November 17, 2026 · Rosacea
Lecture 1 · What Is Rosacea? Identifying the Redness
Clients with red faces come into the treatment room all the time. Whether that redness is sensitive skin or rosacea decides the treatment, and the two point in opposite directions. This session trains the eye that tells them apart.
It covers the definition and prevalence, the difference between flushing and persistent erythema, phenotype-based diagnosis, how to tell rosacea from acne, seborrheic dermatitis and contact dermatitis, and the signs that call for a referral to a physician.
Who this session is for
Skin therapists, estheticians and aesthetic practitioners who see clients with reactive or problem skin. The course is educational: diagnosis and treatment belong to medical professionals, and each session ends with the signs that call for a referral.
What you will be able to do
- Explain rosacea in one sentence, accurately and without frightening the client
- Say what phenotype-based diagnosis means, and why the international criteria changed in 2017
- Separate rosacea from acne, seborrheic dermatitis and contact dermatitis, starting from where the redness sits
- Tell flushing from persistent erythema, and turn that difference into consultation questions
- Recognise the signs that call for a referral to a physician
The physician reads the top row to diagnose. We read the bottom row to treat.
A case from the session
A 38-year-old woman. Her cheeks and the area around her nose are always red, and after a sauna or spicy food her face burns. Last month another salon told her dead skin was the problem and gave her a scrub and a peel; she has been redder ever since. Today she wants a calming treatment.
- Is this client's redness sensitive skin, or something else?
- Why did the last salon's treatment make it worse?
- If she came to your salon today, what would you do, and what would you not do?
Part of Understanding Problem Skin
Session 1 of 18 · Rosacea, sessions 1 to 4 · Tuesdays, 90 minutes · Tuesday, November 17, 2026.
Next: Lecture 2 · Rosacea Triggers
Full course schedule
Related reading in the Complicated Skin Journal
Articles written for clients and the public on the same topic, useful to share after a consultation.
This session has not opened yet
It opens on November 17, 2026, 00:00 Pacific time. On the day of the lecture it is open to everyone, with no sign-in, and it closes again at 23:59 Pacific time. If you request approval now, you can read this session and every earlier one at any time, whatever the date.
How to request access
- Create a Complete Elixir account.
- Email admin@completeelixir.com to request approval. Include the email address you registered with, where you work, your certification and the course you enrolled in. The button below opens an email with these lines filled in.
- Once approval is granted, sign in with the same account and read straight away.