If you suffer from redness in your skin, you may notice that it can get worse in the summer.
Hot weather can cause not only sunburn, but rashes and flushing. Those with rosacea know that warmer months usually worsen symptoms. Summer allergens and excess sweating can also increase the risk of allergic reactions, hives, and related rashes.
A red complexion is not something most of us want, so we’re giving you some tips below that will help keep it away during the summer months, as well as some that will help you get rid of it faster once it does show up.
- Cool off: If you have rosacea or just sensitive skin, you’re likely to get red the instant you start heating up. Prepare by reacting a little more quickly. When you feel your body starting to get warm, reach for a cool drink, apply a cold compress to your face, or suck on some ice. Get into the shade if you’re in the sun. Another good trick-spritz on some of our Rescue + Relief Spray. It has natural ingredients like cucumber and water lily that naturally remove heat from the skin without drying it.
- Protect: Protecting your skin from the sun is always a good idea, but those who are vulnerable to redness need to take protection to the next level. Hats, umbrellas, and shade are your friends, and always take a fragrance-free, non-chemical sunscreen with you. Make sure it has an SPF of at least 30 and contains mostly zinc oxide, which is the safest sunscreen available. Don’t forget to reapply every couple hours or more if you’re sweating.
- Exercise in the morning or evening: Nothing flushes your face faster than exercise, right? But exercise is vital for your overall health and for the health of your skin. Try exercising in early morning or late at night when it’s cooler. If that doesn’t work, try going to a cool gym or air-conditioned room in the house, or switch to other exercises like swimming to reduce the risk of a red face. After your workout, cool down as quickly as possible with a cool shower or at least a cool washcloth to the face, and follow with a calming spray and moisturizer.
- Use the right products: If you turn red easily, you can qualify yourself as having sensitive skin. That means you need to be extra careful about the products you’re using. Look for calming, soothing, and anti-inflammatory ingredients like chamomile, oat kernel extract, comfrey, and aloe, and avoid fragrances, petrolatum, sulfates, and other potentially irritating ingredients. (Note: All CV Skinlabs products are perfect for sensitive skin!)
- Keep your products cold: This works great in the summer, as then when you apply the products, you get an instant cooling action, which can quickly tame redness. You can store your cleansers, toners, sprays, lotions, and creams in the refrigerator, and you’ll get the added benefit of restricting capillaries when you use them. Our Rescue + Relief Spray is a real star when applied cold!
- Drink more water: Drinking water is good for you overall, but it can also help keep your skin cool and hydrated. Keep a bottle with you throughout the day and drink regularly. Also, avoid beverages with alcohol and caffeine-they can increase blood flow, leading to a red face.
- Try ice packs: An ice pack around your neck can do wonders for bringing down the temperature in your skin, especially on your face.
- Avoid over-exfoliating: Though we all need to exfoliate to get rid of the hard, tough layer of dead skin cells that can ruin our complexion, sensitive skin types need to be careful they don’t overdo it. Too much exfoliation can lead to irritation and inflammation-i.e., more redness. Watch your skin for clues. Usually one-to-two times a week is enough to keep skin looking radiant without causing more redness than you’re eliminating. Be careful, too, to use gentle exfoliants-no scrubs based on nuts, plastic, or harsh substances. Look for gentler fruit acids, honey, oats, and the like.
- Reach for the aloe: Once redness occurs, you want to cool it immediately. Natural aloe is your best bet. Find the purest product you can and apply to the reddened areas. Reapply as needed over the next few hours.
- Repair your skin’s moisture barrier: Skin has a natural barrier meant to keep water in. The more moisture you have in your skin, the better it can fight off redness triggers. We all suffer damage to this layer, however, caused by sun exposure, stress, pollution, dietary changes, dryness, and more. Look for ingredients in your skin care that are known for their reparative properties. Things like natural oils (jojoba, sweet almond, sunflower, and olive), shea butter, ceramides, and squalane are all good ones to find. (Note: Our Calming Moisture contains these and other ingredients like turmeric, bisabolol, and reishi mushroom that are all known for taming inflammation and promoting faster healing in skin.)
How do avoid redness in summer? Please share any tips you may have.
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