Ruddiness often falls under the skin care category of irritation or inflammation. A ruddy complexion typically presents itself as red, blotchy, and dull. Just like most skin care issues, both genetics and environmental factors play a role in causing a ruddy complexion. Though it may be tricky to nail down the exact reason for the ruddy complexion, there are a handful of natural solutions that make it easy to resolve. Though any skin type can experience a ruddy complexion, it’s most often associated with sensitive or sensitized skin types. Founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology and board-certified dermatologist Corey L. Hartman, M.D., points out that this condition is most associated with lighter skin tones. Finally, “the severity can vary from person to person,” Bicaj says. “Also depending on its cause.” In the meantime, you can swap in products with calming and protective ingredients. Hartman recommends emollient ingredients like ceramides and oatmeal extracts (like oat oil or colloidal oat) because they “increase hydration and prevent transepidermal water loss, which causes dryness, irritation, and redness.” Once you get to the bare bones of it and let your skin chill out for a while, then you can slowly and carefully add back in other ingredients to see how your complexion tolerates them. For example, you may find that you can safely use an alpha-hydroxy acid two times a week—but no more than that. Or you may find that retinols are simply too strong for you, full stop. But at the very least you are understanding your skin a bit better. The best type of sunscreen to ensure great UVA and UVB protection without compromising complexion is a zinc-based formula. Not only does it provide the necessary protection, but zinc also has healing and anti-inflammatory properties that can actively soothe a ruddy complexion.
