6-Tips to Calm Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin comes in all forms- eczema, acne, psoriasis, rosacea and more! Sometimes you’re born with it and sometimes the products used damage your skin barrier causing or igniting preexisting skin conditions. Regardless of your sensitive skin came about, we all have one thing in common, an innate desire to alleviate, protect and heal our skin! That’s where I come! As an eczema warrior, I know the struggle is real. One day your skin is clear, soft and supple and the next day it’s inflamed, itchy and painful! Here are my 6 tips to alleviate and calm sensitive skin:
Don’t jump on the TikTok, Instagram, and skin bloggers bandwagon! Odds are they don’t know what’s best for your skin and what works for them may not work for you. The best first step is to be consistent with skincare and run your potential skincare products by a dermatologist or esthetician first. Book a Personal Skincare Consultation to ease the process and have your skincare routine tailored to your skin!
Avoid harsh cleansers! The cleansing stage is one of the main ways people with sensitive skin irritate their skin. Why you might be asking yourself? Well, cleansers have the ability of stripping your skin of vital sebum (or oil) which keeps your skin balanced. This can cause extreme dryness for skin types with drier skin, or extremely oily skin for those prone to acne and oily skin. If your skin is sensitive, I recommend that you perform a simple patch test of the cleanser under your chin prior to applying to your entire face to see if it’ll irritate your skin.
Switch your skincare with the season. Yes, you heard that correctly! You may think using the exact same products all year round is the safe bet for sensitive skin but the truth is that your skin may have different needs based on the season! At the end of Summer, I find that my skin requires a bit more hydration. Why? Cold air dries your skin because the humidity level outside drops! On the other hand, you may have oily skin and find that you might not require more hydration at all! That’s the key! Understanding what your skin requires and how it feels in every season, allows you to select the best product for you in that season.
Most of us love a long, hot shower but, unfortunately, your lovely showers might dry your skin. When showering, use lukewarm to cool water to prevent inflammation, redness, and flareups if you suffer from eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea. According to Dr. Harry Dao of Baylor College of Medicine “dry skin is the most common cause of itchy, irritated skin so it is important to avoid overly hot baths and showers.” If you keep your showers short and cool, your skin will thank you!
Be cautious of incorporating harsh exfoliators into your skincare routine as they may disrupt your skins’ natural pH balance. Your skins pH is considered normal when it’s around 4.7, which is slightly on the acidic side based on the 1-14 range with 1 being acidic and 14 being alkaline. This important for those with sensitive skin because your acid mantle protect your skin from environmental pollutants that lead to irritation! Ingredients like glycolic acid and salicylic acid may further irritate active breakouts, and eczema and rosacea flare-ups. If you’re still interested in exfoliating your skin, replace those acids with ingredients like lactic acid, which do not penetrate the skin as deeply. Be sure to use SPF on any body part where you ay exfoliate.
Take a quick skin quiz and call it a day! I personally became tired of trying to figure out my skincare type every single season or when my skin fluctuated. That’s why I created a Skin Quiz that allows you to seamlessly input information about your skin, and not only informs you of your skin type when you’re unsure, but it also provides product suggestions! Here’s the Discover Your Skin Type Skin Quiz!
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