Occasionally I get real beautiful emails from sweet babes saying they’ve read my books or enjoyed my columns or used my skin care line and had a great time. This never ever gets tired, and always makes me very chuffed. Especially when it’s from Tina Fey or Beyonce or Michelle Obama or whatever.

But every now and again one REALLY stands out, and makes me cry and carry on like a pork chop and read it out to my husband and so on. The below is one such email, which I have reproduced below (with permission) not because it’s so kind towards myself and Go-To, as lovely as that is, but because it inspired me to dare hope that others with redness and rosacea – that wily, impossible wench! – might also get such results and find such joy and renewed confidence.

Hi Zoe and team,

Just wanted to tell you of my amazing life changing week I’ve had thanks to your awesome products. 

On Monday I took the plunge (after reading a few great reviews) and ordered three of your products (Properly Clean, Exfoliating Swipeys and Very Useful Face Cream), Tuesday the packaged arrived (brilliant turn around on postage BTW) which saw me nervously trying your products on Tuesday night.

Why you ask, did I say nervously!!

 My story goes back 15 years as I have long been a sufferer of rosacea which in the last 2 years has gotten worse with the stress of work and uni taking its toll where I have of late refused to go out and show my face and when I do have to go out (for work or uni) I agonisingly walk with my face down to not have so many people see my red face, it’s hard enough being a plus size gal these days but to be a plus size gal with a tomato coloured and shaped face I just seem to attract to many mean stares.   

Anyway so back to Tuesday night, I followed all your quirky instructions and cleansed, exfoliated and moisturised my face, yes the whole hog (I know you say to start slowly and build towards using all the products but I just couldn’t help myself as they smelt and felt so goodJ). By the time bedtime came around I looked at myself in the mirror and thought hmm that’s weird my face is a little tingly on the cheeks (that’s ok) but what I noticed was that I was considerably less red than I have been in years!!  Worried ever so slightly I said a little pray to my higher self and crossed my fingers that all would be ok in the morning and that I would have no reaction to what I have just done… 

Wednesday morning, I leapt out of bed cause I was curious to see what state my face was in, 5.50am turn on the bathroom light and opened my eyes and all that came out of my mouth was a whimper and a free flow of tears came running down my face. THERE WAS NO MORE REDNESS! NO ROSEASA! It was just my pale-skinned round face staring back at me. As you could imagine with the shock and disbelief I was in I called out to my mum to please come to the bathroom as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. NORMAL SKIN! MY NORMAL SKIN! My mum in a total state of shock could barely speak but what she was able to say was “my darling you look beautiful”! Words I haven’t heard ANYONE say in years…

(This was the part where I cried – Zoe)

To say your products changed my life is just the start of it, since Wednesday morning I look and feel soooooooo different. I feel free and brave to look up and face the world, talk to people and even smile. I feel like I have come back to my old fun self and I can even say I feel beautiful again. No more redness, puffy irritated skin on my face means no more horrible questions like why are you so red?!

Thanks Zoe for doing the years of leg work to get to this point where the product you and your team have created; something so marvellous and wonderful for ones skin is changing not only peoples skin for the better but also (some persons life). From the bottom of my heart thank you.  

Renee 

I was as amazed at the fast turnaround as you, trust me. I of course replied to Renee and thanked her profusely for sharing, and then, cos I am a nosy creep, asked her what she had been using on her skin until this point.

I won’t name brands, but I was frustrated to learn that most of the products she was using were so called ‘sensitive’ or ‘natural’ skin care brands… except that when you dig just a little deeper, they are full of synthetics and chemicals that as her skin demonstrated for the past two years clearly inflame the skin. She had spent hundreds and hundreds and tried everything to no avail. How shit.

My advice: do your research on the ingredients if you’re in the irritated/sensitive skin zone, don’t just read  buzz words on the front of the box. I can only assume that Go-To worked for Renee’s skin because I stringently ensured that nothing in our products irritate the skin. That’s not to say ingredients from nature can’t piss off the skin, but it’s generally that the skin has a specific allergy or intolerance to something (such as citrus or a certain oil or nuts or a low tolerance for acids) rather than it causing the kind of red, angry inflammatory reaction of rosacea.

If you’ve had success with rosacea or redness-reducing products or treatments, share them below so we can make rosacea feel like a real shithead.

*After receiving this email, we have sent the same products Renee used to a group of women who had previously contacted us (we welcome all feedback for Go-To at info@gotoskincare.com) asking if Go-To was suitable for rosacea inflicted skin, to see how they go…  IMAGINE IF THE SAME THING HAPPENED FOR THEM OMG OMG OMG!!!!