Sensitive Skin – Do You Know?

Reducing triggers will help your sensitive skin

The skin is the largest tactile organ in the body and exposed daily to an external modern environment that is pollution and chemical laden and often highly stressed. It makes sense to reduce this load by using bath products and skincare products that don’t have unnecessary ingredients such as perfumes, colours, petrochemicals, sulphates and other irritating ingredients that be readily absorbed by the skin. Although it is more difficult to control the external environment we can look at the cleaning products and skincare products we use in the home and perhaps consider more natural alternatives.

Always patch test a new product

Although it may seem to be time consuming, those with sensitive skins are advised to patch test first before using a new product on their face. For those with very sensitive skin it is very important not to skip this step. Try a new product on the inside area of your wrist for a couple days to ensure that there are no ingredients you may be sensitive to.

All products labelled hypoallergenic are not necessarily safe

Most countries including the United States and the FDA do not have federal standards to determine whether or not a manufacturer can use the term hypoallergenic on the label. Many people assume that if they see this on a label it means it is suitable for sensitive skins but this is not the case as manufacturers can use it at their discretion.

Diet can have an effect on sensitive skins

The healthier the choices you make in your daily food intake, the healthier both your skin and body will be. If you have sensitive skin that is dry and flaky as well the B Complex vitamin can be of help. You could increase your intake of wheat germ, oatmeal, fish, eggs, whole grains, almonds, liver, sunflower seeds and yeast – or take a B complex vitamin. The essential fatty acids are also important for healthy skin. If you are sensitive to a particular food you may experience skin flare-ups.

A red reaction may not always be sensitive skin

Sometimes rosacea is the cause of the flushing and reddening of the skin and not an allergy to a product and its ingredients. This is also a common hormonal reaction. It may be worth seeing your dermatologist or doctor to establish what your problem is.

Common triggers for sensitive skin

For some people the triggers may be external and come from their environment such as wind, heat, cold, pollution, airborne allergenic substances, cleaning fluids or dust mites.  Other people may have problems with ingredients in cosmetics or skincare that cause them problems. Lifestyle factors such as emotions, stress and diet can be causative factors and so can our hormone imbalances. If you have sensitive skin it is important to use soaps to bathe and a skincare regime designed to support sensitive skins – have a look at the skinsaviour range which has been formulated for sensitive skins. Finding out the cause of the problem can be a process of elimination and detective work so it pays to use products designed for sensitive skins to lessen the chances of that being a problem for you.

Sensitive skin can be outgrown

Typically a child with eczema has an approximately 90% chance of outgrowing the problem by the time they are school age and further children grow out of it by adolescence. Acne sufferers typically grow out of skin problems in their thirties but psoriasis can be a lifelong problem.  Inherited skin conditions can include psoriasis, acne, rosacea, eczema but skin sensitivities to product ingredients are not inherited.

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Question & Answer for Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skincare help

Sensitive skin always ranks high on our polls as to what your major skin care concern is. We also receive a number of questions about sensitive skin and in the following article I would like to share with you some of my tips for living with sensitive skin.

How do I know if I have sensitive skin?

The range of effects from contact with a product or substance can range from no visible effects but the face feels uncomfortable to stinging and burning and skin bumps or pustules forming.  We often see dry skin go hand in hand with sensitive skin and sometimes this causes the nerve endings to not have a normal amount of protection for the nerve endings making a reaction to a product more likely to happen.

Sensitive skin is also more prone to redness and flushing, sometimes going down into the neck and upper chest area. You may consider visiting a dermatologist or consulting with your doctor if the symptoms are severe as sensitive skin may be related to other health issues. You may undergo patch testing on the skin to see if you are allergic to a particular substance.

What causes my sensitive skin?

The causes are so many and varied it is impossible to give one answer. Some people may find they are sensitive to one particular substance or ingredient and fine with everything else. Others may find that their sensitive skin is seemingly irritated by everything.

There are some genetic and age factors and even in between races that mean you may be more likely to have sensitive skin. Skin conditions associated with sensitive skin can be inherited but not sensitive skin itself. Some people develop sensitive skin as they age and yet others grow out of it!

There are some sensitive skin conditions that are related to a dysfunction of the immune system such as atopic dermatitis – eczema, rosacea, uticaria or a form of allergic contact dermatitis.

What should I look for in skin care products?

Although we have individual responses, people with sensitive skins should avoid cleansers with soap, detergent or colourings or perfumes. Creamy formulations are easier to work with and create less dragging and irritation on the skin.
Moisturisers should also contain no perfumes, colourings or ingredients known to irritate the skin. Choose a long lasting hydrating, creamy formula that will keep the skin well hydrated. Some people have a reaction to parabens and petrochemicals – so avoid these. Skinsaviour has been carefully formulated not to irritate sensitive skins in all their skin care products.

When you use a new product for the first time do your own patch testing. Rub a small amount of product into the underside of the wrist or behind the ear for a few days. If you are irritation free, the products should be safe to use on the face and neck area.

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Why do I have sensitive skin?

