Sensitive Skin
10 Expert Tips That Will Calm Your Sensitive Skin
Is your skin quick to flush?
Or, on occasion, sensitive to touch
Are there embarrassing red patches and tiny blood vessels close to the surface?
Or maybe your cheeks are chapped and peeling?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may have sensitive skin.
Join us as we explore the anatomy of sensitive skin.
Contents
Understanding Sensitive Skin
This study (1) found that as many as 50% of women and 30% of men described their skin as sensitive, a staggering statistic.
More alarmingly, scientific research found that our skin may not even feel irritated or compromised until weeks later, even though a product you are using contains irritants.
That’s right. Your skin might not be stinging or burning, but that doesn’t mean your acid mantle isn’t breaking down, and chronic inflammation isn’t occurring, a topic we discuss in the article ’10 Tips for Treating Skin Inflammation. ‘
As if calming your skin isn’t enough of a challenge, figuring out how to use products that can’t bear the potent wrinkle-fighters others rave about, like vitamin C, can give your skin an aggravating flush.
And it’s a particularly frustrating catch-22 when you know that inflammation and irritation actively accelerate skin ageing.
But you’re in luck: there’s never been a better time to be a delicate flower with sensitive skin.
With sensitivity on the rise, the trend is toward products and ingredients that soothe as well as smooth.
However, before you can introduce them into your routine, you first need to understand why your skin becomes sensitive.
Why Skin Becomes Sensitive
Please bear with us as we get a little skin sciency here
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology conducted extensive studies (2) on skin irritations. When the skin’s surface is irritated, it activates neuro-peptides, specific chemicals in the brain that regulate hormones.
It also found that some people with sensitive skin have more reactive immune responses and higher-than-usual neurological reactivity.
When more neuroactive chemicals are released into the skin than usual, this triggers inflammation, creating rashes and erythema, and expanding the tiny veins under your skin, making them appear closer to the surface. Think of those small red veins often apparent on your face.
While sensitive skin has no medical definition, one thing is sure: it’s a real condition.
With all this in mind, let’s look at how we can begin to calm your inflamed skin and rejuvenate your complexion:
8 Steps to Calm Sensitive Skin
#1. Ditch offending ingredients
Anything that undermines your protective barrier function and strips your skin of lipids will make it vulnerable to skin conditions and harmful bacteria.
So, become a label detective and eliminate harsh astringent ingredients like alcohol and sulphates in many cleansers and body washes.
#2. Beware of actives
Products that advertise high percentages of powerful anti-wrinkle or anti-pigmentation ingredients are too harsh for sensitive skin.
Instead, you require a balanced formula of microdosed actives. However, once you’ve managed to get your skin into a calmer, more resilient state, you can reintroduce your actives, such as vitamin A, peptides and niacinamide.
Be sure to introduce them slowly, not all at once, and be cautious with vitamin C; it is actually ascorbic acid at the end of the day.
#3. Build a stronger barrier
If your skin acts up at any point, you must calm it before adding serious wrinkle-repair or anti-pigmentation ingredients.
We recommend a minimum of 12 weeks of a basic barrier-restoring routine to help your skin heal; our barrier-repair duo is a great option.
Any activities you reintroduce into your routine after that pose less risk of irritation to your now calmer, firmer skin. And if they do, it will be a lot easier to pinpoint the offender.
#4. Strip back your routine
Initially, your barrier-building routine should include only a few products. The more you mix, layer and experiment, the more you risk inflaming and upsetting your skin.
You want to reset your skin’s pH to neutral and restore your protective acid mantle.
#5. Moisturising is important
If you have sensitive skin, you should use a product containing skin-identical ingredients that create an essential barrier on your skin, prevent water loss, and help reduce inflammation. For example, Fortify barrier repair cream mimics the natural ingredients found in your skin to help rebuild your barrier.
#6. Keep your skin hydrated
Healthy, hydrated skin maintains collagen and elastin, while dehydration can disrupt the skin barrier, leading to sensitivity.
Look for water-based, humectant-rich formulas like H2O skin shot and Quench plumping peptide cream to keep your skin dewy and hydrated
#7. SPF is a daily must
Especially for sensitive skin. However, it’s essential to be aware that you can react to chemical sun filters, so be sure not to use one with an SPF over 20 or opt for a mineral sunscreen instead.
#8. Mind your microbiome
Your skin’s delicate microbiome maintains the acid mantle, preserving skin health. Disrupting this balance can alter pH levels and increase sensitivity. Consider prebiotic formulas to strengthen and support your skin’s natural defence.
#9. Pay attention to the fabric
If you have sensitive skin, it’s not just your face that requires extra care. Various parts of your body, especially those in close contact with clothing, such as socks and underwear, need attention.
Many women are transitioning to organic materials, such as cotton or bamboo, for improved hygiene and comfort.
#10. Avoid fragrances
Fragrances contain many chemicals, such as benzyl benzoate, butoxyethanol and benzyl salicylate. These are known skin, eye, nose and throat irritants, allergens and hormone disruptors. So, use only fragrance-free skincare products.
Sensitivity is not always apparent.
As mentioned above, the appearance of redness and swelling in your skin’s tissues may not be immediately visible, which can be misleading. But below the surface, inflammation is taking its toll on the structural cells and matrix proteins within your dermis.
Because it resembles skin changes associated with accelerated skin ageing, this is referred to in the industry as “skin flamm’ageing.
Granulomas are one such problem that can be caused by micro-needling, which we discuss here.
They can be infectious, inflame nearby tissues, and distort them, and they can take weeks or months to develop in your skin.
Chemicals found in personal care products and cosmetics can build up slowly in the body’s fatty tissue over time.
A reaction won’t always occur until years later; your skin can become so sensitive that it even reacts to simple things like tap water, as this study (3) examining the challenges associated with sensitive skin found.
To conclude. The naked truth
Skin sensitivity is a genuine concern and affects many people.
While it is complex, there are measures you can take, as outlined above, to help reduce your skin’s sensitivity.
If your sensitivity is extreme, the inflammation persists, and your skin may be almost painful to the touch. In this case, something more insidious and pathological could be at play.
This is an acute inflammatory response in which the immune system attempts to block a substance it perceives as a foreign body but cannot eliminate.
This can be a response to microorganisms, chemicals, or organic and inorganic materials.
It would be best to establish a skincare routine that re-generates your skin without any nasty reactions, is proactive in weeding out irritants and reinforces your skin’s protective moisture barrier.
This means understanding the ingredients and your skin’s unique characteristics and tendencies; we are all metabolically different.
But once you know what you’re looking for, it gets easier over time
References
1. The Prevalence of Sensitive Skin
2. Symptoms of dermatitis
4 replies on “10 Expert Tips That Will Calm Your Sensitive Skin”
Нi therе I have sensitive skin and have been using your products for approximately 12 months now, and the difference is fantastic; thankyou the Naked Chemist team for your integrity and commitment to making a difference with people’s skin, especially mine!
Gosh wonderful feedback so glad you are enjoying the products and getting wonderful results.
Yep sums up my skin exactly sometimes no matter what I use it seems to flare up any suggestions.
Please watch this space as customised products are on their way….