Reviews you can trust, from real people like you.
How it works
- Our highly-trained Review Moderation team evaluates all reviews before they're published to ensure they're written by people like you and not a member of a doctor's office.
- This multi-step process takes up to 24 hours from review submission to publication.
- Doctors can't pay to have reviews removed or hidden.
- Reviews are only removed at the reviewer's request or if they violate our Terms of Service.
If you have questions or believe we should re-evaluate a published review, let us know.
Sort by:
*Treatment results may vary
Azelaic Acid & Stridex Cured My Rosacea
I got rosacea when I was about 50 (10 years ago). My dermatologist gave me a prescription for a topical antibiotic, which didn't seem to do much to help. Later, I found out I was allergic to wheat, soy and a number of other foods, as well as being sensitive to chemicals. Eliminating the allergy foods from my diet helped a lot. But, by the time I also eliminated common rosacea trigger foods, my diet was down to white rice and potatoes!
Dermatologists always advised being very gentle with your rosacea skin-- no scrubbing, no hot water, no exfoliating, no harsh chemicals. I finally decided to ignore all that and tried using Stridex (salicylic acid)because all the gentle treatment was leaving my face covered with blackheads, which was as bad as the rosacea.
The mildest Stridex in the green box took out a lot of redness right away and also helped with the blackheads. I was pleased with the results.
Then I read people were having success with azelaic acid. I bought Melazepam cream from Amazon (about $12). It reduced redness and breakouts of postules and papules.
So then I tried both Stridex and Melazepam together and...Wow! Gone!
My routine: I still wash with a gentle cleanser because of an eye problem. Currently I am using Vanicream cleanser. Then I swipe 1/2 of a Stridex pad over my face, rubbing it in good, especially where I tend to get blackheads. I let that dry and follow up with a little Melazepam cream.
I do this morning and night. It was very burning/drying at first, you may want to start with once per day and work into it. But, after about 2 months, my rosacea has cleared up to the point I no longer need any makeup at all to hide it. My skin is clear. I can even eat small amounts of trigger foods (strawberries, chocolate, coffee, lemon, etc) with no reaction!
I hope this helps others. It's worth a try and it's not too costly. The Stridex and Melazepam both last a couple months. I also advise you to go to a GOOD allergist to see if you have food allergies. Dermatologists are not going to recommend going to an allergist because they will lose you as a patient. I took antibiotics prescribed by dermatologists for 20 years to control adult-onset acne, only to find out it was actually caused by food allergies.
Good luck!
Dermatologists always advised being very gentle with your rosacea skin-- no scrubbing, no hot water, no exfoliating, no harsh chemicals. I finally decided to ignore all that and tried using Stridex (salicylic acid)because all the gentle treatment was leaving my face covered with blackheads, which was as bad as the rosacea.
The mildest Stridex in the green box took out a lot of redness right away and also helped with the blackheads. I was pleased with the results.
Then I read people were having success with azelaic acid. I bought Melazepam cream from Amazon (about $12). It reduced redness and breakouts of postules and papules.
So then I tried both Stridex and Melazepam together and...Wow! Gone!
My routine: I still wash with a gentle cleanser because of an eye problem. Currently I am using Vanicream cleanser. Then I swipe 1/2 of a Stridex pad over my face, rubbing it in good, especially where I tend to get blackheads. I let that dry and follow up with a little Melazepam cream.
I do this morning and night. It was very burning/drying at first, you may want to start with once per day and work into it. But, after about 2 months, my rosacea has cleared up to the point I no longer need any makeup at all to hide it. My skin is clear. I can even eat small amounts of trigger foods (strawberries, chocolate, coffee, lemon, etc) with no reaction!
I hope this helps others. It's worth a try and it's not too costly. The Stridex and Melazepam both last a couple months. I also advise you to go to a GOOD allergist to see if you have food allergies. Dermatologists are not going to recommend going to an allergist because they will lose you as a patient. I took antibiotics prescribed by dermatologists for 20 years to control adult-onset acne, only to find out it was actually caused by food allergies.
Good luck!