Do you get a bright red face from alcohol? Suffering from Asian Glow? You’re not alone. Millions of people deal with this condition and are all looking for ways to stop turning red.
First things first: there is currently no cure for Asian Flush. At least, there is no way to stop this condition 100%.
Here at Asian Flush Cure, we’re testing as many Asian Flush relief products as humanly possible. Want to try one?
Our current favourite – Sunset Alcohol Flush Support
A popular method across social media – Redee Patches
A low-ranking method new to the market – Glowless Patches
However, if you want to try some DIY Asian Flush Cures, read on! While none of these will stop your symptoms 100%, they can help reduce the severity of your reaction to alcohol. Plus they can work in a pinch if you haven’t bought an Asian Flush relief product in time.
1. Water is your friend
Staying hydrated is really helpful for reducing Asian Flush. The whole reaction is caused by the body’s inability to metabolize alcohol, so drinking more and more alcohol will only make it worse. If you can remember to drink water or a non-alcoholic drink in-between alcoholic drinks, your body will thank you.
You’ll still experience symptoms like facial flushing, but it won’t be as extreme. Water helps give your body time to break down alcohol that’s already in your system, before you flood the body with more alcohol.
2. Avoid binge drinking
Binge drinking isn’t good for anything, especially Asian Flush symptoms. If you are going to drink, make sure to drink within moderation. Some people who suffer from Asian Flush can get severely sick from alcohol, and binge drinking will only make that happen faster.
Some people find that a single drink isn’t enough to start their negative symptoms, so one drink is a good place to stop. If you continue to consume alcohol, you’ll only make your symptoms more severe and intense.

3. Use redness correctors or makeup
For most people with Asian Glow, getting a bright red face is the most obvious and uncomfortable symptom. It can be really embarrassing to explain why your face is red, especially to people who just don’t understand.
This is where Asian Flush makeup can help and there are a few options to consider.
Tip – This isn’t just for women! Men can greatly benefit from using makeup to their advantage and hide their Asian Flush symptoms, too.
Redness corrector
One option would be a redness corrector, specifically for reducing the appearance of red skin. These are usually marketed for people with sensitive skin, skin prone to redness or even those with Rosacea, but they can be used against Asian Flush, too.
The main thing in redness correctors is that it should be green. Green products work best against covering redness.
Some redness-correcting options include:
Photo Finish Reduce Redness Primer – by Smashbox
This green-toned primer works to minimize the appearance of redness and also works against fine lines. This primer can help set a coat to counteract redness that you’ll experience from drinking alcohol.
Redness Solutions Regime by Clinique
Clinique has a whole line of redness correcting products, including primers, creams and cleansers. These particular products work on skin that experiences persistent redness, without adding heavy oils or harsh products onto the skin.
Double Wear Custom Coverage Correcting Duo by Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder sells a green correcting wand that can also help against Asian Flush. However, this applicator is for very specific spots and not your entire face. If you find that you get redness from alcohol on specific small areas of your skin, this is a great option. However, you can’t really use this type of product to cover your entire face.
Full Coverage Foundation
Next to using a green-tinted redness corrector, you could also try experimenting with heavier foundations as you go-to Asian Flush makeup. By wearing a thicker foundation on your face, the product can help conceal the redness you’ll experience after drinking alcohol.
You’ll want to look for a “full coverage” foundation to get the best results. Some options include:
Infallible Total Cover Foundation by L’Oreal Paris
L’Oreal Paris always a safe bet for makeup and skincare product. Their Infallible Total Cover foundation is a full coverage product that still feels fairly lightweight. This might be enough to help reduce the appearance of redness underneath (especially when used with a green-tinted primer).
Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup by Estee Lauder
A crowd favourite, Estee Lauder’s Double Wear makeup can provide coverage for 24 hours. This one has won numerous awards so you can’t go wrong! A great product to add to your Asian Flush makeup routine.
Conceal And Perfect 2 In 1 Foundation And Concealer by Milani
If you want protection without taking too much time, the Conceal + Perfect 2 in 1 Foundation and Concealer is a great choice. This product is heavy without feeling like it and should help protect your skin from appearing too red from alcohol.
4. Find your worst drink and avoid it
Unfortunately, this one will require a bit of trial and error.
Not all alcoholic drinks will impact you the same way. You may find that you experience a much worse reaction when drinking red wine compared to a gin and tonic.
One DIY Asian Flush Cure is to avoid the drinks that cause you the most pain. Typically wine and beer cause the worst symptoms, but it can be different for everyone. Beer and wine have a lot of additional additives, preservatives and ingredients that can cause a lot of people negative reactions. Things like wheat, hops, grain, tannins and histamine can be found in these drinks and can cause reactions in their own right.
It’s also recommended to choose beverages that are really cold, which will force you to drink it slower. This will give your body some time to metabolize the alcohol rather than flooding your system quickly with lots of alcohol.
You can find more information on drink selection in our article: Best Alcohol for Asian Flush
5. Antihistamines
We don’t really like suggesting this for Asian Flush because it does come with some serious side effects, but it’s almost always brought up among friends who are looking to control their Asian Flush.
Many people turn to antihistamines as their DIY Asian Flush Cure, but there’s a lot of issues with it. If you want to learn more, make sure to check out our article: Is Zantac Safe for Asian Flush? There’s also been some recalls and cancer-links between Zantac so make sure to read up before using it!
In short:
Antihistamines and antacids like Zantac and Pepcid AC can help minimize red facial flushing from Asian Flush. However, these medications don’t do anything for the underlying condition of Asian Flush – it just hides the symptoms. So while you might be able to drink more comfortably without getting a red face, it doesn’t mean that it’s solving the problem. Same thing for medicines like Pepto Bismol.
Unfortunately, there is currently no Asian Glow medicine available from doctors. Hopefully some day in the future!
So what is Asian Flush?
Not totally sure why your face turns red from alcohol? That’s OK! Here’s a brief explanation:
Those with Asian Flush have an ineffective liver enzyme. This means that they cannot metabolize alcohol properly. Rather than breaking down alcohol effective, the body is left with a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde. With acetaldehyde accumulating while you consume alcohol, your body reacts negatively to this harmful chemical. This results in alcohol flush reaction, or more commonly called Asian Flush.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have actually reported that toxic acetaldehyde can cause increased risks in certain cancers. Like we mentioned earlier, drugs like Pepcid AC will minimize your face getting red, but it won’t do anything about acetaldehyde. You’ll feel a bit better taking it, so you’ll drink even more and expose your body to more and more acetaldehyde.
It’s certainly not something you should ignore.
And while Asian Flush impacts mainly those of East Asian descent, anyone can potentially develop this liver enzyme deficiency, including Caucasians.
For an in-depth look into Asian Flush, make sure to visit: Why does my face go red after drinking alcohol?
DIY Asian Flush Cure
As we know, there is no 100% cure for Asian Flush. However, these tips should help minimize your alcohol flush reaction, especially when used together. While there are more and more Asian Flush relief products on the market, you don’t always want to spend your money on new stuff (that might not work). At least you can try these at home.
Have a favourite DIY Asian Flush cure that we missed? Make sure to let us know!
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.