How To Stop Blushing And Prevent It From Happening - Healthline

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How to Stop Blushing

Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — Written by Erica Cirino — Updated on March 14, 2022

How to stop
Lifestyle changes
Other causes
Takeaway

Why do I blush?

While blushing might make you feel self-conscious, it’s a very common response to emotional stress.

Facing any kind of threat, including embarrassing situations, can activate your body’s fight-flight-freeze response. When this happens, your nervous system sends signals that result in several physical changes, including increased heart rate and heightened senses.

Another change that happens? The blood vessels in your face widen, allowing for more blood to flow through them. This increased blood flow can make your cheeks look red and feel warm.

While most people find that blushing only adds to their embarrassment, those rosy cheeks may serve an important function.

Older research from 2009 suggested that blushing, particularly after a social mishap, is a display of appeasement, or trying to keep the peace. In a nutshell, blushing might help you save face in uncomfortable situations by subtly signaling to the other person that you mean no harm.

But that doesn’t mean you need to just accept being a blusher. Read on for tips and tricks to prevent blushing or make it less noticeable.

10 tips to stop blushing

The key to stop your blushing on the spot is to slow down and try to relax your body. If you feel major blushing coming on, try these tips.

Breathe deeply and slowly

Taking slow, deep breaths can help relax the body enough to slow down or stop blushing. Because blushing occurs when the body is stressed, the key to reducing blushing is to decrease the amount of stress you’re experiencing.

Try one of these breathing exercises next time you feel anxious or stressed.

Smile

Smiling — even if you’re stressed or embarrassed — may trick your body into believing it’s less stressed, according to researchers.

In a 2012 study, scientists found that people who were made to do a stressful task while smiling had lower heart rates during the stress recovery period after the task. They said they felt better than people who held neutral faces during the task.

Cool off

Blushing tends to happen more intensely when you’re warm rather than cool. If you feel a blush coming on, take off some layers of clothing or move to a cooler place.

Make sure you’re hydrated

Drinking lots of water can help keep blushing at bay. Cool or cold water tends to help best. You can even try to prevent blushing by drinking something cool or cold before a stressful event.

When reaching for a drink, you may want to skip the alcohol, which can cause facial redness in some people, particularly those of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean descent or those with rosacea.

Think of something funny

Distracting yourself from the blushing can sometimes make it easier to cope with it. Try to think of something that’ll make you laugh. This will make you smile, which can relax your body and fade the blushing.

Acknowledge the blushing

Many people who blush tend to worry a lot about blushing. Acknowledging that you’re prone to blushing or that you’re actively blushing can sometimes help you feel more prepared to cope with it.

If you can come to peace with blushing, you might even blush less.

Avoid blushing triggers

Some people who blush have specific triggers that make them more prone to blushing. For example, people with rosacea or people going through menopause should try to avoid long exposure to sunlight, caffeine, and spicy foods.

Wear makeup

Wearing green color-correcting makeup can hide blushing better than other colors.

It can be helpful to apply a green-colored moisturizer or other makeup product to camouflage the redness on your cheeks if you know you’ll have to experience a stressful situation, such as a presentation or a meeting.

Read more about how to use green concealer to mask facial redness.

Close your eyes for a minute or two

Pretend, for a moment, that the person or people around you who may be judging you for blushing don’t exist. This can relax you enough to the point that it prevents blushing or helps it fade.

Temporarily avoid eye contact

If you’re feeling like you’re being judged about blushing, avoid making eye contact with the person or people who are making you feel uncomfortable.

Just as with the previous tip, this tip can help you relax enough, so the blushing either never begins or fades away.

Lifestyle changes to stop blushing

In addition to the various ways you can stop blushing in the short term, there are some long-term lifestyle fixes you can make to help keep blushing at bay.

Medication

There are no medications for blushing approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, if frequent bouts of anxiety cause your blushing, talk with your doctor about treatment with medication to manage the underlying issue.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

If fear of blushing worsens your blushing, it may be helpful to try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This kind of talk therapy can help change unhelpful and unrealistic thinking about blushing.

Surgery

If your blushing is so severe that it’s detrimental to your quality of life and other treatments haven’t helped, you may consider getting endoscopic thoracic surgery (ETS).

This surgery involves cutting the nerves that cause the facial blood vessels to dilate or open. This keeps the blood vessels mostly closed, preventing blushing from happening.

Most people are satisfied by the results of ETS. However, in some cases, long-term complications, such as excessive sweating, surgical infections, and eyelid drooping, may occur.

Other causes to consider

Blushing typically isn’t a cause for a medical concern, but facial redness can sometimes be a symptom of something else, like:

rosacea
allergies
endocrine disorders, such as Cushing’s syndrome or hyperthyroidism
carcinoid syndrome
menopause
eczema
lupus

Certain medications may also cause redness on the face or other parts of the body. These include:

vasodilators
calcium channel blockers
systemic steroids
tamoxifen
thyroid releasing hormone
cholinergic medications
niacin supplements
ciclosporin
cyproterone acetate
bromocriptine
amyl nitrite and butyl nitrite

Talk with a healthcare professional if nothing seems to reduce your blushing, or if you notice additional unexplained symptoms.

The bottom line

Most people experience blushing from time to time. There are a variety of techniques that may help reduce blushing.

If nothing seems to help, or if you’re interested in more long-term fixes, talk with a healthcare professional about your options.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Blushing. (2022).http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Blushing/Pages/Treatment.aspx
Dijk C, et al. (2009). Blushing – fearful individuals’ judgmental biases and conditional conditions: An internet inquiry.http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/chwe/austen/dijk2009.pdf
Hannah-Shmouni F, et al. (2017). Flushing in (neuro)endocrinology.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5161029/
Kraft TL, et al. (2012). Grin and bear it: The influence of manipulated facial expression on the stress response.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797612445312
Richards TA. (n.d.). Blushing: A symptom of social anxiety.https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/blushing-social-anxiety
Rot MAH, et al. (2015). Intrapersonal and interpersonal concomitants of facial blushing during everyday social encounters.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334548/
Su D, et al. (2011). Blushing propensity and psychological distress in people with rosacea.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cpp.763

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Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — Written by Erica Cirino — Updated on March 14, 2022

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