- Sensitive skin is described as a dermis that shows higher than a normal reaction to external factors and stimuli.
- Those with sensitive skin, whether self or professionally diagnosed, tend to have a higher rate of negative interaction with makeup and skincare products.
- Knowing your skin type can help you find the right ingredients and products to create the best routine.
- There are skin care steps that you take to improve the health of your skin.
- It is important to seek medical help if you have severe sensitivity.
A large part of the population has sensitive skin and experiences adverse reactions to makeup and skincare products. Still, like everyone else, those with sensitive skin want to be able to have their best skin possible.
This article considers the causes and possible solutions, especially a good skincare routine for sensitive skin, and the ingredients that most benefit or soothe symptoms of sensitive skin.
What is Sensitive Skin?
The broad label of sensitive skin covers an array of conditions, which means the skin is hyperreactive in some way to external contact or conditions. While the term is widely used, the condition is as often self-ascribed as it is by a medical professional. However, this can still be accurate, as many of the signs of sensitive skin can be observed visually.
Severe types of sensitivities, such as eczema, psoriasis, and allergy-related causes of sensitive skin may require a diagnosis from a medical professional for long-term treatment.
In mild, usually self-diagnosed cases that are reactionary, a change in skin care routine for sensitive skin may be all that is necessary. Medically, the broad term has a range of symptoms and an array of causes and solutions to be explored – including but not limited to reactivity to irritants, barrier function, and sensory responses
How Can You Tell If You have Sensitive Skin?
Some signs and symptoms can be observed in the skin to determine sensitivity. In mild cases, a change in products or habits can correct the problems associated with sensitive skin.
In more severe cases, a medical professional such as a dermatologist or endocrinologist may offer the best long-term solution. You may have sensitive skin if:
- You have reactions to skincare products or makeup – such as rash, itching, burning, or other signs of irritation.
- You experience skin that is dryer than average or flaky skin.
- You are prone to redness and sudden or constant flushing of the skin.
- You experience anything else in a range of adverse or inflammatory responses.
How to Determine Your Skin Type
The best and most accurate way to know your skin type and best care practices would be to seek the help of a medical professional. However, there are some practices and observations that are generally accepted as signs of sensitive skin and a need to make corrections to one’s skincare routine to see improvement.
More often than not, in terms of makeup and skincare products, the skin is described as normal skin, dry, oily, and combination skin. These terms are largely based on the moisture the skin has and the moisture it absorbs, it retains or produces.
These are conditions based on the skin’s epidermal permeability and barrier function, which can be remedied at the surface with adjustments to the choice of products, and attention to ingredients as much as skincare steps.
Skin typing can be based on photosensitivity, which relates to reactions created by the effects of the sun or other sources of light.
This explains why the effects of a few minutes in the sun from one person to the next can mean a full tan, a little color, or a stinging sunburn in a few days. And it may be harder to name or treat without a doctor and the dangers of sun exposure, as there are six different skin types when referring to photoreactive skin sensitivity.
Is Basic Skin Care Best for Sensitive Skin?
It is hard to say that basic skin care is best for sensitive skin because sensitive skin can mean many different conditions or problems. But somehow, simple can be best because it avoids stringent and potentially irritating ingredients.
However, the right natural or gentle ingredients can help improve the look, feel, and behavior of sensitive skin by balancing the pH level, diminishing redness, improving dryness, and enhancing the natural barrier of the skin for balanced moisture.
Daily Care Regimen for Sensitive Skin
- Avoid touching – Touching your face excessively increases the opportunity of bringing skin into contact with adverse materials, germs, and dirt that may clog pores. Other than a morning and evening routine, try not to put your hands on or near your face.
- Properly Remove Makeup – Instead of abrasively scrubbing skin to remove long-wear makeup, use a gentle makeup cleanse or wipe. Gentle ingredients that soothe and restore moisture include green tea, aloe, and Vitamin E.
- Cleanse – Washing the face in the morning and evening with a gentle face wash is better for the skin than regular soap.
- Exfoliate – Whether or not your skin is dry, it renews at a rapid rate of approximately once per month. That said, a gentle exfoliation once or twice a week would suffice, or as needed, if the skin is dryer or peeling.
- Gentle Face Mask – Natural ingredients tend to be the gentlest, but that doesn’t mean that some conditions and sensitivities won’t experience a reaction. Still, researching and using a skin care face mask that is gentle, mild, or hypoallergenic will likely be less irritating for the skin than those that are not. The right product may remove excess oil, hydrate the skin, and shrink the size of the pores.
- Moisturize – While it may sound surprising, even oily skin needs to moisturize. The skin’s natural barriers seal in or excrete more or less moisture from one person to the next, and as with environmental and seasonal conditions.
- Sun Protection Factor – The fairest skin and the one with more melanin can even be susceptible to damage from the sun and other types of light. Most brands of skincare and makeup have an option offering an SPF of 15, 30, or 50.
Things to Avoid if You Have Sensitive Skin
If you have sensitive or hyperreactive skin, it would be useful to avoid the following:
- Direct or indirect sunlight without a reasonable SPF product
- Touching the face excessively, particularly, when hands are not clean
- Stringent products that may irritate the skin or worsen existing conditions
- Continued use of any product that causes rash, redness, dryness, inflammation, or other signs of irritation
Sensitive skin is a problem that many people face and is not unique to any skin type. However, there are possible solutions and skin care steps that can lead to improvement, especially if you have sensitive skin.
If finding the right routine with cleanser, exfoliant, moisturizer, sun protection, and possibly sensitive skin approved makeups does not benefit your skin needs, it may be time to seek the help of a medical professional who specializes in treating skin conditions, such as an endocrinologist or dermatologist.