Battling redness and not sure where to start? This ones for you.

When looking at facial redness, there are a handful of ways it presents on the skin.

Up first, it can manifest as a few dilated capillaries that quite often can be found in areas like around the nose, the chin and the cheek. Otherwise, it will present as a diffused redness, which is more of a backdrop or a flush of colour.

Another form of redness is called Post Inflammatory Erythema (PIE), which is when redness is left after a blemish had healed and leaves a small red mark (like PIH but the remnants left are red, not brownish melanin).

So you may be wondering how to best treat these little bouts of red?

To kick off the best way to treat facial redness, we first of all must distinguish which type of redness is occurring.
Thankfully we only have two types: chronic or acute.

Acute redness is going to be a reaction to something that has happened to your skin due to an event and (luckily) it’s going to be temporary.
Think sunburn, a treatment, products that are inappropriate or a reaction. The telling signs of acute redness manifest as red, hot, sensitive, irritated and inflamed skin.

On the other end of the redness spectrum, we have chronic redness. Chronic facial redness occurs due to internal issues which can sometimes be genetic, and last for much longer bouts when compared to acute.

Quite often this chronic condition is due to things such as hormonal imbalances, incorrect dietary choices and other lifestyle factors such as stress. When chronic redness is around, it must be understood that a long-term approach is used when it comes to treating this particular skin.

Once we’ve figured out whether the redness is acute or choric, we will make our decisions on how to treat it accordingly.

If your redness is acute, and hopefully it is, we need to remove the aggressor out of the situation.

If it was a reaction from using a retinol too strong, put it away for a little while, if it is sunburn, then get the heck out of the sun. Voila.

Ideally once you’ve removed the aggressor out of the mix, the redness will begin to subside and fix itself.
If you want to accelerate the recovery, there are of course things we can do as dermal clinicians to help...Whether it be treatments or products, the aim should be to soothe and avoid any further irritation from occurring.

Barrier restorative ingredients will usually include ceramides to help soothe, and do not forget to put your actives away for a little while! That’s your vitamin a, c and most of your acids, please!
Exercising with an injury is the same, so take a time out from these actives (cardio) and your irritation should subside.

For chronic redness, we need to approach treatment with a long-term approach.

This is where we wholeheartedly advise to put your skin into the hands of a professional, whether that be a dermal therapist, dermatologist or skin specialist who can take you on a journey.

Unfortunately, chronic redness may be a lifelong thing, so the best way to tackle it is to go right to the expert and get it under control ASAP.

One of the BEST professional treatments treating chronic redness out there is laser. Now just like most treatments, there is a generous variety of lasers that will help.

Here at James Vivian, our go-tos are Laser Genesis and Laser Vein Therapy.

Both of these types of laser are great for vascular issues like rosacea and broken capillaries as they are strong enough to yield results, but gentle enough to not aggravate the skin, making the redness worse.

Whilst not all of us suffer from these chronic vascular concerns, all skins become redder as we age due to the natural collagen depletion that occurs (we know, total bummer). So even if you’re not particularly red, we often use these forms of laser to help induce collagen, therefore helping any redness subside.

We also rely up on other forms of topical treatments to induce the collagen response, such as collagen induction therapy, AKA Dermapen, Vitamin A peels, and Lactic Acid Peels. When treating chronic redness, we would ideally use a few of these treatments in unison for a targeted and refined approach, yielding the best results.

In terms of at-home care, there are a few powerhouse products we prescribe to those battling chronic redness.
First up is Aspect Multi-B Plus Serum, which is a super anti-inflammatory, hydrating, strengthening of the barrier and all around a really great restorative prod for most skins! This one wears many hats are we love her for it!

Fro chronic redness we also recommend the Soothing Skin Kit by Aspect Dr which contains a cleanser, serum and moisturiser. This trio if full of anti-inflammatory ingredients and pairs perfectly with any in-clinic efforts to help reduce long-term redness.

When it comes to acute redness, the more irritating and infrequently presented one, we are after something super soothing to take the bite away.

For this we love, Aspect Redless which is a suite of anti-inflammatory oils which repair the barrier and support healing.
For a balm which is particularly fantastic for post-treatment sensitivities, our holy grail is Société's Calming Relief Balm. This stuff is jam packed full of calming oils and aloe to sooth and light enough to use as a moisturiser day and night.

As with everything, the best advice is when it is offered for your specific skin. That’s why we encourage you to get in touch with us prior to purchasing any products or signing up for any treatment.

You might think you have acute redness when you actually have chronic! That’s why it’s best to leave it up to the professionals (us).

We here for you and your skin, always.