Your skin type

Sensitive skin has become more common. We used to have only three types of skin defined in skincare products… normal, oily and dry. Then combination came along to cover those people whose skin was dry in some areas and oily in others or a combination of normal and oily or dry. Sensitive skin has only been recently given a whole category of skin care to itself but has also been a skin type that continues to grow.

So why has sensitive skin become so common?  We define sensitive skin as skin that reacts easily and in a negative way to a number of substances with symptoms such as redness, swelling, itching and discomfort.

Some schools of thought say that the increasing number of chemicals in our food, in the water we drink, in our food, in our household cleaners, in our homes and cars – all contribute to a chemical overload on the body. Our bodies can only process so much of these chemicals and we become more and more sensitised as time goes by.  Long term exposure can have this effect in the same way people can have a reaction to a food that they have been able to eat all their lives and then suddenly start developing worse and worse reactions each time they eat it.

Sensitive skin can run in families, you can have a genetic predisposition to having sensitive skin and may do so since early childhood.

How do we reduce this overload?

• Replace toxic cleaning products and do some research on old favourites that are non toxic such as vinegar and baking soda and how to use them.

• See if you can incorporate more foods into your diet that are grown organically where chemical sprays are not used on the plants or the soil they are grown in.

• Make sure your drinking water is as pure as it can be – invest in a filter.

• Treat your sensitive skin gently with gentle yet effective cleansers that have no soaps, detergents or sulphates like our skinsaviour cleanser.

• Wash in lukewarm water and pat dry to avoid over stimulating and irritating sensitive skin.

• Patch test all your products you use on your skin on the inside of the wrist for a few days to see whether you have any reaction.

• Use a moisturiser that has been carefully formulated for sensitive skin that is free of harmful chemicals, colourings, perfumes, all that can irritate sensitive skin.

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Sensitive skin defined

What is sensitive skin?

Sensitive skin is a fairly broad description of many different skin conditions that fall under its banner. People with sensitive skin may have a recognised and diagnosed medical condition such as rosacea, eczema, contact dermatitis, allergies, atopic dermatitis. More commonly though sensitive skin is usually characterised by being very easily irritated, prone to redness, inflammation, lumps and reaction to ingredients in skin care products which are irritants.
Sensitive skin is commonly linked to very dry skin but even oily skin can be sensitive. Sometimes this sensitivity comes about from overzealous use of harsh soaps, alcohol based astringents and exfoliators that are used in an effort to reduce the oil production.

Who gets it?

People of all age groups can have sensitive skin. Often babies may have periodic bouts of eczema but these lessen and are finally grown out of. When we grow older, the skin thins and can be more sensitive to touch and certain fabrics can be irritating to the skin.  There is large percentage of the population that list sensitive skin as one of their skin concerns and care must be taken to choose skin care products that won’t make the condition worse.

• Choose sunscreens with a physical blocker like zinc oxide or titanium oxide – it may be less irritating than normal sunscreens.
• Choose skin care products that have no known irritating ingredients.
• Choose a cleanser that is effective but safe and gentle.
• Choose a moisturiser that has no perfumes, colours or ingredients that are known to cause irritation.
• You might like to try the skinsaviour skin care products
• Wear loose clothes made of natural fibres that will not irritate the face and neck area.
• Try to keep the hands away from the face to avoid getting contact dermatitis from something you have touched.
• See a dermatologist or doctor if your skin is really sensitive and causing you discomfort.
  

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What is sensitive skin?

Sensitive skin is quite common; hypersensitivity however, is fortunately less common. The main difference is that hypersensitive skin can often react to non-irritating formulations due to an underlying skin condition. Professional medical advice is recommended in such cases.  Seek help if your skin does not respond to care for sensitive skins to make sure you do not have an underlying medical condition that may be causing your sensitive skin. In terms of sensitive skin, however, there are a number of things you can do to help ease the discomfort and frustration of having a sensitive skin.

What can we do?

Sensitive skin is very easily irritated so the first thing we want to do is minimise the chances of it being irritated. If there are any allergens we know that trigger allergic reaction and skin conditions such as eczema we should take great care to avoid. Prevention is much better than cure as flare-ups can take a while to subside and always seem to occur just when you don’t want them. Triggers can range from foods we eat, plants, fur and so on. Skin care products that have been especially formulated to minimise irritation by including no irritating ingredients should be used.

Skinsaviour skin care products have been designed to be gentle and effective with no perfumes or colourings or harmful ingredients to irritate sensitive skins.

Here are some suggestions on how we can look after sensitive skins:

• Avoid cleansers that have sulphates, detergents or soap that will all irritate sensitive skin.

• Avoid cleansers with harsh exfoliating particles or ones high in glycolic acids.

• Gently pat the skin dry after cleansing and avoid rubbing which will further irritate the skin.

• Use lukewarm water to avoid irritating the skin with water that is too hot or too cold.

• Seek moisturisers without perfumes, fragrances, colourings, alcohols, petroleum, preservatives, sulphates mineral oils or lanolin or as these can irritate sensitive skin.

• Apply skin creams while the skin is still damp and warm, after gently patting dry, to lock in moisture and preserve the skin’s natural defence barrier.

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