Reduce redness: 5 top tips to help skin sensitivity

Paddy McGurgan is one of NI's best-known beauty experts and over the coming weeks he'll tell you all you need to know about the latest make-up techniques.

How to reduce skin sensitivity and redness.

Whether it is the post-Christmas comedown, sunbeds, rosacea, acne or sensitivity, many of us can suffer from excessive redness.

If this is the case, then your usual foundation may just fall short in the coverage stakes.

Here are my favourite products to help reduce redness or skin sensitivity.

1. Make UP Forever, Step 1 Skin Equaliser Redness Correcting Primer, £25.50, Make up Pro Store, Belfast

Ban any breakdown colour with this correcting primer which instantly neutralises and evens out red tones, creating the perfect base for flawless foundation coverage.

The magic ingredient? Green spectraflex pigments colour-correct redness and boost radiance while moisturising agents get to work, giving a welcome hydration boost. Expect an even skin tone for beautiful results all day long.

2. Smashbox Color Correcting Primer Adjust, £25, Boots, House of Fraser

This green-toned primer not only reduces redness, but it blurs pores too for an immaculate finish.

Apply this cult product in very fine layers as the green is highly pigmented...so more Kim Kardashian, less Shrek! Dot on in small amounts.

3. Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream, £40, Boots, Debenhams, House of Fraser

This thick and slightly green-tinted moisturiser sets to immediately soothe and calm red and fragile skin. But over time, the lotion also combats visible redness.

The oil-free product contains extracts of green tea and vitamin E, while caffeine and algae extract work to reduce irritation. It also has SPF 15 so you don't have to double up on sun protection. Apply twice daily for the best results.

4. Ren Evercalm Anti Redness Serum, £28, Marks & Spencer, SpaceNK

Ren is the brand associated with clean products, so they contain fewer ingredients that are known to irritate the skin.

This serum boosts your skin's tolerance to redness and should be applied before moisturising both morning and night. Expect a cooling effect on the skin - and who doesn't love that?

My 5 top tips to reduce sensitivity:

  1. Avoid food and drinks that add 'fuel to the fire', such as alcohol, spicy foods and drinks that are hot in temperature.
  2. Drink herbal teas, the polyphenol in the likes of green, chamomile and peppermint teas has skin rejuvenating properties to increase the skin's cell turnover.
  3. Carrots, sweet potatoes and broccoli are packed with antioxidants which will help to hydrate the skin internally and protect cells from environmental damage which can further irritate rosacea-prone skin.
  4. Do not use bar soaps, cleansing scrubs and cleansers that leave skin feeling tight or dry as this will irritate the skin further.
  5. Try to use products with a small amount of SPF, this will act as a barrier for external weather factors and will help you shield the skin from added redness or sensitivity.