Sensitive Skin with Toni Elford

more on sensitive skin with skin treatment professional Toni Elford…

Last week we explored sensitive skin from the perspective of natural skin care formulations and ingredients.  This post addresses common sensitive skin concerns and questions.  I hope it is helpful to you. (Please remember that the comments below are the views of an individual and not intended as professional advice for a persons skin treatment and condition.)

1) how would you define a “sensitive” skin? The characteristics of a sensitive skin can be very thin, fragile looking with a tendency to look pink or flushed.

There are 2 types of sensitive skin:

Hypersensitive – any skin type can suffer from hypersensitive and normally is a skin reaction that is superficial and starts when a product is applied. The sensitive skin client will experience a warming, tingling or itchy sensation and once the product is removed the skin will calm down after 30 to 60 mins.

Allergic sensitive – an allergic reaction to a product is rare but will normally occur on a deeper dermal level and the client will not experience anything immediately but will have a reaction within 6 to 24 hours and will experience swelling, severe redness and deep itchiness and will need to seek medical advice.

2) in your experience, what are the most irritating ingredients/factors to skin?

some of the most irritating ingredients can be certain preservative, colouring agents, ingredients with astringent properties, artificial fragrance and harsh abrasive ingredients

3) have you found that natural products are less irritating to skin than products containing chemical ingredients?

It really depends on the ingredients and each skin will react in a different way to different ingredients.

4) what are the key factors in selecting a product suited to sensitive skin?

Choosing products that are designed to calm and soothe the skin as well treating the skin gently whilst cleansing, exfoliating and ensure the water is always tepid not hot or cold. Try to avoid extremes in temperatures as well as over exposure to UV rays.

5) are there any other factors to sensitive skin, other than what we apply topically?

Yes try to avoid the following to ensure that a sensitive skin remains calm. Certain spicy food, coffee, red wine, saunas, steam baths and excessive sun exposure.

6) some natural ingredients can be irritating to the skin – what are the most common of these in your experience?

Some natural products can have a high concentration of essential oils that can also irritate the skin.

When treating a truly sensitive skin the less is more rule applies: less product, less stimulation and less heat as well as less time spent on your home care and that is something we all want.