Skin Care for Redness in the Face

ROSACEA

A little blushing is one thing, but
feeling red all the time is just no fun.

Your genes may determine whether you have rosacea, but making educated choices can help you manage it.

What is Facial Redness?

There are four types of rosacea. Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea involves flushing, redness, and visible or broken blood vessels on the face, most notably on the cheeks and nose. Papulopustular rosacea looks more like redness and acne-like eruptions. Phymatous rosacea causes central redness, large pores, and thickening of the skin on the nose and cheeks. And ocular rosacea’s main symptoms are red, watery, bloodshot eyes.

Rosacea occurs most between the ages of 30 and 50, and has a genetic component. It’s most common in women, but severe cases are more common in men. Rosacea is more prevalent in fair-skinned people of Celtic or Scandanavian descent. In people of color, the condition can be harder to see, but is often accompanied by a warm feeling, thickened, swollen skin, and a dusky brown discoloration of the skin.

For
Facial Redness

Let's do this together.

Some steps are simple, and others require a bit of research and observation, but with patience and persistence, you can figure out what makes your symptoms flare, and how to support your skin.

critical beginning steps

Harsh scrubs and exfoliants
Your skin is already in an irritated state. It’s okay to exfoliate gently once in a while, but scrubbing daily or with exfoliants that strip the skin will likely increase redness and inflammation.

Sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (SLS)
This common foaming agent is found in many household products, and it’s bad for your skin. It’s a low-level irritant, so it keeps your skin in a state of mild distress. When you’re working with rosacea, you want to set your skin up for success, and keeping it annoyed doesn’t help.

Synthetic fragrance
Synthetic scent can comprise hundreds of undisclosed ingredients, some of which are irritants or allergens—not ideal for skin that’s already red.

Astringents
Alcohol-based toners and sprays can dehydrate the skin, leaving it more prone to redness and dryness.

Purely Gentle Mud Cleanser
Chamomile and aloe help diminish redness and reduce irritation.

Rose Clay Facial Soap
Pink clay provides nourishing minerals for the skin, while essential oils of palmarosa and rose geranium offer potential helpful antimicrobial benefits.

Black Clay Facial Soap
For papulopustular rosacea, this bar offers anti-inflammatory Dead Sea Mud and black clay to soothe both redness and breakouts.

Purely Simple Face Cream
Provides gentle moisture and has rose essential oil to diminish the appearance of redness.

Restore Facial Serum
Essential oils of lavender and helichrysum help calm irritated skin.

Nectar Nourishing Drops
A few drops added to your serum, face cream, or sunscreen can help even skin tone and diminish red tones.

super important next steps

Now that you’ve tuned up your personal care collection, you’ll want to keep a diary to figure out your triggers. The most common triggers for rosacea are red wine (and some other forms of alcohol), cold or hot weather, sunlight, spicy foods, hot drinks, and exercise. You might have one main trigger, a few of them, or find that a certain combination of triggers, like red wine and cold weather, is what makes your rosacea flare most consistently.

If you figure out your triggers, but are still seeing frequent flares despite your best efforts, you may want to chat with a dermatologist about other options. There are a few topical treatments that can help rosacea, such as metronidazole gel, azelaic acid, retinoids, and sulfur. Laser treatment has also shown promise in managing rosacea symptoms.

Unfortunately, you’ll probably have to manage symptoms on and off for the long term. Rosacea doesn’t always have a “cure,” so you’ll have to do your best to support your skin inside and out, and work through a little flare up from time to time.