How To Reduce the Appearance of Redness on the Face

Darlings, redness on the face is a common skin concern that can be experienced by people of all skin tones and skin types. In this guide, I’m sharing my tips and tricks on how to reduce the appearance of redness on the face – discover my best skincare products for minimising the appearance of redness including NEW! Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream and see incredible before and after results!

Why is My Face Red? Causes of Facial Redness

Facial redness can be caused by a variety of environmental and biological factors. Here are some of the common causes that can lead to our skin becoming flushed with redness:

Genetics: Some people are naturally predisposed to facial redness. Our skin tones are made up of a number of different colourations and pigmentations, with some people having prominent red tones in their skin. If your skin is regularly flushed with redness, it’s likely that your skin naturally appears more red than others.

Dry and Sensitive Skin: Dry and sensitive skin types are more prone to experiencing facial redness because of their susceptibility to skin irritation. Dry skin can become itchy and irritable which can lead to redness on the face, and sensitive skin easily becomes inflamed and often experiences redness to a greater degree.

Allergies: Allergic reactions can cause the skin on your face to become red. Allergic reactions can be caused in response to consuming certain foods or applying skincare products with ingredients that you may be allergic to. You can tell when redness is caused by allergies because skin often becomes puffy and swollen.

Emotional Response: Facial redness can be a physical response to experiencing emotions like distress, embarrassment, anger, and anxiety. This form of redness is triggered by our natural bodily response to daily situations and often subsides when the moment has passed.

Body Temperature: Heat from hot weather, central heating, spicy foods and intensive exercise can trigger our inflammatory response and cause redness to appear on the face. Redness from overheating can range from a subtle rosy flush to prickly heat rash depending on temperature and heat sensitivity.

Menopause: When going through the menopause, many people experience hot flushes that can lead to redness on the face. These hot flushes are a result of hormonal imbalances that lead the blood vessels in the skin to dilate and appear red.

Sun Exposure and Sunburn: Exposure to harmful UV rays can damage the veins in your skin, leading to what is known as thread veins or spider veins. These small, broken veins are close to the surface of the skin and appear as visible red lines on the face.

Alcohol: For some people, drinking alcohol leads to their face and cheeks getting visibly flushed. Alcohol flush reaction often occurs when the body has trouble digesting alcohol, leading to a rosy facial flush.

Skin Conditions: If you have conditions like eczema and rosacea that affect your skin, you are much more prone to experiencing facial redness. Skin conditions like these involve symptoms of dryness, irritation and inflammation, all of which can contribute to the emergence of facial redness.

Blemishes and Acne: Breakouts and flare ups of acne trigger the skin’s inflammatory response which cause areas of the face to become red and blotchy. Poking and squeezing at spots can aggravate the skin and can increase and prolong the facial redness associated with acne.

What is Facial Flushing?

Facial flushing is the experience of temporary facial redness. When the blood vessels in our faces become dilated, our blood flow is increased which can cause a flushed appearance. It is a more intense reaction than simply blushing and often results in a deeper, more prominent shade of red beyond traditionally rosy cheeks. Facial flushing can occur all over the face or in localised areas, and it’s common for it to spread to the neck and chest.

Do I Have Redness or Rosacea?

Everyone can have facial redness, but if your face is continually flushed, you could be experiencing rosacea. Common symptoms of rosacea include facial redness that becomes more persistent over time; visible networks of blood vessels across the face and cheeks; facial rashes with bumpy, pimple-like texture; thick, bulbous skin especially on the nose; and sore, itchy, easily irritated eyes. Skin experiencing rosacea often feels hot and can experience a painful, stinging sensation. If you are experiencing these symptoms, it's recommended to seek medical advice from a health practitioner.

How To Reduce the Appearance of Redness on the Face

Skincare Ingredients that Help to Reduce Redness

When experiencing facial redness, it’s important to use soothing skincare ingredients in your skincare routine. Below are some skincare ingredients to look out for when choosing the best products to help reduce the look of redness on the face.

Beta Glucan

Skincare products infused with Beta Glucans can help to reduce the appearance of facial redness thanks to their skin barrier-strengthening properties. This emollient ingredient is suited to skin that’s experiencing redness, helping to hydrate dry, irritated skin and working to help reinforce a damaged skin barrier to in turn reduce the appearance of associated redness.

Aloe Vera

Known for its soothing properties, aloe vera is suited to irritated skin that’s experiencing redness. This anti-inflammatory ingredient is rich in antioxidants and helps to soothe the skin. It’s a popular choice for helping to revive sunburnt skin and has a similarly calming effect when tackling facial redness. Aloe vera is one of the ingredients in my Magic 8 Matrix of skincare ingredients, and it’s a skin-soothing presence in both of my magic moisturisers: Charlotte’s Magic Cream and Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream.

Niacinamide

The brightening, balancing effects of niacinamide are wonderful for helping to reduce the appearance of facial redness. Not only does niacinamide help to strengthen the skin barrier to increase skin resilience, it also helps to even the look of skin tone which can balance out redness in the skin. To add niacinamide to your skincare routine, reach for Glow Toner, Charlotte’s Magic Serum Crystal Elixir, and NEW! Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream.

Skincare for Facial Redness: Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream

Darlings, NEW! Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream is formulated to visibly reduce the appearance of redness on the face. This ultra-lightweight gel moisturiser is infused with Waterlocking Fusion Technology ™ and niacinamide to hydrate irritated skin and strengthen the skin barrier while giving your face the best, fresh water glow of your life! 

To see the benefits for yourself, I recommend applying Charlotte's Magic Water Cream every morning and evening as part of your skincare routine, using my Tilbury Tap technique.

In clinical trials, applying Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream saw redness appear reduced by 100% in just 4 weeks!* Seeing is believing, darlings… just look at the incredible before and after results, below:

How To Reduce Redness on Face Before and Afters

Makeup to Hide Redness

If you would like to conceal the look of redness with makeup, darlings, it’s best to reach for medium or full-coverage options depending on your makeup preferences and the prominence of your redness. I recommend applying Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream to prep your face for makeup and reduce the appearance of redness, then applying your foundation and concealer and setting with powder to perfect the look of your complexion.

Best Makeup to Cover Redness on Cheeks

Darlings, now that you’ve learned about the causes of facial redness as well as how to reduce redness on the face and how to conceal redness with makeup, discover more skincare guides for more expert skincare tips!

Remember, darlings, if you are concerned about persistent facial redness, please consult a doctor.

*Tested on 33 people