Red is for Love—Not your Face!
We’ve all experienced some facial redness, like after a hard workout or when someone makes us blush. For some, facial redness can be a frustrating, constant experience. Facial redness can come from natural undertones to the skin, sun damage, skin conditions like rosacea or eczema, autoimmune diseases like lupus, broken blood vessels, or hot or cold temperatures. Even skin care products can cause redness.
Wintertime causes facial redness or worsens it due to dry skin, cold temperatures, and the wind. To help fight off facial redness, you can use products that contain redness calming ingredients. Some of those ingredients can do double time and also serve as antioxidants that are better for winter months.
-Calendula
-Ceramides
-Aloe Vera
-Chamomile
-Niacinamide
-Licorice Root
-Tiger Grass
-Sea Buckthorn Oil
-CBD
During the winter months, follow my CPR² Routine for Skin—Cleanse, Protect, Repair/Renew to help with facial redness.
–Cleanse with a gentle or hydrating cleanser and lukewarm water.
–Protect with a broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30.
–Repair with a calming, hydrating moisturizer. Some of my favorites include Olay Soothing Moisturizer, Aveeno Calm & Restore Moisturizer, Kiehl’s Ultra Face Cream, and La Roche-Posay Triple Repair Moisturizer.
–Renew with antioxidants. If you have facial redness, you may want to use antioxidants that typically do not make facial redness worse, like niacinamide, sea buckthorn oil, and vitamin E. Products like retinoid creams, vitamin C or alpha/beta hydroxy acids may add to the irritation factor and make redness worse. During the cold winter months, you can adjust how often you renew, decrease your renewal step to a few times per week, and/or bump up your moisturization to help balance irritation.
Trotter’s Take: If you have facial redness, talk more with your dermatologist. It’s important to understand if your redness is a part of an underlying condition, like rosacea, so that treatment can be tailored to your own unique needs.
Show your face even more love and listen to Dr. Jen Haley as she talks about how collagen is the foundation of a good relationship with your skin.
