Beauty Secrets for People with Sensitive Skin

As soon as you get out of the shower and dry off, does your skin immediately feel tight and dry? When you shave your armpits or your legs, do you break out with razor bumps that eventually scar? Do thick, heavily scented lotions irritate your skin or clog your pores? Are your prone to itching attacks when its dry and hot outside? Well perhaps you have sensitive skin and you never even knew it.

Diagnosis of Sensitive Skin

Dermatologists consider the diagnosis of sensitive skin when they see patients with skin reactions like pustules, bumps, erosion, excessively dry skin which leaves skin nerve endings vulnerable to irritations from make-up or lotions, and/or blushing or flushing of the exposed areas of skin.

Avoid odorized soaps

If you have been appropriately diagnosed with sensitive skin, avoid using highly odorized soaps, which usually have some sort of detergent, on your face. Instead, use soap free cleansers to keep your face clean; these cleansers typically have lower pH levels than normal soap and are less likely to irritate the sensitive skin of your face.

Avoid Thick, Fragrant Lotions

Lotions that are less fragrant and contain fewer chemical components (but do include methyl paraben or butyl paraben preservatives) are the best moisturizers for sensitive skin. Avoid using facial lotions which contain antibacterial or botanical ingredients and are made with solvents that penetrate the skin pores, like ethanol or propylene glycol. These ingredients only clog the pores of sensitive skin and irritate the nerve endings that are left exposed.

Don't use water-proof makeup

Avoid using water-proof make up, which requires additional solvents and pressure to remove from the face, and stick to silicone-based foundations or powders which cause less irritation to the skin. Cosmetics which contain less than ten ingredients will be less chemically processed and therefore less irritable to the skin on your face; and stay away from liquid liners, which have a higher probability of causing an allergic reaction than the normal pencil liners.

Take care of your skin in winter

In winter, to prevent your skin from over drying and cracking, don't overheat your home and be sure to give yourself a few warm, not boiling, baths. Take care not to bathe too frequently, for this will only worsen the dryness and itchiness of your skin. And after each bath, pat yourself dry and apply a moisturizer or lotion while your body is still a tad bit damp. In the summer, stay away from too much sun; while bronzing on the beach looks nice, tanning actually damages your skin, so take the extra time to apply the appropriate amount of sun block before stepping out on the sand. Reapply the sunscreen every few hours, and especially after swimming or any other activity that results in you sweating heavily.

Take supplements & eat healthy

And add some B complex vitamins to your diet – riboflavin, niacin, B-6, B-12, and biotin. Taken in the right amounts, these vitamins can help reduce the levels of dryness and itchiness you feel as a result of your dry skin. Adding more whole grains, fish, eggs, almonds, and low fat dairy can also help reduce the symptoms of dry skin, although to find out specifically what will help you, you should seek out the guidance of your dermatologist.

Byline:
Carol Montrose is a writer for Medical Coding where you can browse medical coding schools and industry jobs.
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