Redness

What causes facial redness

A healthy skin barrier protects your skin from irritants in the environment. When it's weakened, your skin loses more water and reacts faster with redness and a feeling of warmth.

The most common triggers of skin redness are:

• harsh cleansing and exfoliating too often, which strip away protective lipids;
• products with alcohol, fragrance or too many active ingredients at once;
• sun, cold, wind and sudden temperature changes;
• acne inflammation that leaves red marks behind;
• hot water, spicy food and alcohol.

Redness most often shows up on the cheeks and around the nose, where the skin is thin and has a lot of blood flow. Redness on the neck is often linked to fragrance, sun or clothes rubbing against the skin. If the redness is constant, spreads across your face, or comes with visible blood vessels and bumps, rosacea may be behind it. In that case, have a dermatologist check your skin.

Calming redness starts with less, not more

Skin that flushes easily needs a simple routine. Every extra product can be a new irritant. So first remove everything that stings: exfoliants, strong acids, retinol and products with alcohol or fragrance.

That leaves three steps: gentle cleansing, a soothing serum and a cream that repairs the barrier. Once your skin calms down, introduce new products gradually, one at a time.

Ingredients that calm redness

Korean skincare for redness relies on ingredients that soothe your skin and repair the barrier at the same time:

• centella asiatica, a soothing plant that reduces redness and speeds up skin recovery; a centella serum or ampoule is often the first step;
• azelaic acid, which calms inflammation and fades red post-acne marks;
• heartleaf, which soothes sensitive and blemish-prone skin;
• panthenol and oat, which ease stinging and tightness;
• ceramides, which fill the gaps in the barrier;
• niacinamide, which supports the barrier and evens out skin tone.

You don't need all of them at once. For very sensitive skin, start with just centella and a ceramide cream. Add azelaic acid later.

A routine to calm redness

Morning:

• lukewarm water or a gentle cleanser, without rubbing;
• a soothing, alcohol-free toner that you pat in with your palms;
• a centella serum or ampoule;
• a fragrance-free soothing cream;
• SPF.

Evening:

• cleansing oil that dissolves SPF without rubbing, or a mild water-based cleanser;
• a soothing toner;
• a centella serum or ampoule, or an azelaic acid serum;
• a moisturizing or barrier cream with ceramides or panthenol.

Once or twice a week, add a soothing mask, such as a green tea sheet mask.

What about a damaged skin barrier?

If your skin stings even with water, feels tight after every cream and peels in patches, your barrier is damaged. Active serums won't help at that point. Your skin needs a break. For two weeks, cleanse only in the evening and use just a soothing serum, a ceramide cream and SPF.

The barrier recovers in two to four weeks. Once your skin stops stinging, bring back active ingredients one at a time and watch which one brings the redness back.

What to avoid with redness

• washing with hot water, which can trigger or worsen flushing;
• grainy physical scrubs, because rubbing irritates your skin even more;
• products with alcohol or strong fragrance;
• trying several new products at once, because then you won't know which one caused the reaction;
• rubbing with a towel, gently pat your skin dry instead.

Redness care at dglow

At dglow you can choose from cleansing oils, soothing toners, serums, creams, masks and SPF to calm redness. The most popular is the ANUA Azelaic Acid serum with 10% azelaic acid, followed by the SKIN1004 Centella Ampoule and the ANUA Heartleaf toner with 77% heartleaf. SKIN1004 also offers centella in a soothing cream and a cleansing oil.

Choose your cream by texture. For combination skin, the PURITO oat gel cream or the cooling TORRIDEN cream are a good fit. For dry skin, the PURITO panthenol cream or the DR. ALTHEA ceramide barrier cream. Good sunscreens for redness are BEAUTY OF JOSEON Relief Sun and ROUND LAB with birch juice. Both are lightweight and leave no white cast.