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Acne affects more than 50 million annually, which means you've likely experienced breakouts before. One of the more frustrating parts of the acne cycle is that even when the blemish itself subsides, your skin is often left red and inflamed. And regardless of the size of the pimple, it may leave behind a red mark or dark spot (for those with darker skin) long after it clears up, which is known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).
To help us understand why such redness occurs and how to treat it, we spoke with four top skincare experts. Keep reading for their sage guidance on the best acne redness treatments.
Meet the Expert
- Carl Thornfeldt, MD, is a dermatologist at CT Derm in Fruitland, ID.
- Karan Lal, MD, FAAD, is a double board-certified dermatologist based in Scottsdale, AZ.
- Renée Rouleau is a celebrity esthetician and the founder of Renée Rouleau Skin Care.
- Sara Botta is licensed esthetician with more than 18 years of experience.
What Is Acne Redness?
Celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau explains: “Redness can be caused by trauma to the skin cells caused by aggressively picking at blemishes. Picking at the skin can leave a red post-breakout mark long after the infection disappears. Whether or not you picked at your blemish (hopefully not!), it’s common to be left with a red, dark, or purple mark that can hang around for weeks.”
She continues, “It leaves a scar because it stretches and damages the surrounding tissue, resulting in increased melanin activity. This is considered to be a scar, but it will fade with time by using a skin lightener and increasing exfoliation. Also, infections can cause a blemish to be red and inflamed.”
Dermatologist Carl Thornfeldt, MD, adds: “Inflammation is the body’s natural response mechanism to heal itself. Unfortunately, when it goes on too long, inflammation can become very harmful to the skin—this is when we see dark spots where the acne lesion was. This is called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. So the redness is the skin still creating inflammation as it’s healing the area. Another factor is the dilation of the blood vessels. This occurs due to the increased nutritional needs of the inflamed lesions since the cells are excessively active. Those vessels may take six to 12 weeks to completely shrink, so often the older lesions have a purple hue as the rest of the inflammation resolves.”
Don’t Touch Your Acne
“Do not pick your skin," warns Rouleau. "For starters, ice it down. The cold helps to reduce both redness and swelling caused by picking at a blemish. Apply an ice cube directly to the blemish, and leave it on for 10 minutes. Then, apply a blemish treatment appropriate for the type you’re dealing with," she adds. To keep you from touching your blemish, she created a "No Picking Skin Contract" that you can sign to commit to keeping your hands off your face. "I promise you’ll have clearer skin with fewer scars."
Try Anti-Inflammatory Treatments and Diets
Dr. Thornfeldt advises, “The best way to prevent the inflammation is to use acne products that have anti-inflammatory properties in them. I recommend my patients use an Epionce Lytic product. That is going to help repair and fortify the skin barrier—so the skin can become healthy as quickly as possible.”
Esthetician Sarah Botta's favorite product for targeting redness and calming inflammation is the Ultraceuticals R.E.D Corrective Serum ($95). "This serum contains squalane and panthenol for barrier support and hydration, as well as date seed extract, zinc gluconate, and ascorbyl glucoside to reduce redness and soothe," she says.
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet will also help prevent inflammation from showing up on your skin. Avoid foods that increase inflammation including chocolate, sugar, starch, alcohol, and spicy foods.
"Gut health is crucial for healthy skin. Whether it's PIH, acne, redness, or even dehydration, having a good gut microbiome will create the foundation for skin health," Botta says. "Prebiotics and probiotics can help balance our gut and reduce inflammation. Fermented foods like kefir and kombucha or supplements in pill form can be very effective."
Always Use Sunscreen
In addition to using the appropriate blemish treatment, wearing sunscreen to treat red spots can help expedite the healing and fading process.
Rouleau says, “If the affected skin is exposed to daylight, the UV rays stimulate the melanin cells—even if it’s cloudy outside—making the scar darker and redder in color and visible longer.”
Try Drinking Green Tea
“Spearmint tea and green tea especially help [acne redness] clear faster,” says Dr. Thornfeldt. Green tea is a botanical derived from the leaves and buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. The active components of green tea are polyphenols (also called catechins) that are believed to benefit the skin due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Use Brightening and Exfoliating Products
Rouleau explains, “The Renée Rouleau Post-Breakout Fading Gel is a spot treatment to lighten and fade red, dark, or purple scars and spots left behind from blemishes on the skin. This product uses a blend of gentle brighteners and exfoliating acids to lift discoloration and fade stubborn acne marks. You’ll see a dramatically noticeable improvement in promoting even-toned skin with continued use. This gel contains white tea extract, an anti-inflammatory tea to soothe signs of redness and irritation, and lactic/amino acid complex, which provides cellular turnover with minimum irritation.”
Dr. Thornfeldt has a few favorites as well: “I recommend all of my patients, with or without acne, use an Epionce Renewal Facial Lotion. Also, if your skin is especially susceptible to dark spots, I recommend a hydroquinone-free lightening product to keep the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation at bay. My go-to is the Epionce MelanoLyte Tx and MelanoLyte Serum.”
Try Microneedling
While this is one of the more expensive options, microneedling may also give you the best results. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, this procedure is going to work the best on acne scars that have an "indented" look along with scars that have created hyperpigmentation. This is due to the promotion of collagen microneedling brings to the skin, which makes it stronger, elastic, and more hydrated.
The downfall is you may require anywhere from three to six treatments to see results, which can add up.
Try Laser Treatments
Dermatologist Karan Lal, MD, says the best way to treat redness is to treat the underlying issue, aka the acne, and to do this, he recommends doing a laser treatment. "Vascular laser and light-based treatments such as Broadband Light (BBL), Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), and pulse dye laser are great options for treating redness," he says. "I use the BBL in my office to treat both acne, redness from acne, and redness within acne scars."
Dark spots from acne occur often in patients with darker skin, and the Nd-Yag, 1064nm wavelength is great at treating dark spots from acne, Dr. Lal says. "An example of this type of laser is the ClearSilk by Sciton," he adds.
Try LED Therapy
"LED therapy (is very effective for stimulating repair and targeting inflammation," Botta says. "It can stimulate collagen, circulation, and improve cell health."
LED therapy is a great add-on for many skin treatments when visiting a spa or clinic. If you'd prefer to try LED therapy at home, then there are many devices to choose from. We recommend using SolaWave's Bye Acne: 3-Minute Pimple Spot Treatment to treat acne. The device utilizes blue light to destroy acne-causing bacteria, and red light to reduce the appearance of redness.
