ABSTRACT
Rosacea is a common skin condition that affects an estimated 13 million Americans, with almost half of these patients between the ages of 30 and 50 years old [1]. It is a relapsing, chronic dermatosis that develops in stages and is characterized by a defect in vascular responsiveness [2,3]. Most often, fair-skinned individuals are seen first with flushing and blushing episodes followed by persistent erythema and telangiectasia with later recurrent eruptions of inflammatory papules and pustules involving the central face. These lesions nearly always occur on a backdrop of solar elastosis and dermatoheliosis [4]. Although there is a greater incidence of the milder, earlier stages of rosacea in women, men more fre-
quently have the more severe form (i.e., rhinophyma) [5]. In most cases of rosacea, the standard therapy can be augmented by the addition of glycolic acid peels and home application of lower concentration glycolic acid preparations.
