Do you have a sensitive skin?
It is often seen on the skin as red patches, which can become sore, irritate and even blister, in extreme cases, plus can also be prone to conditions such as eczema.
Sensitive skin is not a skin type!
Skin types are known as normal, oily or dry - this relates to the activity of the sebaceous activity.
Sensitivity is a condition of the skin and can affect any skin type, for example a dehydrated, oily skin - when products that remove the sebum are used regularly, over dries the skin and it ends up not only dehydrated but can also become sensitive to products and environment.
Sensitive skin is often seen with redness, itchy, feeling burning, stinging or dryness, and often resulting in lumps and bumps - to stop this happening you need to understand what is causing this reaction and start an elimination detox to detect which ingredients or products is causing the sensitivity.
As you can tell, sensitivity can develop from chemical and natural ingredients in our products, the worse of these are lanolin, alcohol, essential oils, perfume and colourants, although you can be sensitive to anything over time.
When you use a chemical or product over time you can get a build up of that chemical within you until you reach your 'threshold limit', then you will have skin reaction - this is how it differs from someone that has an allergic reaction, which is an instant reaction. Reaching this 'threshold limit' can be quickly reached or can take years - everyone has a different experience.
Most people have heard of dermatitis, especially contact dermatitis, and the most common type is irritant contact dermatitis and the hands being the most common area, this is where harsh chemicals, such as cleaning materials, shampoos, etc, being constantly used and stripping the skin of the natural acid mantle protection. This can cause very sore, dry, cracked skin, and is very common in the hairdressing industry.
This is different to allergy contact dermatitis, as this is when the skin reacts to directly to a chemical, food stuff, insect bites, etc., such as metal, nuts, bee sting, etc., - this is one of the most common.
Some people are sensitive to environmental factors, such as hot, cold, humidity and sunlight, etc. So, temperature changes can make the skin sensitive when changing your environments (inside and out) especially in the winter months.
Even eating spicy foods, or drinking alcohol can affect a sensitive skin. Again, everyone's skin reacts differently, but it is a well known fact that people with an Asian descent (such as Chinese or Japanese) bring are more likely to have a 'flushing' effect from drinking alcohol (as well as becoming tipsy much quicker)!
Maybe you class your skin as 'touch' sensitive! This is when you stand to cleanse your skin, so applying skin care products can have an affect, especially when applying make-up products. This is made difficult as the colour of this skin is then difficult to cover. You will then go into a cold and then warm environment, and the redness comes back. This is often a problem for many, and can also be embarrassing.
Caring for sensitive skin is essential, but you to understand YOUR sensitive skin - but one thing you have to do is what is called a patch test when using a new product - this can be carried out by applying a little of the product on the neck or low behind the ear, then leave for 24 hours to check your product tolerance - if no reaction you can then use on the face. You will need to do this with every new product you use, but not at the same time.
I hope you found this SkinBlog useful, especially if you or someone you know have a sensitive skin.
Love,
Shirley xx
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