Red face from exercising

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AuburnL
AuburnL Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a pale redhead and my face gets beet red when I work out and stays that way for as long as an hour after. Is there anything that can minimize this? Google is not making me hopeful but you never know so thought I'd ask if anyone has found something that works. I work out in the morning now so it goes away by the time I commute but this summer my schedule changes and I'm going to have to do lunchtime workouts a couple of times a week. Guess I'll try to avoid scheduling after lunch meetings but man, it's embarrassing!
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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    What happens if you wash your face with cool water afterwards? See if the capillaries close down by doing that?
  • AuburnL
    AuburnL Posts: 13 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Doesn't seem to make a difference. It lasts through a shower. Even if I rinse with cool water. Just time from what I can tell. A friend recommended this ice packed headband/ scarf thing that she uses when she runs in the Palm Springs heat to try to keep my temp down a bit but that seems a little ridiculous in an air conditioned gym! Might try it though just to see if it makes a difference.

    The color I turn is intense. I've had strangers ask if I'm okay and need assistance. lol.
  • bevfazio
    bevfazio Posts: 25 Member
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    I am the same way. I look like my head is going to pop off. It takes a long time to cool down. Just one of those things. Keep up the good work! Better to exercise than not.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
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    I had this problem a lot last year. I have no solution, but I will say it has gotten so, so much better as I've gotten more fit (and lost weight, but not sure if that's related or if it is just improved fitness). Hopefully it will get better with time for you as well.
  • pixie_mills
    pixie_mills Posts: 103 Member
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    I've had this ever since I was a kid and even got tormented for it :( It is just one of these things sadly, I'm also very pale and also very blonde. Rehydration and drinking lots of water straight after, splashing and washing face, cool towel and a cool damp towel throughout your workout and wearing as lightweight clothes or as little as you can get away with have all had minimal effects. Cooling aloe vera gel kept in the fridge is refreshing when put on your face after a workout (sort of feels soothing like when you put after sun on sunburn) but I don't know how much it helps the redness.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    eh my face turns red when exercising, when its warm outside, when i have more than small amounts of sugar (medical condition) really im just used to it now, nothing ive tried gets it to go away. some people ask me whats wrong with my face, i just ignore it now. you can buy anti redness foundations if it really bothers you that much in meetings
  • racingislife97
    racingislife97 Posts: 40 Member
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    Like many have said before, it's just something you'll have to get used to wearing for a while after a workout. Do yourself a favor and consider it a badge of honor, proof to the world that you are doing what you want to do, when you want to do it.
    As for trying to abate it with cooling, forget it. I swim in a competition pool (non-competitive lane btw) which is by all standards, cold, and within just a lap or two I'm as red as a person can be. Everytime there is a new lifeguard, it's almost an employment test to see how long before he/she is at the end of my lane asking me if I need assistance.
    I carry that red face for about an hour, or hour and a half, until I'm fully de-stressed, physically and mentally, from the workout.
    After my first half-ironman, the massage people had me escorted to the medical tent where they put IV's into both arms, mostly because of the extremely red face and neck contrasting against the rest of me which had gone grey. All I wanted was a massage....
  • aussie_girl_del_runner_5
    aussie_girl_del_runner_5 Posts: 303 Member
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    AuburnL wrote: »
    Doesn't seem to make a difference. It lasts through a shower. Even if I rinse with cool water. Just time from what I can tell. A friend recommended this ice packed headband/ scarf thing that she uses when she runs in the Palm Springs heat to try to keep my temp down a bit but that seems a little ridiculous in an air conditioned gym! Might try it though just to see if it makes a difference.

    The color I turn is intense. I've had strangers ask if I'm okay and need assistance. lol.

    Oh dear, that doesn't sound good.

    I don't have much to offer other than what others have said. I take a cold shower afterwards and it stays red for about an hour. I work out during each lunch break and avoid afternoon meetings with people outside my organisation unless it's a telecon lol. My colleges however have gotten used to my post workout face so if I need a meeting with them in the afternoon it's not such a big deal anymore.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Sorry, that reaction is linked to dialation of microcapillaries and the lightness of skin. It's a good thing. Anything that you do to address it systemically risks causing real problems because at the source that flushing is healthy - it's intended to take heat away from your core to avoid cooking your brain proteins*.

