Why is my skin so red and flushed? Are there any ingredients in skin care I should avoid if I am prone to rosacea?
Redness can be tricky to manage but with a few skin care switches, you can regain control over your complexion.
Read on to discover what could be causing your redness and scent-free skin care to help you restore calm.
Key points
- Skin redness can be causes by many factors including allergies, dryness and sensitivity
- Rosacea is another cause of redness and affects as many as 1 in 20 people
- Using gentle, unscented skin care is key to calming redness prone complexions
- We recommend Green People’s dedicated scent-free skin care collection
- Editor’s pick: Green People Scent Free 24-Hour Cream
What could be causing my redness?
Lot of people experience warm, red, rosy skin, and the cause can be one of many things.
For some, allergies, acne or sensitivity can trigger red, irritable skin. Red skin rashes can also be a side effect of medication, including chemotherapy[i]. There are a range of medical conditions that can lead to rashes and redness.
One of these is rosacea. Thought to affect as many as 1 in 20 people in the UK[ii], rosacea is a long-term condition that causes the complexion to flush.
Often mistaken for sunburn or blushing, rosacea is caused by capillaries dilating within the skin.
Frustratingly, it can be triggered by everything from the food you eat to what you put on your skin. That’s why the NHS website advises those prone to rosacea to use gentle skin care, and to protect with a high-factor SPF30 daily[iii].
Your doctor or dermatologist can also help you identify the cause of your redness. You should also monitor any changes in your skin tone and have redness or rashes checked by a doctor or dermatologist if you are concerned.
What's the best routine for redness-prone skin?
Simplicity is key to bringing redness prone skin back onto balance. Don’t overload your skin with too many products, and remember to patch test anything new.
A great place to start is our Calming Skin Essentials Set. This trio of scent-free skin care minis will help you to get your redness skin care routine off the ground.
Calming Skin Essentials Set
Cleanse, soothe and protect with this scent-free skin care set
277,00 kr
You can also boost the anti-redness power of your skin care products with our SOS Anti-Redness Booster Drops. More about those later.
Calming redness: ingredients to avoid
Avoid redness-triggering ingredients such as:
- Fragrances (artificial perfume and essential oils)
- Harsh foaming agents (SLS)
- Drying alcohol (ethanol)
Focus on building skin barrier resilient with gentle, fragrance-free products that lock in plenty of soothing, hydrating moisture.
Your personalised skin care routine for redness
As experts in sensitive skin, we can help you build your best redness routine with our routine finder quiz.
Simply answer a few quick questions about your skin, and we'll recommend a personalised routine to help you manage redness effectively.
Alternatively, keep reading to discover our best natural skin care products for soothing redness and nurturing a calm and even complexion.
Routine essentials for skin prone to redness
Best cleanser for redness
Calm as you cleanse with our gentle fragrance-free cleanser.
With anti-inflammatory action from Calendula, Rosemary and protective Prebiotics, it’s our number one cleanser for redness-prone skin.
Dermatologically tested and clinically proven to be kind to sensitive skin, its alcohol-free, SLS-free formula sweeps away dirt and impurities all without striping your skin.
Scent Free Cleanser 150ml
This fragrance-free cleanser is a sensitive skin essential
277,00 kr
Best serum for redness
A hydrating serum is the next step in your anti-redness routine. If your skin is prone to redness, dryness and sensitivity, you can’t go wrong with our Scent Free Hyaluronic Booster Serum.
Hydration in a bottle, experience superior skin softness as skin-evening Hops team up with soothing Sugar Beets and softening Squalane. Sodium Hyaluronate gently replenishes flushed skin with a skin-firming drink of intense Hyaluronic hydration.
Scent Free Hyaluronic Booster Serum 28ml
This scent-free Hyaluronic Acid serum is pure hydration in a bottle
306,00 kr
Best anti-redness booster
Help your serum to work harder by mixing a few drops of Age Defy+ Soothing Anti-Redness Booster Drops with your serum.
