Lisa Faulkner, 47, who is engaged to MasterChef judge, John Torode, 54, spoke candidly as she revealed she was diagnosed with rosacea in her mid-twenties, which she still lives with today. The former EastEnders star admitted the skin condition appeared “overnight” and at the time of her diagnosis, she “hated” her skin. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the MasterChef winner divulged: “I’ve had rosacea for years and I’d look in the mirror and say ‘I hate it!’ “People would say ‘How can you say that you hate your skin,’ you look so healthy with rosy cheeks.”
She continued: “I’d reply, I wish it was just rosy cheeks. I’m always hard on myself. I used to be the person who wouldn’t leave the house without make-up on or I’d always feel someone would be saying something about my skin.”
The actress said doctors advised her to use a steroid cream to treat the condition but said it didn’t work for her skin.
“I think it was pretty much overnight that I suddenly woke up and I had red cheeks. Then it got worse,” she explained.
“I went to the doctors and they put me on steroid cream and I didn’t want that. It didn’t work for me.”
Rosacea is a common, long-term skin condition and symptoms tend to include burning and stinging sensations, permanent redness, spots (papules and pustules) and small blood vessels in the skin becoming visible, according to the NHS.
Lisa admitted her condition can still flare up at times, especially when she becomes too stressed.
The former Holby City star spilled: “It gets better and it can get worse at times. Stress makes it worse than any other time.
“I was told it’s a seven year cycle and it’ll go. It’s never gone. It was in my mid-20s and now I’m 47. I’ve just got to learn to live with it. It’s not that bad.”
The television chef also discussed the impact her health diagnosis had on her confidence.
“I would always feel that people were looking at my skin and were like ‘God she’s really red!’ Lisa exclaimed.
“And what then made it worse, is that you start blushing. It sounds silly but it can really, really make you feel rubbish about yourself.”
She continued: “I think because I was also in the public eye, acting, doing great jobs including photo shoots and everyone would say you look great. And I was like that’s because I’ve got loads of make up on. If you can see me first thing in the morning… It can eat away at you.”
The actress admitted she has now learned to cope with the condition.
She added: “And now I say, this is my skin. This is me, and I’m just going to learn to accept it. It’s taken me 47 years.”
Meanwhile, the TV personality has recently teamed up with Dove to launch their “Don’t Be So Tough on Yourself” campaign.
Their aim is to empower women to spend less time overthinking in the shower and use it is a tool to unwind.
Dove will be launching their Microbiome gentle product range – the skin microbiome is an invisible eco-system of bacteria that lives on the skin to keep it working.
Through their consumer research, they found women’s grooming habits including scrubbing can alter the skin microbiome with 93 percent saying they have some sort of skin issue and 68 percent who say problematic skin knocks their confidence.
Speaking about the campaign, Lisa said she wants women to feel empowered.
She said: “It’s about empowering yourself, and being kind to yourself. Knowing that women come in all different shapes and size. With all sorts of skin problems. I wanted to be involved in it.”
Lisa is supporting the Don’t Be So Tough on Yourself campaign for Dove’s body wash range, which is gentle to your skin microbiome. Available at all major retailers.