How to Reduce Redness on Your Face: A Step-by-Step Guide

When you have both fair and sensitive skin, dealing with redness on the face can seem like one never-ending struggle. The blood vessels on your face are located closer to the surface of the skin, which makes your face turn red when blood rushes to fix the irritated area.

While redness on the face may be incredibly common, you don’t need to put up with it. Whether you’re dealing with a skin condition such as rosacea or you recently got sunburned on the face, there are a few tried-and-true methods for calming inflamed skin.

Here are several things that you should know about eliminating redness on your face:

• Redness on the face is associated with a wide variety of skin conditions such as rosacea and eczema.
• To avoid making your redness and irritation worse, it’s important to carefully evaluate your existing skin care products.
• Soothing ingredients such as Cucumber Extract can help alleviate redness on the face.

Step #1: Identify the Cause

Redness on the face is a common symptom of many skin conditions, which can make it tricky to pin down the true cause of your red, irritated skin. Perhaps the easiest way to figure out what is causing your redness is to see a dermatologist.

In case you want to hold off on seeing a dermatologist, here are the most common causes of redness on the face:

• Rosacea—Those with mild rosacea can appear to have a perpetually red face. It’s also a relapsing condition, meaning that it can have flare-ups followed by periods of remission.
• Seborrheic Dermatitis—Although it mainly affects the scalp, seborrheic dermatitis can also extend onto your face and appear in the form of red skin and scaly patches. On the face, it most commonly affects the eyelids, sides of the nose and the eyebrows.
• Eczema—Eczema on the face can appear as red, blotchy patches that may be dry and scaly. These flare-ups may worsen with stress and contact with substances that can irritate the skin.
• Skin Irritation—Using skin care products that contain irritating ingredients can dry out your skin and cause redness. To ensure that your sensitive skin gets the right treatment, look for a skin care system that is both formulated for all skin types and designed to work together. Why is this so important? Because mixing products from different skin care companies can worsen your irritation and make it difficult to pin down the true culprit to your redness and irritation.

Again, there are many causes of redness on the face in addition to the ones listed here. If you have persistent redness with additional symptoms that trouble you, see a doctor immediately to rule out serious conditions such as lupus and cancer.

Step #2: Press Pause on Skin Care Routine

When you’re dealing with redness on the face, the last thing you want to do is to irritate it further with your skin care products. Even though you may be using a gentle face scrub, it can still worsen your irritation all the same.

Additionally, you may want to press pause on your anti-aging products as well. According to a 2003 study published in Toxicology Letters, retinol-containing products can cause severe irritation and peeling of the skin (see claim: “retinol and its derivatives cause severe local irritation manifested as mild erythema and stratum corneum peeling of the skin.”)

Lay off the exfoliating scrub and anti-aging products for a day or so and see how your skin feels. Once you feel like your redness is under control, you can ease yourself back into them.

Step #3: Soothe Inflamed Skin with Antioxidants

While you’re evaluating your skin care routine, now is a good time to look for products that are packed with soothing ingredients that will nourish your red, irritated skin. Specifically, you’ll want to look for antioxidants that can reduce swelling and redness.

For instance, our daily face wash contains Cucumber Extract and Lavandula Oil to hydrate and soothe skin while reducing inflammation and redness. Cucumber Extract is especially helpful if your redness is caused by sunburn and has been shown to reduce pain while cooling the skin.

According to a 2012 study published in Fitoterapia, the phytochemicals in cucumbers act as antioxidants and, thus, provide a soothing sensation against the skin to alleviate sunburn (see claim: “It gives a soothing effect against skin irritations and reduces swelling.”)

Step #4: Keep Skin Moisturized

Dry skin is often associated with red skin for a good reason. When your skin is dry, it can become flaky and itchy, which may tempt you into scratching at your face.

Keeping skin moisturized with a daily moisturizer can help soothe dry, red skin and nourish it with calming ingredients such as Calendula Extract. This powerful ingredient is known to increase hydration to the skin while promoting wound healing.

Soothe and Calm Redness on the Face

It’s important to remember that we all struggle with redness on the face at some point. Whether it’s caused by a flare-up from a skin condition or a new product that didn’t sit well with your skin, it’s usually nothing more than a minor annoyance.

If nothing you do seems to reduce redness on your face, consider seeing a dermatologist. Although it’s probably nothing, it also could be a sign of something more serious.