Broken out, red, textured cheeks: what your skin is trying to tell you

These are my own thoughts and learnings as an esthetician and wellness enthusiast. Always consult your doctor or physician with serious skin or diet needs. 

Let’s get really specific today and focus on a specific area of the face that very commonly has issues. Our cheeks! For so many people, the cheek area of the face can get red, sensitive, & have small bumps, or break out without warning. So if this is happening to your skin, don’t feel alone because it’s super common.

Since our skin is a living organ, it works dynamically when every other system in our body (circulatory system, digestive system, lymphatic system) it is affected when something internally isn’t working correctly. Many times when breakouts, pimples, or cystic acne are confined to the cheek area, it’s our body’s way of telling us something is going on with our digestive system or diet. Even excessive redness can sometimes be caused by dietary factors. There are other instances where red, dry, and/or textured cheek skin can be caused by external factors like products that sensitize your skin.

scrub me secret: when I talk about diet related to problematic skin on the cheeks this doesn’t necessarily mean we should only look at the junk food’ that we eat. we should look for foods that can be causing an allergy or foods that don’t work well with our body specifically.

What factors are causing issues in my cheek area?

Here is a list of the 3 most common cheek area related I see as an esthetician.

plus tips on how to remedy your skin!

scrub me secret: When I am treating a facial client with redness or flushing in their cheeks I find lymph drainage gua sha massage to be so helpful. I always have such success in diminishing redness via gua sha massage and other facial massage techniques.

Flushed Skin/ Broken Capillaries

Reddened, warm to the touch, slightly inflamed skin in the cheek area often goes hand in hand with broken capillaries. Some people may experience one, or all of these issues. Knowing the root of the problem is the first step; this extreme flushing and heat are coming from many blood vessels in the skin dilating. This type of blood vessel dilation can happen from exercise, extreme cold/heat, alcohol consumption, or eating spicy foods. Some skin types are more sensitive and prone to flushing.

What can you do if your cheeks flush?

Apply a cool, not freezing, cloth or cotton pad to your skin when you feel it starting to flush.

I also suggest keeping a refreshing toner or hydrosol in the fridge (I love rosewater) and spritzing it onto your skin when your cheeks are feeling warm.

Jade rollers and cool rollers (specifically the skinny confidental hot mess roller💖) are great tools to keep in your freezer. They stay cool to and help calm skin when you roll them over your skin.

Anything slightly cool to the touch will really help take the flushing down, causing fewer broken capillaries.

scrub me secret: not sure what broken capillaries look like? they show up as tiny, red, uneven lines at the skin’s surface. these lines are small but visible to the naked eye and can sometimes occur in clusters. broken capillaries are caused by damage due to blood vessel dilation.

Small red bumps/textured skin

These small red bumps are different than blackheads and whiteheads. If these tiny red bumps appear on your cheeks often and come with no itchiness there is a possibility this is a rosacea flare-up or you could be expierencing sensitized skin. These can be as little as a couple of reddened bumps or they can come in clusters that make the area appear more inflamed. These small bumps also often pop up in the same place on your cheeks over and over.

When we see this redness and texture on the cheeks it’s typically from skincare that is too harsh or from dietary sensitivities. A good clue in determining the cause of the bumps is how the condition of the skin around the small bumps. If skincare you are using is too harsh, the skin will feel tight, dull, or flaky. If your skin feels healthy, well balanced, and hydrated then these bumps may be triggered by something in your diet. Dietary triggers are often, but not always foods that cause inflammation in the body. This includes alcohol, spicy foods, processed sugars, and tomato-based sauces.

How to best remedy this:

Ultra calming and anti-inflammatory products that contain ingredients like aloe, CBD, oats, lavender, chamomile, or hydrocortisone.

Cool hydrosols or hydrating toners also help relieve redness and inflamation.

If your bumps are caused by harsh skincare consult with your esthetician to get help transitioning to more gentle products or products that are right for your skin type.

If they seem to be more related to diet or lifestyle then it’s best to try and avoid ingesting whatever is causing this issue. If you do end up eating or drinking something that gives you a few bumps or redness, it’s best to not touch or agitate them and apply anything calming that I listed above.

Acne/Pimples

Acne and whiteheads along the cheekbones and clustered in the cheek area can be an indicator that your body is reacting to something in your diet. If breakouts are mainly in your cheek area and are not easily remedied I find it really helpful to start a food log. n This will help you try and pinpoint what types of foods trigger a pimple. You can also check in with a nutritionist or get a food allergy test to better understand how your body specifically processes foods. These types of breakouts can also be caused by a drastic change in diet.

There are some common foods that cause breakouts. This list does not apply to all, it’s just a small list of foods that I know to cause cheek pimples. Nuts, avocados, refined sugar, dairy, and foods with gluten (for those with gluten allergies).

How to remedy these pimples and or acne:

Blue LED light therapy kills bacteria deep in the skin, therefore killing the breakout. This is safe for all skin types and is usually really effective. You can purchase an LED device to use at home or visit an esthetician or medical aesthetician for LED treatments.

My blog post “Don’t pop that pimple, do this instead.” has ALL my best tips on how to spot treat a pimple and get them to go away quickly.