How to Reduce Redness From Acne, According to Skin Experts

Don’t Touch Your Acne

“Do not pick your skin! 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," says Rouleau, who 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 Diet

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.”

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.

Use Sunscreen

In addition to using the appropriate blemish treatment, wear sunscreen to treat red spots, since it can help expedite the healing and fading process. We like Neutrogena's oil-free and lightweight SPF.

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.”

Drink Tea

“Spearmint tea and green tea especially help [acne redness] clear faster,” says 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.

Purchase Brightening and Exfoliating Products

Rouleau explains, “The Renée Rouleau Post-Breakout Fading Gel ($43) 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, which contains anti-inflammatory tea to soothe signs of redness and irritation, and lactic/amino acid complex, which provides cellular turnover with minimum irritation.”

Thornfeldt has a few favorites as well: “I recommend all of my patients, with or without acne, use an Epionce Renewal Facial Cream ($98). 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 ($70) and MelanoLyte Pigment Perfection 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!