A woman blushing and covering her face. Blushing is the rush of blood to a person's face due to psychological reasons. In darker-skinned people, this may appear as the facial skin becoming more shiny, or it may not be easily visually-detectable. In lighter-skinned people, including those with albinism, it is easily detectable as a reddening of the face. Blushing is normally involuntary and triggered by emotional stress associated with passion, embarrassment, shyness, anger, or romantic stimulation. Summary In lighter-skinned people, blushing is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation, from flushing, which is more intensive and extends over more of the body, and seldom has a mental source. If redness persists for abnormal amounts of time after blushing, then it may be considered an early sign of rosacea. Idiopathic craniofacial erythema is a medical condition where a person blushes strongly with little or no provocation. Just about any situation can bring on intense blushing and it may take one or two minutes for the blush to disappear. Severe blushing can make it difficult for the person to feel comfortable in either social or professional situations. People who have social phobia are particularly prone to idiopathic craniofacial erythema. Psychological treatments and medication can help control blushing. Some people are very sensitive to emotional stress. Given a stimulus such as embarrassment, the person's sympathetic nervous system will cause blood vessels to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and resulting in somewhat shinier skin, or minimal visual change, in those with darker skin but a reddening of the face for lighter-skinned individuals . In some people, the ears, neck and upper chest may also blush. As well as causing redness or shine , blushing can sometimes make the affected area feel hot. Erythrophobia is the fear of blushing, from and literally "fear of redness". One can see how this term makes the mistake of assuming the reddening from blushing is universal. Physiology of blushing A blush is a  brought about by increased capillary blood flow in the skin. It can also extend to the ears, neck and upper chest, an area termed the 'blush region'. This leads to a reddening of the skin in people who have lighter skin, including those with albinism. In darker-skinned people, the skin may appear more shiny, or it may be barely noticeable to others. There is evidence that the blushing region is anatomically different in structure. The facial skin, for example, has more capillary loops per unit area and generally more vessels per unit volume than other skin areas. In addition, blood vessels of the cheek are wider in diameter, are nearer the surface, and visibility is less diminished by tissue fluid. These specific characteristics of the architecture of the facial vessels led Wilkin in an overview of possible causes of facial flushing to the following conclusion: "[...] increased capacity and greater visibility can account for the limited distribution of flushing".Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Wilkin. 1988 Again, this “flushed” color does not apply to darker-skinned individuals.
A woman blushing and covering her face. Blushing is the reddening of a person's face due to psychological reasons. It is normally involuntary and triggered by emotional stress associated with passion, embarrassment, shyness, anger, or romantic stimulation. Summary Blushing is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation, from flushing, which is more intensive and extends over more of the body, and seldom has a mental source. If redness persists for abnormal amounts of time after blushing, then it may be considered an early sign of rosacea. Idiopathic craniofacial erythema is a medical condition where a person blushes strongly with little or no provocation. Just about any situation can bring on intense blushing and it may take one or two minutes for the blush to disappear. Severe blushing can make it difficult for the person to feel comfortable in either social or professional situations. People who have social phobia are particularly prone to idiopathic craniofacial erythema. Psychological treatments and medication can help control blushing. Some people are very sensitive to emotional stress. Given a stimulus such as embarrassment, the person's sympathetic nervous system will cause blood vessels to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and resulting in reddening of the face . In some people, the ears, neck and upper chest may also blush. As well as causing redness , blushing can sometimes make the affected area feel hot. Erythrophobia is the fear of blushing, from and literally "fear of redness". Physiology of blushing A blush is a reddening of the cheeks and forehead brought about by increased capillary blood flow in the skin. It can also extend to the ears, neck and upper chest, an area termed the 'blush region'. There is evidence that the blushing region is anatomically different in structure. The facial skin, for example, has more capillary loops per unit area and generally more vessels per unit volume than other skin areas. In addition, blood vessels of the cheek are wider in diameter, are nearer the surface, and visibility is less diminished by tissue fluid. These specific characteristics of the architecture of the facial vessels led Wilkin in an overview of possible causes of facial flushing to the following conclusion: "[...] increased capacity and greater visibility can account for the limited distribution of flushing".Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Wilkin. 1988 
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rush of blood to
reddening of
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In darker-skinned people, this may appear as the facial skin becoming more shiny, or it may not be easily visually-detectable. In lighter-skinned people, including those with albinism, it is easily detectable as a reddening of the face. Blushing is
It is
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In lighter-skinned people, blushing
Blushing
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somewhat shinier skin, or minimal visual change, in those with darker skin but a
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for lighter-skinned individuals
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or shine
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One can see how this term makes the mistake of assuming the reddening from blushing is universal.
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reddening of the cheeks and forehead
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This leads to a reddening of the skin in people who have lighter skin, including those with albinism. In darker-skinned people, the skin may appear more shiny, or it may be barely noticeable to others.
D
Again, this “flushed” color does not apply to darker-skinned individuals.