Why is my face so red?

[NotinToTintin]

(Shamelessly posting for traffic)

my whole family has beautiful olive skin (Mediterranean colouring) but my skin is pinkish fair. And the skin on my face is ALWAYS red. To the extent that it looks like I’m wearing the wrong colour foundation in photos. (Although of course no one would actually buy foundation the colour of a pickled lobster)

i wear factor 50 spf daily. I moisturise. I don’t drink alcohol or coffee. I eat healthily and exercise regularly.

Why oh why is my face so red????

I cannot be arsed with a 12 step skincare routine. Is there something I’m missing?

yabu - you need a 12 step skincare routine made of wolves testicles or similar otherwise you will look like a strange red turnip forever
yanbu - all you need to do is this one simple easy trick that will stop your skin looking like a sunburnt radish …

Rosacea?

Thanks for your reply, no it’s not rosacea.

Thread veins? Sun damage from your childhood?

Is it itchy/sore/flaky or just red?

I am prone to seb derm and the single best thing for it has been a (counts on fingers) 4-6 step skincare routine depending on daily activity. But that's a form of dermatitis rather than a pigmentation thing.

Have you ever asked a skincare specialist? Been for a facial and asked their opinion? Even a make-up artist would have some idea, given they work with different skins all the time.

Without a photo it's impossible to say, but I'd suspect you have rosacea. And possibly you need pink-toned foundation rather than yellow.

You got a photo? You can block out your eyes and mouth etc. It just sounds like roseacea. Why are you certain it's not that? Have you tried a decent BB cream? You need green tinted stuff to cover red face I believe.

I don't have any advice for the red but just wanted to add my thoughts, I always had a red forehead and between my eyes, eventually due to other reasons I cut dairy out of my diet and not straight away about 3 months later the redness reduced and then disappeared, I've never eaten dairy since and never had the redness since.
Just a thought because I never suspected it could be the dairy but it seems to have been.

Also alcohol could cause a flushed look if you're drinking regularly?

The OP says she doesn't drink alcohol or caffeine.

Do you drink alcohol?

Green cancels out pink/red. Use something like this under your foundation

I have very fair pinky/peachy skin that goes red at the drop of a hat - slightly too warm, exercise, glass of wine (I know you said you don’t drink), embarrassment, walk outside in the cold…also burn very easily in the sun. I have oily skin, so it’s not linked to dryness - it’s not rosacea. I think it tends to just come alongside very fair colouring and delicate/thin skin - any rush of blood to capillaries and it shows through.

Ps - my dh and dc are mixed race, so are also all golden skinned - I stand out as a ghostly ginger amongst all warmth - but I’ve learnt to embrace my colouring and no longer attempt to tan, etc.

I have pinky toned skin too and find I flush very red if I go into a very warm environment when it's cold outside. A long walk on a cold winter's day followed by lunch by the fire in a country pub would have me looking like a boiled tomato. My skin is actually pretty good, I think it's just my inner thermostat at fault (age 😕)

Why not read her post to find out?

Avene do a good anti redness moisturiser, Skinceuticals do too but it’s £££. Wear suncream year round and be gentle with your skin. Niacinamide helps too.

Sounds like rosacea to me. I have it and it's a pain in the ass. Nothing gets rid of it completely.

Have you been to the GP about it?

There's various possibilities but it's worth getting checked properly because one is potentially quite serious - my DF was always very red, turned out to be due to erythrocytosis. He was generally very healthy and afaik didn't have other symptoms but it did need treatment and in later life he had a DVT (successfully treated).

Afaik a blood count would be diagnostic one way or the other so if you've not had one done recently/ever I think be wise to do so.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/erythrocytosis/

Are you on any medication? I have been on meds over the last year and now I get a bright red face and skin rashes. My face is a completely different colour.

maybe it just looks really red next to the rest of your family. Maybe it’s not really all that red at all.