Cynthia Nixon's 10 tips for rosacea help

The Sex and the City star speaks to Marie Claire about her battle with rosacea and why she feels more beautiful now than ever before

'Rosacea treatment', 'what causes rosacea?' and 'the best products for a rosacea skincare routine' are all things you've probably stamped into your search bar if you live with the condition. Sometimes, a Google Search can leave you at a loose end, wondering if there's any advice from real people who can give you rosacea help.

Well, we've only gone and got you And Just Like That's Miranda. Here, Cynthia Nixon shares why she feels more beautiful now, at 56 years old, than she ever did back in her Sex And The City heyday. We'll let you into a secret: it's because she's finally learnt how to deal with her rosacea.

Cynthia has a very personal history with the skin issue which causes facial redness and breakouts. Back in 2014, she served as a spokesperson for a global awareness campaign Act on Red, which urged sufferers to seek rosacea help. Speaking to Rosacea Review, the actress shared that figuring out her triggers is key to managing her skin: 'My Dad is from Texas, so I'm a hard-core jalapeño and barbecue sauce girl,' she said, adding that she now knows these foods make her rosacea worse and she works hard to avoid them.

When we caught up with her, she was eager to share her rosacea help tips and wisdom on natural treatments for rosacea that she's gathered battling with the condition.

Here are Cynthia's top tips for dealing with rosacea:

1. Know what you're dealing with

'I had my rosacea diagnosed about five years ago, and it made such a difference in my life,' Cynthia says. Before her diagnosis, she assumed her skin problems were acne-related and was treating them as such. 'Everything I was doing to try to improve my skin was really exacerbating the problem.'

2. Banish harsh facial scrubs and cleansers

After Cynthia visited a dermatologist for rosacea help, she asked her to describe her skincare routine. 'I said, "Oh I clean my face very thoroughly, I'm very diligent about it. I do a lot of antibacterial washes and exfoliant scrubs and a lot of peels."

'And she said, "You've got to stop all of those things right now. That's the worst thing you can do because you're treating this as if it's acne, a bacterial condition where you have to scrub away that bacteria. But in fact, it's a vascular condition. So the more harsh things you do to your skin, the more your blood vessels are going to get inflamed and the redness and the breakouts will come with it.'

3. Limit red wine

For Cynthia, red wine is one of the biggest culprits leading to a rosacea flare-up. 'It's not like you can never have a glass of red wine again,' she says. 'But you might not want to do it when you're at an important event where you're going to be photographed.'

And we're sorry to burst your bubble, but white wine can also be a trigger, as with all forms of alcohol. However, red wine tends to be the most likely to cause a flare-up.

4. Rethink that spicy curry

Just like that glass of merlot you're drinking, spicy foods can trigger rosacea symptoms. So if you're on a hot date, maybe go for the tikka masala instead of the vindaloo.

5. Drink loads of water

For Cynthia, staying hydrated and drinking water helps keep her skin looking good. It also means that her makeup goes on more easily (we've covered the best makeup for rosacea, here). Getting a good amount of water into your system has plenty of other health benefits, too.

6. Keep your skin moisturised

'I do spend a lot of time moisturising with creams and also with oils,' she says. 'And I carry stuff with me during the day to make sure my skin stays hydrated.'

7. Wash your face once a day

When it comes to your skincare routine, it's important not to overdo it. 'I wash my face once at night and that's it,' Cynthia says. 'I've gone from kind of giving my skin a workout to kind of treating my skin more like a princess that needs to be pampered.'

8. Avoid caking on make-up

'I have to say, one of the things I've found - particularly as I've gotten older - is that makeup is a wonderful enhancer, but you really should wear as little as possible,' she says. 'But when I had my rosacea, that really wasn't an option [when I was filming Sex and the City]. We'd really just pile it on and cover it up, like spackle almost. That doesn't look good -, particularly after a few hours. Nothing will age you faster than that.'

9. Know that you're not alone

Rosacea has been estimated to affect around 45 million people worldwide. So if your symptoms are hurting your self-esteem, it can be comforting to know that others share your pain. 'I think we all know this: When our skin looks bad, we just feel bad about ourselves,' Cynthia says. 'For whatever psychological reason, we value clear skin. And for me personally, when my skin is looking good, it just makes it that much easier to go out in the world and feel confident and feel that people aren't looking sideways at me.'

10. Try to stay positive

'I feel like rosacea is just one of those things that can be such a downer. It's such an impediment to looking your best and feeling your best. But the good news is that once you know what it is and once your doctor tells you the right course of treatment to do, it really is pretty simple to deal with in most cases.' If you experience facial redness, breakouts or visible blood vessels, see your doctor to find out if you have rosacea.