After I do sport or exercise my face goes bright red.
Like BRIGHT red over my whole face.
Whether it’s running a long distance, a short sprint,
tumbling, trampolining etc. anything my face goes red.
But even if im not like tired, or puffed or out of breath or anything.
Is there a way to decrease this?
Thanks.
You are probably doing too much. You need to have a less intense sports session. You also need to stop every now and then to have a breath. Don’t worry I also get very red.
I don’t think so, sorry!
Your face goes red because the capillaries have dilated in order to carry out respiration faster in order to maintain your body temperature!
Unless you want to get suffocated by heat, or else there’s no way!
Depends on different factors. . . skin tone and condition, fitness level, intensity of your workout, outfit, ability to cool down properly, habits. . .
You could also have a skin condition (dilated blood vessels) and might need to see a dermatologist to get treatment.
Your fitness level is important too. Even if you stay in your THR zone, so you’re never exhausted or out of breath, you could still have the physical inability to cool down properly if you cannot sweat a lot (especially in warm environment). If I’m out of shape, I’ll need about 2 months to get my sweat glands up to par in order to cool down properly (in the meantime, I spray water on me or apply water to my body with my wet hands).
The “red face” is like the LAST resort for your body to try to desperately cool down by using blood and the circulatory system close to the surface, just under the thin skin of the face. Each time your heart beats, each breathe you take in and out, you will pump your blood all over your body, and your face has the thinnest skin and your vessels there are closer to the surface so your blood cools down a little while passing by just under your skin.
If you use antiperspirants/deodorants, you’ll impair your ability to sweat and therefore will not cool down efficiently. Exercise sweat does not smell bad. . . just the toxins trapped in clothes that are reused before being washed, and you sweat again in them. . . then it stinks.
If you do not sip enough water or eat too much sodium (water retention), you’ll sweat less. You should sip about a cup every 15 to 20 minutes when you do aerobics, not just to compensate for sweating but because you get a dry mouth with all the heavy breathing. Then within 30 minutes to an hour, you have to pee every 15 to 20 minutes (you’ll get completely clear pee).
If you wear the wrong clothes (too much clothing or the wrong fabrics like dreadful cotton that absorbs moisture and keeps it). Nowadays, some revolutionary fabrics (Coolmax, CoolBalance. . . ) take your sweat in but instead of absorbing it and getting wet (like cotton), it evaporates very fast so you always look dry. Even when the fabric is wet for a moment, it does not look it. Guys can go shirtless and be all sweaty and cool down properly while girls need to wear a sport bra made with special fabric to practically be like skin and allow the sweat to evaporate.
When your face is red, your hands are colder so you can cool down faster if you touch your face (cheeks, forehead. . . ) and also the back of your neck for a few seconds with your hands. You can also put water on your hands to regain their coolness and transfer water to your skin that will cool it while evaporating (like sweat does to cool your body).
You’ll notice that if you’re swimming, you won’t get a red face as the water temperature is colder than your body (even in heated pool) so you don’t need to sweat to keep cool and your body does not need to resort to the “red face”. If you still have a red face when swimming laps, then your problem is more of a skin problem (see a dermatologist).
I get a red face using a sauna, as even if I drink a lot of water and sweat like crazy, I still overheat. . . which is why you should stay there only a few minutes. I get back to the locker room and my face looks like a tomato, but by the time I cool down in the shower and dry my hair, my face is back to normal. I would not want to cross the gym lobby while leaving, looking like a tomato. . . which would still be okay as nobody should ever judge or have a negative opinion on anybody else or judge their performance in a gym setting. . . you have unwritten rules in gyms and a certain level of decorum and etiquette to make everybody feel welcome. I just do not want to look like a tomato when going grocery shopping on my way home.
At the gym, the only people I see with red faces are the ones who cannot sweat properly (low fitness level, wrong clothes, use of antiperspirants. . . ) or have some sort of sweat phobia and keep wiping it away with a small towel. Sometimes they wear the towel around their neck which is one good way to overheat.
You need your sweat (if you can make any) to drip down your neck and cool your body as it evaporates. It’s like if you blow on the back of your hand, then lick it good and blow again and you’ll feel the cooling effect.
Towels in a gym setting (except the ones you use for the aquatic center, like one for the pool, a thick one for the sauna, another one to dry after your final shower) are used to wipe out sweat on machines or for comfort between you and the machine. The use of towels in aerobics and weight training rooms should never be used to wipe out your own body sweat, even if you drip all over the floor like a boxer. If you sweat too much, which means that you have a good body cooling system, but are conscious about it, move to a boxing ring or go walking/jogging or biking outside or go swimming.