When your skin feels aflame, these organic anti-redness drops are the SOS team to call upon. They are enriched with plant cells from Apricots that actively decreases inflammation to soothe and calm skin.
But don’t just take our word for it! 78% of our tester panel agreed that their skin felt less irritated in just two weeks!
Age Defy+ Anti-Redness Booster Drops 10ml
Soothe and calm sensitive skin with our anti-redness skin drops.
306,00 kr
Best sunscreen for redness
Sunscreen is an everyday essential for redness-prone complexions and should be applied every day of the year.
In the winter, reach for Scent Free Facial SPF15 Sun Cream which effectively shields against 93% of burning sun rays whilst delivering a skin-kind moisture boost.
Scent Free Facial SPF15 Sun Cream 50ml
Soothe and protect with this facial SPF. Ideal for sensitive skin.
277,00 kr
Once the days get longer and the weather warms up, switch to our high-factor Scent Free SPF30 Mineral Sun Cream which uses 100% mineral sun filters to effectively defend against 97% of burning sun rays.
With Sequoia Leaf Cell Extract working to maintain water in the upper layers and Bisabolol, from Chamomile, delivering soothing, anti-inflammatory action, it’s our go-to facial sun cream for rosacea-prone skin!
What makes mineral sunscreen so good for rosacea-prone skin it that, unlike chemical sunscreens, it doesn’t absorb sun rays. Instead, this SPF acts like a reflective shield, defecting UV away from the skin while also preventing the skin from feeling warm and flushed.
Best Tinted SPF for redness
Do you prefer to use a tinted SPF day cream?
For a colour-correcting SPF that protects and balances redness-prone skin, look no further than our Age Defy+ Tinted DD Creams.
Offering sheer coverage alongside protective sun defence, earth mineral pigments blend seamlessly into the skin while antioxidant-rich Sea Fennel encourages a smooth and even skin tone.
Best anti-redness night cream
Don’t lose sleep over the worry of waking to redness. Soothe your skin while you sleep with our instantly soothing sleep cream.
The ultimate bedtime barrier boost, Scent Free Truffle Night Cream gently boosts your skin barrier resilience using moisture-binding Ceramides, hydrating-locking Hemp Seed Oil and an incredible Northern Truffle that’s scientifically proven to reduce skin reddening by a staggering 90%!
Scent Free Truffle Night Cream 50ml
Soothe, calm and repair with this Ceramide and Truffle sleep cream
330,00 kr
We understand that it can be daunting to try new products for the first time; that’s why we offer a no-quibble 28-day guarantee. If our products aren’t for you, return them to us, and we’ll arrange your refund.
Can diet or lifestyle affect redness?
Yes, everything from the food you eat to the climate can trigger redness. Follow our top tips and reduce your risk of a redness flare-up.
- Wear sunscreen all year round
- Keep your skin cool on hot days by staying well hydrated
- Protect your skin in cold weather by covering your nose and cheeks with a scarf
- Avoid using hot water in your shower or cleansing routine
- Avoid hot tubs or saunas if they cause your skin to flush
- Limit your intake of inflammatory foods such as hot soup, caffeine, alcohol or spicy meals
- Avoid foods that contain high levels of histamine
Do you need help creating an anti-redness skin care routine? Our UK customer care team members are experts in selecting skin care products for redness-prone skin and can be contacted on 01403 740350 or on social @GreenPeopleUK.
REVIEWED BY CHARLOTTE, FOUNDER OF GREEN PEOPLE
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has 25+ years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry.
A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped inform the UK's first organic beauty standards and was voted the People’s Choice in the 2023 list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty.
A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over 10 years working in pharmaceuticals.
If you wish to republish this content, please credit Green People as the original creator with a link to "Anti-redness skin care: serum & moisturiser". Please do not use an affiliate link.
[i] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/cancer-drugs/side-effects/skin-nails
[ii] https://patient.info/skin-conditions/skin-rashes/rosacea
[iii] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/rosacea/
