Redness / Rosacea

A little bit of rosiness in the cheeks might be cute in some contexts, but of course, too much of a good thing will quickly become…not so good. If you find that your face is often red or flushed and you want to give your skin a more calm and consistent tone, there are skin care products that can help.

What is Rosacea?

Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that causes your skin to get inflamed and flushed frequently. The condition itself is chronic meaning that it’s there on a daily basis for decades (and in this case, there’s no full “cure”), but the symptoms ebb and flow. They typically flare up in response to certain triggers like sun exposure or alcohol.

Why Does My Face Get Red and Flushed?

Some amount of flushing or facial redness from time to time is normal. It happens when more blood is brought to your blood vessels under the surface of your skin. Our bodies naturally do this under certain circumstances like when we’re embarrassed or after a strenuous workout. Redness can also mean your skin is irritated or inflamed, like if your skin products are too harsh, or it could be caused by a chronic condition like rosacea.

What Might be Triggering My Rosacea?

With rosacea, symptoms tend to come and go (or they might always be there but they vary in intensity) because of certain triggers in your life or environment. The tricky thing, though, is that everyone’s triggers are different, so if you have rosacea, you’ll want to figure out what your triggers are so you can keep your symptoms to a minimum. Some of the most common rosacea triggers include:

• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Very hot or cold temperatures
• Exercise
• Sun exposure
• Spicy foods
• Stress

This list isn’t comprehensive, though, so you might have other triggers as well. It can help to start keeping a journal – you can rate how intense your symptoms on different days and times and look for patterns in the things you did or things you ate or drank before your flare-ups.

How Do You Reduce Skin Redness?

If you’re fed up with facial redness, good news: you don’t just have to cover it up with layer after layer of makeup. There are skin care products that can help. Try these skin care tips for redness:

• Look for product labels that say they are suitable for sensitive skin.
• Try soothing skin care products like calming masks and redness reduction serums.
• Remove any potentially irritating or harsh products from your skin care routine and see if the redness gets better. If it does, try adding them back in one by one to find out which product or products are irritating your skin.

Above all, though, if simple modifications like these don’t work, talk to your dermatologist. Only a dermatologist can determine if you have rosacea or identify any other issues that might be causing your redness. They can also give you recommendations for skin care products and things to look for in your skin care routine.