WHY IS MY FACE RED?

There are several reasons as to why your face is red, let's cover them:

1) Post inflammation from a facial treatment you have had

2) Rosacea

3) Sunburn

4) Birthmark/Port Wine Stain

5) Overuse of inappropriate skincare

6) Internal Medical Reasons Lets look at these in some more depth:

So you have had a facial and now 1-2 days later your skin is red. Why is my skin so red? you may ask .... Your face may be red in places or all over. If it was a facial and you were not warned of these side effects, you may of had a reaction to the products the aesthetician used, or the incorrect products for your skin type were used on your skin. If you have not used the range before, maybe it was your first time to the clinic, then perhaps you need to advise the aesthetician next time you go so she/he can use a different range or a more sensitive line within that range. This usually only lasts for a few days at most. Don't put hot water or exfoliate until the skin has calmed down. On the other hand, you may of had a peel or microdermabrasion or a medical treatment where some pink/flushing would be expected and hopefully was mentioned to you at the time of treatment so you were aware of what to expect post-treatment. If you weren't, call your aesthetician and she/he will best advise you and what you can put on your skin to calm it down. Either way, expect a few days max of pink/redness before your skin settles.

~ sun exposure - this will further dilate capillaries and decrease the integrity of the capillary walls, weakening them further
~ internal health - prescription and non-prescription medication
~ skincare - the need for an antioxidant serum to reduce inflammation, very low dose of vitamin A (NOT retin -A), preferably retinaldehyde. Gentle and VERY effective.
~ external factors - hot showers, spicy foods, alcohol, exercising environments - Bikram yoga etc
~ laser/IPL therapies to lessen the visible appearance of the condition
~ dermal therapies - eg Osmosis Infusion - to strengthen, rebuild, reduce inflammation
~ alternate medicines - naturopaths, acupuncture
~ lifestyle - sleep, food, stress levels etc.

My recommendation for starting on a program is the Osmosis Rosacea/Sensitive Kit along with StemFactor Serum and Catalyst AC-11 Serum or the Skin Matrix Skin Perfection Serum.

3) Sunburn

In Australia, this is especially prevalent. The sun is so vicious here as our ozone layer is pretty much non-existent. My best advice for post sunburn is to get your self a tub of aloe vera gel and smear it over and over the sunburn, cooling and healing the skin with each application. Prevention is always better than cure ... slip, slop, slap and you will be safe from the rays. If your skin peels, do not expose that fresh beautiful skin to the sun as you can cause some long term pigmentation issues which is best prevented.

A vascular network of capillaries that can be treated with medical-grade laser technology. How deep the vascular lesion is will depend on how many sessions will be required and the degree of permanency. I would see a Doctor who has experience and knowledge on treating birthmarks/port wine stains so you require the least amount of sessions possible, saving you time and $$ in the end.

It is a minefield out there in the beauty world. How do you know what skincare products are best suited for your skin? There are marketing campaigns going on out there bigger than Ben Hur that claim to hold the elixir of youth. Companies claiming they have found the ingredient that will "close" your pores etc etc. So, what is the answer? What do you do when you are confronted with such a selection of products? How do you know you are not going to react? I strongly advise that you see an Aesthetician to find out what skin type and skin condition you currently have. Even if you only go once, it is well worth it. Your Aesthetician will tell you:

Your Skin Type: This is something that will not change regularly. Whatever skin type you have, over the years, your skin will continue to become drier. The older we get the less oil we produce. So if you were oily in your teens and you are now 30, there is a good chance that you have considerably less oil than before. But you may still have the appearance (larger pores, thickened epidermis etc) of a skin that used to be an oily skin. You do not treat your skin as oily, as it is not. Probably combination. There are other ways that you can treat the open pores and skin texture through treatments that will refine your skin.

Your Skin Condition: this changes all the time dependant on: weather, lifestyle, sleep, stress, food, medication etc. For eg your skin condition may be dehydrated - we can correct that. Or you may be essential fatty acid-deficient presenting Milia - the little white dots that lay under the skin's surface. 

Time and time again, new clients come to me where they are using what they think is best for their skin when in actual fact it is the cause of them having a negative skin condition. So if you want to make the decision yourself on what range you use (as aestheticians will promote what they sell), then book in for a consult, so at least you can get educated on what suits your skin best. Otherwise, take the advise completely of your trained professional and go with what they recommend. It takes the guesswork out of it and lets you get on with more important things in your life. Our favourite serum for Redness and Rosacea is Osmosis Rescue or our Skin Matrix Skin Perfection Serum.

If you are taking medication, there is a good chance that there will be some sort of flow on effect to your skin. I recommend at the very least an antioxidant serum like Replenish to provide a surge of antioxidants to your skin to fight the increase of free radicals in the skin. Free radicals are like rogue cells that have been for some reason impaired. They are not healthy cells and they like to latch onto healthy cells to get what they are missing, but in turn, they take positive components of the healthy cells. This is what anti-Oxidants are for, they prevent our skin and body from oxidizing!