Why do people blush when they’re embarrassed?
- Rick
i think cecil has covered this, but the damn search engine isn’t working for me.
-ellis
In fact, I checked the archive (of course!) before posting. So far as I can tell, Cecil has not covered it.
- Rick
I hope you get this answered soon. I blush easily, I’m forty-six years old, hey, I shouldn’t still blush!
I’m a fair-skinned blonde, I’m wondering if that has something to do with it as well.
I don’t even have to be embarrassed either, sometimes just meeting someone new, I can feel that crummy red flush starting, I can just imagine when hot flashes start, I’ll probably spontaneously combust, and Unca Cecil can discus that topic!! 
“Please Disregard the Following.”
Mark Twain said that man is the only animal that can blush…or needs to!
Seriously, … well, not actually seriously because I read this in Desmond Morris’s The Naked Ape which is not really a serious book … where was I?
Blushing is a signal to the other primates about your emotional state. Anger, arousal, embarassment (are there others?) all cause you to blush. Anger and arousal I can understand; embarassment would seem to be better served if no one knew you were embarassed. My guess is it’s a glitch in the wiring.
If you need any more answers invented out of whole cloth, just give me a call.
“I’ll tell him but I don’t think he’ll be very keen. He’s already got one, you see!”
From Healthline “When Blushing Becomes A Problem”
"Physiologically, blushing results from an increase in superficial facial blood volume: blood vessels in the skin dilate, and red blood cells color the skin red. The area of skin that can blush is usually restricted to the face, ears, and neck, but in some rare cases, the upper body blushes. This dilation of the blood vessels is involuntary, and it is not absolutely clear what mechanisms are responsible for it. Pharmacological blocking experiments, however, have demonstrated that blushing involves the beta-adrenoceptors. The beta-adrenoceptors in the skin of the face are activated when the autonomic nervous system signals emotional arousal. Thus, stress can increase the activity in the autonomic nervous system.
A baby’s skin is able to flush when the baby is born. This is very important since blood vessels in the skin are essential for dissipating heat. Blushing starts at three years of age. At that age we become aware that others can observe us."
“Emotional arousal,” eh?
Hmmm. But blushing seems to be more associated with embarrassment (even at age three, when we learn that others can see us, apparently) than with other types of arousal. Anger, love, sexual heat – yes, they may cause a flush – but why does embarrassment outrank these more pungent examples of emotional arousal?
Do other primates blush?
- Rick
Embarrassment isn’t the only thing that makes me blush. I blush when I’m upset, when I’m sad, when I’m angry, when I’m really happy. I blush when the room gets too warm sometimes.
I am a fair skinned brunette, so maybe that has something to do with it. I get asked a lot if I’m upset or embarrassed because I blush so easily.
I had a friend in high school who was fair skinned and blonde. When she would laugh hard, her whole face would turn red, then purple. Sometimes we’d get worried about her, because she’d almost turn blue.
I never hate myself in the morning. I sleep till noon.
–Sig line courtesy of Wally 
I can’t think of a practical purpose for blushing, but I do know it makes it nearly impossible to avoid discussing certain topics with my therapist. She always says, “Your face is getting red. I guess that topic must be disturbing for you.” I never knew I was a blusher until I started going to therapy.
Another fair-skinned blusher here.
I have a black friend who used to tease me about blushing until I told her that wasn’t fair, she probably blushed all the time too but nobody could see it!
<-------- wondering why Rick’s been blushing lately… 