WHY SO SENSITIVE?: Sensitive Skin Savvy
Nov 12, 2011 Posted by Corrie Shenigo
Let’s set the scene, shall we? There you are at the cosmetics counter, examining all the luxurious, extra emollient potions and lotions in your seasonal quest to (insert link) soup up your skin-care regime. You’re manhandling all the gorgeous packaging, peering into a dizzying array of jars and bottles wondering how the product-powers-that-be turned caffeine and stem cells and glycolic acid into the creamy whipped substance before you. The pretty perfumey garden of scents wafting towards you calls to that portion of your lady-brain that instructs your arm to reach for your wallet with the unflattering overhead lighting conveniently blinding you from the price tag. (We’ll not have anything like that ruining this love-at-first-sight/scent moment.)
Cut to: you and your new potion, magically market as a ‘miracle’ product. You like miracles. You need a miracle. You gently unscrew the shiny lid on this Pandora's jar, dig out a healthy dollop of the stuff and slather it all over your pretty face.
Then your skin starts burning like you’ve applied the glowing embers of hellfire.
Wait?! What?! Guess who wasn’t glamoured by the sparkling marketing magic of the cosmetics counter? That’s right. Your skin cells. Your delicate, overly-dramatic, extremely volatile and seriously sensitive skin cells.
Pass the smelling salts folks. It’s time for an eye-opening public service announcement specifically geared towards those of you with sensitive skin.
And for those of you not suffering from this affliction who think it’s ‘class dismissed’? Know this: your skin can begin to react ‘sensitively’ in the blink of an eye, with nary a warning. Nearly 50% of women who seek their doctor’s help for skin issues have sensitive skin, which can be caused by internal (emotions, hormones) or environmental (chemicals, plants) stressors.
It seems the term ‘sensitive skin’ has become the basket for four very troubled little eggs—acne, rosacea, contact dermatitis and burning/stinging skin—who have one symptom in common: inflammation.
So why is it that your shiny new product caused a path of blotchy spidery redness to spread across your once-porcelain façade? Chemicals. And what exacerbates inflammation? Chemicals. (See? Math is fun!)
According to the Environmental Working Group who aims its public-health awareness gun at toxins, the average American women is exposed to 126 chemicals throughout her daily cosmetics routine—and that’s just the self-inflicted damage. Add to that the chemicals in cleaning supplies, sprayed on food and daily pollution and it’s not so hard to see why your dermis is calling for its fainting couch.
Now before you go all ‘Mommy Dearest’ on your beauty cabinet, let’s really suss out what’s causing your skin’s sensitivity.
In a recent article in Marie Claire, a fancy NYC dermatologist had this to say about the causes of skin sensitivity. “We typically think of sensitive skin as dry and chafed or red and itchy, but flushing or breaking out as a result of stress are signs, too. What makes the difference in your skincare is actually pretty basic—your product should be fragrance-free and noncomedogenic. Fragrance is the number one culprit of irritation.”
Sadly, fragrance is also one of my favorite parts of the new-potion picking ritual. (*Cue the tantrum.) But I digress.
Another culprit is over-exfoliation. (Remember this guy?)
Do not think that you can scrub away at your sensitive dermis with overly-gritty cleansers and/or a motorized powertool without repercussions. I know you think that you’re sloughing off last nights quartino of cabernet and the signs of aging that have settled onto your face, but all your really doing with such behavior is causing another dermal-drama-queen moment for your doctor to quell. If your skin is intolerant of your zeal for exfoliation, stick with doctor-administered laser treatments and prescription Retin-A or another over-the-counter anti-ager to fight those dreaded signs of aging.
It seems the answer is restraint. (What is this new word ‘restraint’? I know not of what you speak.) The good folks at Marie Claire suggest doing a patch test with both over and under-the counter products. For example, if you’re going to give Retin-A a go, try a tiny little dab on the side of your cheek for a few nights. If your skin tolerates this fairly well, then move forward with a real-life size application—a pea-sized amount for your entire face. (Remember our new friend ‘restraint’?)
Of course the beauty industry isn’t turning a blind eye to the rising number of women who identify themselves as having sensitive skin. Nope. They see a hole and by-god they’re gonna fill it with all sorts of new-fangled products and potions geared towards sensitive skin cells. From cleansers that cleanse without a follow-up breakout, to hypoallergenic products that erase fine lines without the use of potential irritants—the good brands that beautify haven’t neglected those buyers with ‘special needs’.
