Rosacea Triggers You Might Be Overlooking

When it comes to rosacea, one of the most important steps is identifying and avoiding your personal triggers—and here’s the wild part: it’s not just what you put on your skin. What happens inside your body plays a huge role in your skin’s inflammatory response.

Let’s break it down:

Internal Heat Triggers

These are foods and drinks that raise your internal temperature and can lead to flare-ups—even if they seem innocent:

• 🍅 Tomatoes & Peppers: Whether it’s a spicy jalapeño or a sweet bell pepper, both metabolize as heat in the body. Same goes for tomato sauces and salsas.
• 🍷 Alcohol & Wine: Especially red wine, which is one of the most common rosacea flare triggers.
• ☕️ Caffeine & Hot Drinks: Anything that raises your body temp (yes, even that morning matcha) can contribute to flushing.
• 🌶 Spicy Foods: Think hot sauces, curry, wasabi, chili oil… anything that makes you feel warm after eating.
• 😮‍💨 Stress & Anxiety: Yep, emotional heat counts too. The flush after public speaking or a stressful moment? That’s part of it.

External Heat Triggers

Environmental heat is another major trigger—and it’s especially tricky in places like Florida:

• ☀️ Sun Exposure
• 🛁 Hot Showers
• 🧖‍♀️ Steam Rooms, Saunas, or Hot Yoga
• 🔥 Hot Tools on the Face (even facial steamers can be too much)
• 🧴 Overuse of Active Ingredients that cause warmth or tingling

🧊 So What Can You Actually Do?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed—don’t. Rosacea can absolutely be managed with the right approach. A few of my favorite ways to calm the heat, naturally:

• Ice your face morning and night. Just grab an ice cube and a paper towel, and glide it over clean skin in quick circular motions. It reduces inflammation, constricts blood vessels, and feels so good.
• Use cool water (not hot!) when cleansing or rinsing your face.
• Skip the steam. You don’t need it—and it can make redness worse.
• Keep skincare products in the fridge. Serums and moisturizers feel extra soothing when chilled.
• Take a breath. Reducing stress really does help your skin. Add in a calming bedtime routine or a little mindfulness throughout the day.

The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress. Rosacea is a marathon, not a sprint. But with the right support (hi, that’s me), you can absolutely get your skin to a calmer, healthier place.