100% to all of this. Even as a very skeptical GenXer it’s easy to want to believe that “xyz” product is the elixir my skin needs when in reality the micellar water I saw recommended on your blog years ago has been a gentle way to calmly clean my skin. I never tire of saying
I will be forever grateful for your perspective, knowledge and recommendations. I appreciate your disclosure that you’re not a trained professional yet your depth of knowledge and ability to teach us how to navigate rosacea wildly surpasses anything I received from the university hospital board certified dermatologist I saw years ago. Time to buy you another coffee!
It's so hard to ignore the lure of that promise isn't it? I've been doing this job for such a long time and know better, but my head is still temporarily turned by big claims!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment, it really does mean a lot. I worry that I'm repeating myself too much sometimes, but I want to make it really clear that my writing is informed by science and medical consensus but it's still very much a layperson's opinion. I don't ever want people to be confused about that! x
There's so much of it, it really does feel like a mountain!
I feel really lucky to have access to such amazing experts like the ones I shared above, who are dedicating so much of their time for free so that we can all be safer and more educated online.
You are absolutely right and I know I fell for a few because it was out of sheer desperation. I suddenly had this incurable skin disorder with the prospect of it getting worse and little support from the GP.
Thank goodness for your work because now I can go into the doctors and almost tell them what I need and why because very few GPs have extensive knowledge of rosacea or most skin conditions!!
It's really hard not to fall for them because they're so good at what they do, their whole focus is selling fear and lies. It sounds dramatic but that's what it boils down to.
I'm so pleased to hear that, empowering you to take control and work with your GP to get help is my main goal. We can't expect GPs to be experts in every single skin condition, so by being informed and advocating for ourselves, we're making the whole situation much easier for everyone! x
In my experience some GPs refuse to hear what I say and are very unhelpful. I had one who insisted I had eczema and wanted to treat me with steroids even though I had a rosacea diagnosis from the NHS dermatologist and a private dermatologist!!
Thankfully I saw a GP last week and he listened to what I wanted and gave me his opinion and we came up with a plan together but I felt heard and more in control as I know so much about my skin and rosacea now x
It must be so frustrating for the experts as well - they can't spend anywhere near as much time creating content as some of the influencers do, because the actual experts are providing medical care or advice to patients, keeping their qualifications and research up to date etc, so they can't compete with the - as Kerry says above - mountain of misinformation!
I totally agree, there's actually a name for that. Brandolini's Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle, a name I personally prefer...!) which is basically pointing out that it takes longer and takes more effort to debunk bullshit than it does to create it. I initially had a whole paragraph about it in this post but it was cut due to length, I've saved it for a whole other post on the topic!
And it's so tiring to filter through that noise to get to the real stuff, especially when the 'other stuff' is so loud and pushed into our feeds a lot more...!
It's a really insidious tactic used by grifters that they 'teach' you the 'solution' and if it doesn't work, that's on you. You didn't try hard enough, or didn't manifest hard enough, or didn't understand their advice. It's just an easy way of them to shirk responsibility and it's grim.
100% to all of this. Even as a very skeptical GenXer it’s easy to want to believe that “xyz” product is the elixir my skin needs when in reality the micellar water I saw recommended on your blog years ago has been a gentle way to calmly clean my skin. I never tire of saying
I will be forever grateful for your perspective, knowledge and recommendations. I appreciate your disclosure that you’re not a trained professional yet your depth of knowledge and ability to teach us how to navigate rosacea wildly surpasses anything I received from the university hospital board certified dermatologist I saw years ago. Time to buy you another coffee!
It's so hard to ignore the lure of that promise isn't it? I've been doing this job for such a long time and know better, but my head is still temporarily turned by big claims!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment, it really does mean a lot. I worry that I'm repeating myself too much sometimes, but I want to make it really clear that my writing is informed by science and medical consensus but it's still very much a layperson's opinion. I don't ever want people to be confused about that! x
Just what we need to see to get out from under the mountain of misinformation
There's so much of it, it really does feel like a mountain!
I feel really lucky to have access to such amazing experts like the ones I shared above, who are dedicating so much of their time for free so that we can all be safer and more educated online.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you for being here and for commenting! It means a lot x
You are absolutely right and I know I fell for a few because it was out of sheer desperation. I suddenly had this incurable skin disorder with the prospect of it getting worse and little support from the GP.
Thank goodness for your work because now I can go into the doctors and almost tell them what I need and why because very few GPs have extensive knowledge of rosacea or most skin conditions!!
It's really hard not to fall for them because they're so good at what they do, their whole focus is selling fear and lies. It sounds dramatic but that's what it boils down to.
I'm so pleased to hear that, empowering you to take control and work with your GP to get help is my main goal. We can't expect GPs to be experts in every single skin condition, so by being informed and advocating for ourselves, we're making the whole situation much easier for everyone! x
In my experience some GPs refuse to hear what I say and are very unhelpful. I had one who insisted I had eczema and wanted to treat me with steroids even though I had a rosacea diagnosis from the NHS dermatologist and a private dermatologist!!
Thankfully I saw a GP last week and he listened to what I wanted and gave me his opinion and we came up with a plan together but I felt heard and more in control as I know so much about my skin and rosacea now x
Excellent information! Thank you for this! Still laughing hard at “dudebro” 😂😂😂 so true!
Thank you so much! Dudebros everywhere, we can't escape them!
It must be so frustrating for the experts as well - they can't spend anywhere near as much time creating content as some of the influencers do, because the actual experts are providing medical care or advice to patients, keeping their qualifications and research up to date etc, so they can't compete with the - as Kerry says above - mountain of misinformation!
I totally agree, there's actually a name for that. Brandolini's Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle, a name I personally prefer...!) which is basically pointing out that it takes longer and takes more effort to debunk bullshit than it does to create it. I initially had a whole paragraph about it in this post but it was cut due to length, I've saved it for a whole other post on the topic!
Really valuable post Lex, thank you.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Denise!
Thank you for what you do, as always.
Thank you for this comment, the reaction to this post has made my day (week!) x
And it's so tiring to filter through that noise to get to the real stuff, especially when the 'other stuff' is so loud and pushed into our feeds a lot more...!
It's a really insidious tactic used by grifters that they 'teach' you the 'solution' and if it doesn't work, that's on you. You didn't try hard enough, or didn't manifest hard enough, or didn't understand their advice. It's just an easy way of them to shirk responsibility and it's grim.