With a little trial and error you and your doctor can find a skin-care routine that manages to help undo the damage of daily toxins and father time, while keeping your sensitive dermis away from overly dramatic monologues and breakouts.
Cut to: you and your new potion, magically market as a ‘miracle’ product. You like miracles. You need a miracle. You gently unscrew the shiny lid on this Pandora's jar, dig out a healthy dollop of the stuff and slather it all over your pretty face.
Then your skin starts burning like you’ve applied the glowing embers of hellfire.
Wait?! What?! Guess who wasn’t glamoured by the sparkling marketing magic of the cosmetics counter? That’s right. Your skin cells. Your delicate, overly-dramatic, extremely volatile and seriously sensitive skin cells.
Pass the smelling salts folks. It’s time for an eye-opening public service announcement specifically geared towards those of you with sensitive skin.
And for those of you not suffering from this affliction who think it’s ‘class dismissed’? Know this: your skin can begin to react ‘sensitively’ in the blink of an eye, with nary a warning. Nearly 50% of women who seek their doctor’s help for skin issues have sensitive skin, which can be caused by internal (emotions, hormones) or environmental (chemicals, plants) stressors.
It seems the term ‘sensitive skin’ has become the basket for four very troubled little eggs—acne, rosacea, contact dermatitis and burning/stinging skin—who have one symptom in common: inflammation.
So why is it that your shiny new product caused a path of blotchy spidery redness to spread across your once-porcelain façade? Chemicals. And what exacerbates inflammation? Chemicals. (See? Math is fun!)
According to the Environmental Working Group who aims its public-health awareness gun at toxins, the average American women is exposed to 126 chemicals throughout her daily cosmetics routine—and that’s just the self-inflicted damage. Add to that the chemicals in cleaning supplies, sprayed on food and daily pollution and it’s not so hard to see why your dermis is calling for its fainting couch.
Now before you go all ‘Mommy Dearest’ on your beauty cabinet, let’s really suss out what’s causing your skin’s sensitivity.
In a recent article in Marie Claire, a fancy NYC dermatologist had this to say about the causes of skin sensitivity. “We typically think of sensitive skin as dry and chafed or red and itchy, but flushing or breaking out as a result of stress are signs, too. What makes the difference in your skincare is actually pretty basic—your product should be fragrance-free and noncomedogenic. Fragrance is the number one culprit of irritation.”
Sadly, fragrance is also one of my favorite parts of the new-potion picking ritual. (*Cue the tantrum.) But I digress.
Another culprit is over-exfoliation. (Remember this guy?)
Do not think that you can scrub away at your sensitive dermis with overly-gritty cleansers and/or a motorized powertool without repercussions. I know you think that you’re sloughing off last nights quartino of cabernet and the signs of aging that have settled onto your face, but all your really doing with such behavior is causing another dermal-drama-queen moment for your doctor to quell. If your skin is intolerant of your zeal for exfoliation, stick with doctor-administered laser treatments and prescription Retin-A or another over-the-counter anti-ager to fight those dreaded signs of aging.
It seems the answer is restraint. (What is this new word ‘restraint’? I know not of what you speak.) The good folks at Marie Claire suggest doing a patch test with both over and under-the counter products. For example, if you’re going to give Retin-A a go, try a tiny little dab on the side of your cheek for a few nights. If your skin tolerates this fairly well, then move forward with a real-life size application—a pea-sized amount for your entire face. (Remember our new friend ‘restraint’?)
Of course the beauty industry isn’t turning a blind eye to the rising number of women who identify themselves as having sensitive skin. Nope. They see a hole and by-god they’re gonna fill it with all sorts of new-fangled products and potions geared towards sensitive skin cells. From cleansers that cleanse without a follow-up breakout, to hypoallergenic products that erase fine lines without the use of potential irritants—the good brands that beautify haven’t neglected those buyers with ‘special needs’.
With a little trial and error you and your doctor can find a skin-care routine that manages to help undo the damage of daily toxins and father time, while keeping your sensitive dermis away from overly dramatic monologues and breakouts.