Hello, my sensitive-skin beauties! Did you know that the concept of sensitive skin arose in the 1970s? The percentage of people who perceive themselves to struggle with sensitive skin has steadily increased over the years. In fact, about 60–70% of women and 50–60% of men report having some degree of sensitive skin according to an article in the National Library of Medicine.
Sensitive skin is a common issue — and it’s actually a skin type, like being oily or having combination skin. With this skin type, your complexion can have hyper reactions to various factors, from products to environmental stressors and more.
Let’s dive in and learn all about what you can do to set your sensitive skin up for success every step of your skincare journey!
The Signs of Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin can have visible reactions to stressors and skincare products. If you struggle with these symptoms, you may have sensitive skin:
• Skin turns red easily from touch or topicals
• Reactive & easily sensitized
• Feels burning sensation easily
• Itching
• Dryness
• Rashes
This skin type is characterized by sensory responses to stimuli that normally should not provoke these types of sensations. But every sensitive beauty is different! It’s critical to listen to your skin and learn what factors might cause you irritation, rashes, etc., so that you can manage and avoid reactions.
The Root Causes of Sensitivity
The individual nature and reactions of sensitive skin make it a subject very difficult to study. Let’s look at some factors that may explain why we’re sensitive, or how our skin can become sensitive over time.
Our skin can become more sensitive as we age and our skin’s protective lipid barrier and biomes weaken naturally. A weak barrier allows penetration of potential irritants. You may notice that your skin starts to react to products differently than it used to. Again, it’s so important to note these so that you can set yourself up for skincare success and learn what triggers you.
Other factors may be internal, or how your body naturally reacts to various things. According to Very Well Health, skin inflammation is a sign of an immune response in the body. Symptoms can include redness, heat, itching, sensitivity, and swelling. The cause or trigger of skin inflammation may be acute, such as a skin infection, or chronic, such as an autoimmune condition like psoriasis. In fact, having sensitive skin is common with other skin conditions like rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, etc.
Sensitive vs. Sensitized Skin
Sensitized skin is skin that is sensitive, irritated, and reactive from external factors (like using topicals or having a sunburn). Sensitive skin can become more sensitized easily. When we talk about sensitive skin, we’re talking about how to support our skin’s natural reactive nature and work to soothe it, and prevent it from becoming further sensitized. This is an important distinction.
It’s also important to note that our skin can react to something just because it is NEW and doesn’t recognize it. Our skin has really interesting properties and defenses to keep the bad stuff out (like bacteria, allergens, pollution, and other aggressors and stressors). It has our back!
What To Avoid
If you’re a sensitive-skin beauty, here are some things you might want to avoid to reduce the possibility of irritation:
• Fragrances
• Parabens
• SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) in cleansers
• Hot water when cleansing the skin
• Alcohol in toners
• Avoid too much friction on the skin (gently pat in serums)
• Too many new products at the same time
• Too many products in general
• Mixing active ingredients
• Mixing active ingredients
• Overly high percentages in products
What To Use
• Use barrier supportive ingredients like ceramides, emollients, and humectants
• Soothing botanicals and antioxidants (these ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties)
• Start slowly with retinol, use the sandwich method
• Here's how you can sandwich your retinol to avoid irritation
• Buffer active ingredients if you are more prone to irritation
• Adjust layering, i.e., put your eye cream on first
• You can start with lower percentages and/or application less days a week to allow your skin to acclimate to new products ingredients
Shop our Sensitive Skin Set
image by @oliamajd
Top Takeaways
People with generally sensitive skin have local reactions to certain chemicals, dyes, and fragrances in products. Get to know your skin — what triggers one person can be fine for someone else.
Remember, don’t assume just because something is natural that it will be easier to tolerate. There are all sorts of natural irritants and allergens — and yes, everything is a chemical. Even water.
Prioritize supporting your skin barrier and always moisturize.
Keep it simple if you need to! You can always add products over time.
At goPure, your health and safety is first. We follow stringent patch testing procedures to ensure that our products are safe and non-irritating. They’re also dermatologist reviewed and hypoallergenic. Of course, we always recommend patch testing a new product to see how it reacts with your unique skin. If you feel your skin has suddenly become sensitive, or if you are having a skin reaction, it could be important to speak to your doctor.
What are some of your favorite ways to restore and replenish your sensitive skin? Leave a comment below!
8 comments
One of the best article related to skincare you have provided specially about sensitive skin. It seems really informative to me. Looking for more such content, keep it up!
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goPure Beauty replied:
Hello,
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear that you found the skincare article helpful. We’re committed to providing informative and valuable content, and we’re glad it resonated with you. Your feedback encourages us to continue delivering high-quality content. Stay tuned for more useful articles in the future! 💚
This information was so timely. I am having a skin flare up and cannot use anything with vitamin C. I’m back to using CeraVe, natural coconut oil and eczema cream 😩. I am so sad I love the Go Pure products and how my skin felt. But I’m on a break for a while. I will try to reintroduce in a couple weeks. The eye cream is the only product that does not irritate.
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goPure Beauty replied:
Hello Trudy,
We’re sorry to hear about your skin flare-up and the challenges you’re facing. Your skin’s health is our top priority, and we completely understand the need to take a break from certain products during this time. It’s great to hear that the GoPure Eye Cream is still working well for you and not causing any irritation. Remember that everyone’s skin is unique, and taking the time to prioritize its health and comfort is essential. Keep us posted about your results, we are always here to help you. In the meantime, we hope your skin finds relief and healing. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns 🌷🌼
Are go pure products ok for mild Rocaesa?!
Why did you stop selling the micro blade?? I loved it, best one I had ever used. 😕
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goPure Beauty replied:
Hi Kathy, we are sorry that the Dermaplane Tool Set is currently not available. But you can join the waitlist and you will be notified via email as soon as it is back in stock.
Here’s the link to the product page: https://gopurebeauty.com/products/gopure-accessories-dermaplane-tool-set
Feel free to reach out if you have other questions.
I find that the most gentle and beneficial set of serum trios on my skin is the Actives Booster set (vitamin c / hyalauronic/ niacinamide) – orange, green, teal labels. Love them!