Redness, itching, and perioral dermatitis: Our content manager Sara is very sensitive to many skincare products and had to experiment a lot before she found her perfect routine. She shares her lessons in this blog post.
I admit it: I'm a sensitive person. While I really appreciate sensitivity as a character trait in people, it's quite annoying as a skin trait. Specifically, this means that my skin reddens very quickly in hot, cold, or when I'm nervous. It's also very sensitive to fragrances and dyes in cosmetics, so I quickly get rashes or blemishes from many cosmetic products.
A few years ago, I even struggled with perioral dermatitis—also known as perioral dermatitis—for a few months. This type of rash causes small, red pustules to form around the mouth, and in my case, around my eyes as well. According to my dermatologist, the cause was "over-treating" my skin with too many irritating cosmetics and/or makeup. What I thought was good for my skin—trying out lots of different creams, serums, and the like in a short period of time—actually had the exact opposite effect. One thing I've learned since then: "more is better" certainly doesn't apply to my skin.
I've now found a suitable and tolerable routine for my sensitive skin, one that I'm very happy with. For me, that means no fragrances, no essential oils, no harsh cleansers or acids, and as few additives as possible. I try to keep my skin barrier as intact as possible by using very mild cleansing products. I follow this with a light, fragrance-free serum (I really like our DAYTOX Hyaluron Serum, for example) and a mild, moisturizing lotion. I only use scrubs or masks sparingly. Fortunately, I tolerate the DAYTOX Enzyme Peeling very well because it's particularly gentle on the skin. This product is a real recommendation if you have sensitive skin but don't want to go without a scrub.
What I learned on the way to my ideal routine is that sensitive skin isn't really a skin type in itself. It's more of a skin condition or a skin characteristic that occurs in addition to your skin type. This means that sensitive skin can be dry, but it can also be oily. In each case, the skincare routine looks a little different. Dry, sensitive skin needs significantly richer care with valuable oils, while sensitive, combination skin or sensitive, oily skin needs a lot of moisture and fewer oils. So when buying cosmetics, you should always make sure that the product is suitable for sensitive skin, but still contains the right balance of moisture and richer active ingredients for your skin.
By the way, my savior in times of need is pure aloe vera gel, because it really always helps me: for dehydration caused by heat or heating air, for sunburn, skin irritations, or even blemishes. The latter clear up much faster for me when I treat them with aloe vera. Accordingly, I'm naturally a fan of our active ingredient complex of aloe vera, broccoli, and citrus, which is contained in almost all DAYTOX products.
In general, I particularly like the fact that some of our DAYTOX products are fragrance-free, making them especially gentle on the skin. All DAYTOX products are also dermatologically tested and awarded the Dermatest "VERY GOOD" seal of approval. This means they are particularly suitable for sensitive skin.
Which products and ingredients do you swear by? Are you also sensitive, or can you mix and match? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!
