion formulation for a few months, the Rosacea has pretty much disappeared, and my complexion has improved significantly. I've had a few comments that I look younger than my age, and I've had a couple of unsolicited remarks specific to my progress with this formulation. My girlfriend said that my face is smooth as a baby's behind. Recently, I was discussing my nutrition and supplement habits, along with my DIY skin formulation, with my dental hygienist, and she off-handedly remarked that she could tell that my face looked very "smooth.” And, of course, I can observe with my own eyes that there has been an improvement in complexion.

Here is my formulation:

For the base lotion, I chose Emu Oil, instead of a commercially available base cream. After researching this, I found that Emu oil has a number of properties that are good for skin, apart from adding any other ingredients. Here are a few:

1) Emu oil has superb skin penetrating properties to the deeper layers of skin (see this study for details). The idea with my formulation was to use Emu oil as a carrier that would possibly help with absorption. This is referred to in the referenced research as a "transcutaneous carrier system.”

2) Emu does not clog pores and is anti-inflammatory.

3) Searching on the internet, you'll also find other reported benefits of Emu oil, as well.

For the active ingredients, I used

1) Vitamin E (mixture of tocopherols and tocotrienols)

2) Astaxanthin (with a few other ingredients listed below)

3) CoQ10 (Ubiquinol form)

It should be noted that I take the ingredients orally as well as topically.

I have been mixing roughly equal portions of each along with the Emu oil. However, now that I have Dr. Todorov's e-book, I plan to experiment by adjusting the mixtures more in line with Dr. Todorov's recommendations. CoQ10 is not mentioned in Dr. Todorov's book. Although CoQ10 has great health benefits, I have not yet researched to determine if there is any benefit to applying topically to the skin. Nevertheless, I have been getting excellent results for myself using this formulation, so I'm sure it's not hurting anything. I pierce the capsules with a pin, and squeeze out the liquid into a measuring spoon.

I typically apply the formulation every night before going to bed, but occasionally also in the morning after shaving. I apply generously to the face and rub it in well. Then I let it sit for a few minutes before wiping if off. On some mornings, I only apply Emu oil, or a Vitamin E formulation (minus Astaxanthin), and wipe off any excess with a wash cloth after rubbing it in. By the way, this makes an excellent after-shave lotion.

It should be noted that the pigmentation in Astaxanthin gives your face a lobster color (red/orange) when first applied, and it will stain clothing, wash cloths, towels, etc. Therefore, I use a damp paper towel to wipe it off my face after it has set for a few minutes and had time to absorb into the skin. I cannot tell that it has had any effect on the coloration of skin. The color easily wipes off. By the way, I made the mistake, when first using this formulation, of leaving it on overnight. I ended up staining my pillow case. And no, the stain will not come out. So, don't make this mistake.

Here are the ingredients for each recommended serving size (based on taking orally), which I extracted from the bottle labels. The trade names are from www.wellnessresources.com.

Daily Super E (1 capsule): d-alpha tocopherol (from oryza oil) 31 IU, d-alpha tocotrienol (from oryza oil) 15 mg, d-gamma tocotrienol (from oryza oil) 19 mg, d-delta tocotrienol, d-gamma tocopherol, d-beta tocopherol & d-delta tocopherol (from oryza oil) 6 mg

Cell Defender (2 capsules): d-Limonene (from orange peel) 1000 mg, Alkylglycerols 100 mg (from 500 mg Shark Liver Oil), BioAstin Natural Astaxanthin 4 mg,

Super CoQ10 Ubiquinol (1 capsule): Ubiquinol (Kaneka QH reduced form of CoQ10) 100 mg

As you can see, there are other ingredients in Cell Defender besides what I considered to be the main ingredient (Astaxanthin). The reason for this is that I was just using the products that I already had on hand, and was taking orally. But the formulation works just fine. I will do some research later to determine if the other ingredients have any benefit from topical application.

A formulation might consist of one teaspoon of each product, and either one or two teaspoons of Emu oil. I put them in a small bottle and shake it up.