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.