To correctly treat your sensitive skin.
You have to understand neurogenic and immunogenic inflammation
Is your skin exhibiting signs of redness, discomfort, and irritation?
Do you often experience a sensation of warmth or tenderness upon touch?
Does it often feel hot or sore to the touch?
If so, you’re likely dealing with skin inflammation.
Join us as we embark on a journey to unveil the intricacies of inflammation and discover effective methods for its treatment.
Understanding Inflammation
Lately, we have been talking about rosacea and sensitive skin.
At the root of these conditions is, of course, inflammation.
Surprisingly, more than 50% of women are believed to confront issues related to inflammation at some point in their lives, while approximately 35% of men also encounter episodes of sensitive skin.
This statistic raises concern, and here’s why: inflammation lies at the core of premature ageing.
You read that correctly; consistent exposure to inflammation can accelerate your skin’s ageing process.
Current scientific research (1) indicates that two primary triggers incite inflammatory responses within the skin:
- Immunogenic inflammation is initiated by the immune system to combat invading threats.
- Neurogenic inflammation, prompted by the nervous system.
Without further delay, let’s delve into inflammation and explore strategies to manage it effectively.
Understanding the Origins of Skin Inflammation
When you take into account the multitude of daily challenges your skin faces, it becomes apparent how complex it can be to manage these factors effectively:
- Harmful UV Rays: The relentless assault of damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
- Toxic Accumulation: The accumulation of toxins from various sources.
- Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices: Choices in lifestyle may not be conducive to skin health.
- Astringent Ingredients: The use of skincare products containing astringent components.
- Chemicals and Fragrances: Exposure to chemicals and fragrances found in personal care products.
- Environmental Aggressors: The impact of environmental aggressors.
- Emotional and Physical Stress: The strains of emotional and physical stress that can take a toll on your skin.
Understanding Immunogenic Inflammation
While it may seem like a complex topic, please bear with us as we delve into the science of your skin.
Your immune system initiates immunogenic inflammation. It’s like your body’s natural alarm system.
When your body is under attack from allergens, experiences emotional stress, or goes through hormonal changes, your immune response kicks in, resulting in inflammation in your skin.
This inflammation is a natural process in your body, orchestrated by the vigilant white blood cells. These “warrior” cells come to the rescue when they sense danger and combat invading foreign bodies, contributing to the healing process.
Unfortunately, this protective mechanism can sometimes result in pain, redness, swelling, and inflammation, which are less than desirable.
We delve deeper into this cycle of immunogenic inflammation in an article available for more in-depth reading.
Understanding Neurogenic Inflammation
Now, let’s explore another facet of skin science, and trust us, it’s crucial to comprehend why your skin becomes sensitive and inflamed.
Neurogenic inflammation is the lesser-known form of inflammation associated with the nervous system. When your skin encounters potential irritants, it activates receptors in your nervous glands, releasing various neuro-peptides.
These neuro-peptides play a significant role in ending the inflammatory cycle in your skin and aiding in the repair of damaged tissue. However, when these neuro-peptides become overly agitated, they can contribute to severe inflammatory conditions like psoriasis, dermatitis, rosacea, and itchy skin.
Emotional stress or exposure to pollutants can trigger a painful neurogenic response in your skin, resulting in inflammatory conditions such as itching, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
It’s important to note that both immunogenic and neurogenic inflammation can lead to similar conditions, including redness, irritation, swelling, and itching.
To conclude. The naked truth
In summary, we’ve identified two significant triggers of inflammation:
- Immunogenic inflammation, as shown in this study (2), is initiated by allergens that prompt an immune response in your skin.
- Neurogenic inflammation is activated by chemicals that stimulate a nerve response.
Both of these inflammation types result in the same undesirable symptoms, including redness, itching, and swelling, similar to what your body experiences during injury or irritation.
However, these triggers are not the sole culprits of skin inflammation. Both physical and emotional stress play a substantial role, causing imbalances in once-healthy skin.
Elevated levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, can lead to inflammatory reactions in the body, exacerbating inflammation, causing intense itchiness, and impeding the healing of wounds. Toxin accumulation, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and environmental factors can also act as stressors on the skin.
When you consider the bigger picture, several factors can trigger inflammatory skin conditions:
- Nerve activity
- Poor gut health
- Disruption of the immune system
- Genetic susceptibility
- Impaired acid mantle
- Epidermal barrier function
Combining effective skincare treatments with appropriate lifestyle choices is essential for healthy skin. Minimising sun exposure, managing stress, and nourishing your skin to preserve its natural protective barrier are key steps.
Taking this one step further and introducing a non-inflammatory diet will positively impact the health and appearance of your skin.
Our complete product line, focusing on the kits, effectively targets both immunogenic and neurogenic inflammation triggers. The products are meticulously crafted to combat inflammation, restore the acid mantle, and strengthen thin, delicate, and fragile skin.
Our ultimate goal is to rejuvenate your skin’s health, helping it become radiant, calm, and soothed for now and many years to come.
References
1. Neurogenic Inflammation – The Peripheral Nervous System’s Role in Host Defense and Immunopathology
2. Atopic Dermatitis: A Disease of Altered Skin Barrier and Immune Dysregulation
Skin needling ruined my skin and I’m trying to get help from your website. It’s saying I’ve already asked this question. I haven’t and I’ haven’t go a response. ??
Please help. So far nothing will calm it but only makes it worse.
Hi Karen
I am trying to respond to you on my email samanthamiller70@hotmail.com but the email keeps bouncing back? At this stage I recommend Fortify, ceramide, bio lipid and H20, please avoid all actives especially vitamin C and anymore invasive treatments like laser in a bid to heal. If your skin is really really bad, please go get a biopsy, you may have a granuloseum infection…I wish you all the best Samantha
Red skin flare ups and open pores or and broken barrier after skin needling. Cant use any products. Need something to heal my skin without causing red weird skin. Where should I start??
Please help. So far nothing will calm it but only makes it worse.
Hi, so interested to read about this neurogenic inflammation…I have been gleaning a little of this through my reading but good to see it in black and white. I have recently been diagnosed with scalp psoriasis which is hellish….my exzema and asthma being tipped over the edge into a more serious condition due,I believe to stress response from a terminal illness in the family and financial problems. I am allergic to dimethylamino propalymine so I can’t use coco betaine either as ts used in its production….
The point is here, I am also epileptic….controlled but none the less epileptic! So to read about neurogenic inflammation when I obviously have an overactive nervous system makes PERFECT sense to me….
I can’t tell you how reading this is like finding an oasis in the desert of ignorance amongst GPS and dermatologists…god bless em!
My next question is …does my epilepsy medication affect this eurogenic response..??
Hi Kate
Thank you so much for reaching out, it’s really satisfying when my research helps my readers which is essentially the whole point of me researching and writing these articles. Sadly however I am not a Doctor and cannot comment on the side effects of your medication. The good news however is that the more you research and eliminate the risks around neurogenic inflammation, the healthier your skin and the less risk of premature ageing. I wish you all the best Samantha
What an excellent article I suffer from seborrheic dermatitis and skin flares up often, so refreshing to finally find someone who understands skin, thankyou.
I agree Ian. this is the first I have heard of this trigger also, but it certainly makes sense to me!
Hi I suffer from sensitive skin and I was not aware of immunogenic inflammation! This is a topic not discussed by other manufacturers thankyou for raising it.