Why does our face turn pink in the cold?

Winter season can be one of the best – or worst, depending on your tolerance to the cold – time of the year. Regardless of your weather preferences, many of us are familiar with rosy cheeks and pink-tipped noses that come with the low temperatures. 

Why do our fingers turn so pale, while our face explodes with red? Stick around, and you’ll learn the science behind the ever-changing colouring of our skin.

The importance of homeostasis

The average body temperature of humans is widely considered to be 37˚ celsius. However, this fluctuates depending on various factors such as current environment, age, health, and physical activity. 

When you are warm, the blood vessels in your body dilate, expanding their surface area to increase the rate of heat loss through convection and radiation. This leads to the red flush on your skin.

Respectively, under cold conditions, the blood vessels near the surface of your skin contract. This reduces their surface area, minimising the amount of heat lost from radiation. A side effect of vasoconstriction is that your skin appears paler. This is most notable on your extremities, such as fingers and toes.

Fig 1: Dilated and Constricted Blood Vessels 

But hold on – if our skin turns pale in the cold, why does our face turn red? Shouldn’t such a crucial part of our body want to conserve as much heat as possible? If these are the thoughts in your mind, then you are asking all of the correct questions!

Why does your face turn red?

Your brain is a vital organ, responsible for sending 86 billion electric impulses each second, controlling your heartbeat, digestive system, and your hands as you read this article! Your brain also happens to be extremely sensitive to fluctuations in temperature. 

Hypothermia is classified when your core body temperature falls below a mere 35˚C. That small 2-degree difference from normal can affect everything. Organs such as your heart and nervous system start struggling to properly function, the efficiency of certain enzymes and proteins decreases, and the rate of biochemical reactions slows down.

Needless to say, your body wants to keep your brain around a very safe 37˚C.

So how does our body keep our brain warm during winter? Instead of minimising heat loss, your body expends heat to keep your head warm. By dilating and causing the expansion of your blood vessels’ surface area, a greater amount of heat radiates outward into the tissue. While this does result in the loss of warmth, it heats the muscles and skin surrounding the vessels, thus helping to keep your head, and subsequently your brain, warm. 

Fun fact 

Here’s a question for you: if our core temperature is 37˚C, why are we so sweaty and irritated when our environment is 37˚C? 

Our body is constantly producing heat as a result of cellular respiration, which is released into the environment. As warm-blooded animals, we cannot simply ‘turn off’ this metabolic heat. Thus, we can only “get rid” of this heat through various means, such as evaporation and radiation. 

In short, because your surroundings are so hot and you are constantly producing heat, the warmth “builds up” to uncomfortably hot temperatures.

End Note

Your fingers and toes are pretty important for daily activities, such as eating, holding food, and walking. Our everyday tasks would suddenly become much harder without them! However, in terms of bodily functioning, they aren’t as crucial as our heart or brain to keep homeostasis and survive. Thus, our body contracts blood vessels in our extremities to minimise overall heat loss, while dilating blood vessels in our cheeks to keep our brain warm.

So the next time you go out on a cold day, don't be embarrassed by the bright flush of your cheeks. Take heed that it is your body keeping you and your brain alive and at a careful 37˚C.

Bibliography

Mayo Clinic (2024). Hypothermia - Symptoms and Causes. [online] Mayo Clinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothermia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352682.

Medline Plus (2023). Body Temperature norms: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. [online] Medlineplus.gov. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001982.htm.

Palinkas, L.A. (2001). Mental and Cognitive Performance in the Cold. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 60(3), pp.430–439. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2001.12113048.

Phelps, C. and Moro, C. (2021). Curious Kids: if our bodies are happy at 37°C, why do we feel so unhappy when it’s too hot outside? [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-if-our-bodies-are-happy-at-37-why-do-we-feel-so-unhappy-when-its-too-hot-outside-159134.

Sahraiyan, F. (n.d.). Section through the Human Skin Fig-2: Dilated and Constricted Blood Vessels . [Online Image] Sustainable Innovative Materials for Interior Architecture Using Biomimicry. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Fig-1-Section-through-the-Human-Skin-Fig-2-Dilated-and-Constricted-Blood-Vessels_fig1_323454475 [Accessed 25 Dec. 2025].

Silva, G.A. (n.d.). What Exactly Are All Those Electrical Impulses In Your Brain? [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielasilva/2022/08/02/what-exactly-are-all-those-electrical-impulses-in-your-brain/.