April is National Rosacea Awareness Month. To celebrate, here are some facts about rosacea:
– Rosacea affects 14 million Americans
– The true cause of Rosacea is unknown
– There is no cure for Rosacea, only various methods of managing the symptoms
– Treatments for Rosacea include both oral and topical medications, as well as laser and light-based treatments
– Gentle skin care products are recommended for Rosacea-prone skin
– Blueberries are a fabulous anti-redness ingredient
Indeed, blueberries have vaso-constricting and vaso-protective properties. Blueberries have made it into the consumer media and popular advertising campaigns as a healthful fruit to eat: they are filled with antioxidants, purple, round, and delicious. The Vaccinium myrtillus L. fruit, known in English as bilberry or blueberry, has powerful protective properties which have been known and utilized since the Middle Ages. Today, blueberries are even claimed to be “the most powerful antioxidants of all.”
However, there still is limited awareness of the potential benefits of blueberries on the skin. Indeed several compounds, in particular polyphenols (including anthocyanins, resveratrol and iron chelators such as quercetin and myricetin) and vitamins have been isolated from the Vaccinium myrtillus L. plant. The least known benefits of blueberries are their vaso-protective (protection of the cutaneous capillaries) properties.
Blueberries play a role in the management of flushing symptoms: they tighten and protect fine capillaries thanks to anthocyanins and are thus ideal in skin care products targeting redness-prone skin. The vaso-protective effects of blueberries began to be described in the 1960’s when the fruit’s capillary resistance and permeability were first analyzed. Since, studies have confirmed that blueberries increase capillary resistance.
So eat your blueberries, but put them on your face too!
Written by Guest Blogger, Ada Polla – Founder of Alchimie Forever
Blueberries: Queens of the Berry World
