“My skin felt like it was on fire.” The $16.95 balm that helped soothe my dry, sensitive skin.

2020 turned out to be the year my skin proved it’s a bigger drama queen than me and Lindsay Lohan combined.

Rosacea is a skin condition I’ve experienced for more than a decade, and as skin issues go it’s a very common one. 

It affects mainly adult women with fair skin and causes redness and often visible blood vessels across your face. In some cases it can also produce small, red bumps and leave your skin feeling extremely dry and irritated during the worst flare-ups.

Until this year, my rosacea had consisted of some dry skin and a smattering of redness across my nose and cheeks, but in the second half of 2020 it had quite the glow-up.

Transitioning from dry and slightly red to as parched as the Sahara Desert and more closely resembling a sundried tomato, the skin on my face soon became so sensitive and irritated that I consulted a doctor who promptly diagnosed me with Rosacea Acne.

Sexy, right? If I ever craft a Tinder bio, I’m now safe in the knowledge that I’ve already crafted a killer opening line.

A course of antibiotics and some medicated cream were prescribed to treat the root of the problem but I also needed skincare that would hydrate and soothe my poor red ravaged face and help repair my damaged skin barrier.

One of the products that helped hydrate and soothe my skin during those weeks when my face was particularly dry and irritated was the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5.

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5. Image: Supplied.

At the time I was fearful about putting any skincare products onto my skin, for fear that they could potentially make the problem worse.

But this multi-repairing balm is created for sensitive skin types (it's even suitable for babies) and didn't contain any of the ingredients my doctor had warned me to stay away from, including alcohol, I decided to give it a go.

The Cicaplast Baume is packed full of all the ingredients my face's skin barrier needed to recover from this rosacea-induced horror, including Madecassoside, Copper, Zinc and Manganese. The balm also includes Panthenol, which is helpful when it comes to soothing dry areas of your skin and reducing visible redness.

For the last three months I've been carefully applying the Cicaplast Baume twice a day to my clean skin (skipping a cleanser right now and just packing on the hydrating and soothing products) and applying it in an extremely generous layer because I can actually feel my skin responding as the product is applied.

Glow-up before and after. Image: Supplied. 

There are never any overnight quick fixes when it comes to skin problems, but while the antibiotics tackle the bigger problems behind my skin concerns, the Cicaplast Baume is working overtime on the outside to help reduce the redness and hydrate the skin.

It's also helped to repair my skin barrier (the outermost layer of your skin) which is not just about looks, but also about comfort. 

When my skin was at its most uncomfortable, the slight stings would keep me awake at night and if I tried to apply make-up, it would feel like I was digging tiny needles into the sides of my cheeks.

I found the Cicaplast Baume B5 to be fast-absorbing, and it's helped hydrate and soothe my sensitive skin throughout my face's 2020 tantrum-throwing.

The La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 is available now at La Roche-Posay's website or your local pharmacy.