    One thing that will reduce it is improving your overall cardiovascular level - a program that improves your VO2 will reduce the flush response a little in sub max exercise. For example, train for a marathon with intervals, tempo work, etc and you'll see it less. Of course to get there, you are going to have a flush often - added plus is you are going to get used to it.

    Topically, maybe one of those freezable face masks with ice might temporary help. You could use it as a local face compress for 5-10 minutes. But I doubt this will help.

    *if you are taking any niacin based medications flushing and exercise can be discussed with a doc.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    It's a fair-skinned person problem. My wife gets it too.

    #thestruggleisreal
  • AlciaMode
    AlciaMode Posts: 421 Member
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    I recently made a joke that i look like hellboy after I finish running. I also have no solution for the redness.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I use a green tint primer to tone down redness. Maybelline makes one and also Pur.
  • swampus99
    swampus99 Posts: 21 Member
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    I feel your pain. When I took group classes, I would go up to the instructor beforehand to tell her about what to expect from my face and that I was fine. :) I came to get used to it, but it is a real drag.
  • sarahharas5
    sarahharas5 Posts: 256 Member
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    I go for walks that usually turn into runs. My husband can always tell if I've run or walked by the color of my face when I get back in.

    I also think that with improved fitness, I maybe don't get quite as red. But, as others have said, I just don't really care anymore! It's getting a little worse now because the temperatures are rising. Even indoors, I'm finding that it's worse in the summer time.

    I'm also very pale and blush at someone mentioning blushing. My whole family is that way!
  • MonsoonStorm
    MonsoonStorm Posts: 371 Member
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    I'm the same, and have also had people expressing serious concern for my wellbeing. I'm very pale, but I'm also dark-haired, so I think it becomes even more startling for strangers to see me looking like my head is about to explode.

    I wish I had an answer. Cooling etc does absolutely nothing, it's just something you have to live with for an hour or so. It happens mostly if I add things like sprint intervals to a run. I actually had a car wind their window down to check on me once after a hill sprint last week... embarassment doesn't help the situation either ;)
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 820 Member
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    I think it's just the fair-skinned thing. Accept it as a badge of honor, I earned the red face by exercising!
    I turn red if it's windy, sunny, cold, hot, or I'm exercising for more than two minutes, or because the sky is blue, sometimes to the point of being scarlet. I get the random people asking me if I'm ok as well.

    Since your natural response kind of takes away one of determining symptoms of heat stress, exhaustion, etc, learn what your "normal" red shade feels and looks like (yep mirror), so that both you and those around you regularly (SO, friends, workout buddy, gym acquaintance, family, etc) know what to expect. This will help limit heat related issues, but you should pay attention to the other heat related symptoms even closer. My husband has learned to ignore my red color unless I'm purple or getting a white ring or ghosting out after being red. When I would go on the not air-conditioned plant floor in the summer at my previous job, my boss quickly learned what level is normal for me.

    I hope the improved fitness thing helps reduce it is true, but if not I've learned to accept it.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 701 Member
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    I have the same problem. I also tend to overheat in temperatures over 65 degrees (F), so I'll get a little red just from walking in hotter/humid temps. If I'm running or doing cardio I'd rather it be in the 40s or 50s! No matter what, my face gets red. The harder I work, the redder it gets. I'll echo what others have said that I do think it goes away faster post workout as my cardiovascular fitness has improved. I also think it gets a little less red in general, but that could all be in my head. :)
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    I'm not pale but I do have the same issue.
    I find a cool shower takes a half hour off my redness. It does look very embarrassing and I generally only jog in the morning when no one is there
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
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    I have the same problem right down to people thinking I'm in distress.

    If you wear makeup, a good coverage foundation seems to help mask it so I look flushed instead of apoplectic.

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