Step away from the lasers – there's an easier route to clear skin

For as long as I can remember I’ve had red cheeks. All the photos of me as a child feature a scarlet doughnut pattern on each side of my face: two red circles that were paler in the middle. Gorgeous, I know. The older I got, the more aware of these ruby monsters I became, so much so that I began to avoid sports as that only made them flush an even darker shade of maroon.

The discovery of foundation was life-changing and luckily it was the 1990s so I wasn’t the only one who was a bit heavy-handed with the Pan-Stik. I thought I was the only one with this problem, until many years later I learnt from a dermatologist that red cheeks, paired with a slightly bumpy complexion, has a name – acne rosacea – and that many Irish women suffer from this condition.

Rosacea flare-ups

Certain things trigger rosacea flare-ups, and unfortunately they read like a list of everything I love: red wine, spicy food, hot baths, sun and chocolate. So rather than be sensible and follow a simple diet plan, I went to a clinic and paid money to have someone “electrocute” the skin on my face.

Intense pulsed light is high energy light which causes photorejuvination. The process basically wounds the skin, prompting it to heal itself by creating new cells. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. It felt like a tiny, red-hot, electrically-charged whip moving across my face at a snail’s pace. And I bought the three for two treatment deal.

Visible results

The result of the course of treatment was visible, but just not worth the pain. A few months later I spoke to a friend who recommended trying the rather less extreme exercise of drinking warm water with a slice of lemon every morning. The result is the clearest skin I’ve ever had. I’ve even gone without foundation on one or two days. So stock up on lemons and leave the miniature electronic whips alone.