Top 5 Skincare Tips for Your Sensitive Skin
Does your skin ever feel dry, itchy and uncomfortable? Do you experience redness and flushing? Perhaps you are prone to skin conditions such as rosacea or couperose? All of the above are signs of sensitive skin. So if you want to calm your skin and bring it back to a state of health and radiance, read on. In this blog, we discover GERnetic’s top tips for treating sensitive skin and introduce you to a NEW and exciting skincare product.
What is Sensitive Skin?
A common confusion when analysing the skin is the difference between a sensitive and a sensitised skin. The predominant difference is down to nature vs. nurture.
Sensitive skin is a predisposition to irritation (nature), whereas a sensitised skin is due to external factors (nurture).
Sensitive Skin – Born With it
Essentially, sensitive skin means your skin is fragile from a young age and is determined by genetic predisposition. Children with sensitive skin are often prone to allergies, asthma and eczema. Symptoms of sensitive skin include:
– Redness and flushing
– Thinner skin
– Dryness
– More visible blood vessels close to the surface, sometimes giving the skin its red appearance
– May be prone to broken blood vessels
– There may be sensitivity to sunlight
Skin care products, soap, detergents, fragrances or certain types of food can trigger sensitive skin reactions.
As you are born with sensitive skin, specific treatments may relieve symptoms rather than cure them.
Sensitised Skin – Caused by external factors
Sensitised skin is a condition that can develop over time and is usually limited to the facial skin.
Typical symptoms include:
- Dryness
- Skin irritation and inflammation
- Skin stings on product application
- Itchy and flushed patches
- Redness and tingling
- Skin discomfort and tenderness
- Dehydration
- Bumps
Sensitised skin can be caused by several external factors, such as:
- Incorrect product use
- Frequent and excessive active treatments
- Over exfoliating
- Harsh skincare products
- “Cherry picking” between product ranges
- Hormones
- Pollution
- Diet
- Stress
- Certain medications
- Climatic conditions
- Frequent travel, i.e. Air travel
The skin’s protective lipid barrier becomes damaged, making it difficult for the skin to defend itself against aggressors. As it is a skin condition, sensitised skin can be nourished back to its normal level of health.
The Skin barrier and Sensitive Skin
Your skin is the first barrier against the outside world. Therefore, when treating sensitised skin, the most crucial step is restoring and protecting the skin barrier.
As the body’s largest organ, the skin is complex and fascinating. With the rise in inflammatory skin conditions, taking care of the skin barrier is crucial.
The outermost layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, is a specialised layer that protects the body from the harsh aspects of our environment; UV, pollution, toxic chemicals, and infection, to name a few.
The lipid matrix holds this outermost layer of skin cells, composed of ceramides, cholesterols, and fatty acids. The skin barrier is often described as the ‘bricks and mortar’, which acts as a security guard for your skin, preventing potential problems from passing through.
If this barrier is weakened or damaged, irritants can penetrate, and skin becomes sensitised, leading to a whole host of skin issues.
One of the skin barrier’s most critical functions is protecting it from trans-epidermal water loss. As this term suggests, it locks in moisture to keep skin soft, supple and firm. When the skin barrier is damaged, the quick water loss leaves the skin feeling tight and dehydrated. As a result, you may suddenly experience irritation from products you have been using for a long time, and the skin becomes red and inflamed.
So, how can you soothe and treat sensitive skin? Here are our top 5 tips.
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Less is More
Keeping your skincare routine simple is key to reducing inflammation and restoring your skin barrier. Choose products that are as natural as possible and say no to harsh ingredients! Forget scrubs and rough exfoliation. Always remove make-up before bed to avoid any adverse reactions. Finding a cleanser, a moisturiser and an SPF that work with your skin are the first steps in strengthening, nourishing and protecting your skin barrier for less sensitive skin.
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Cleanse the Right Way!
Firstly, do not over-cleanse! Once or twice a day is plenty. Many traditional cleansers are drying and leave skin feeling tight and uncomfortable. Instead, opt for gentle, lotion-based, fragrance-free cleansers to nourish the skin as it cleans.
Cleansing is the first and essential step in any skincare routine. Like the most delicate of silks, the skin requires a cleanser that respects its delicate nature. Cleansing should not strip the skin of its natural hydrolipidic film; instead, it should reinforce this natural protective barrier that keeps the skin soft, comfortable and never taut.
Glyco cleansing milk is the most delicate of cleansing milk, rich in glycoproteins to deeply moisturise, leaving skin clear, smooth and incredibly soft. Calendula oil adds to the skin lipid barrier to prevent dryness and keeps skin protected and functioning at its best.
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Warm not Hot
While warming up under a super hot shower every day can be tempting, the hot water strips your skin of its natural oils. This leaves it dry and irritated. Make it a lukewarm shower, and don’t stay under there for too long! Blot the skin dry with your towel rather than rub and apply a thick body moisturiser over damp skin to keep moisture locked in.
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Protect Your Skin from the Sun
If you have sensitive skin, the sun is likely to aggravate it. Wear sunscreen year-round with SPF 30 or more. As with all your products, do a skin test patch beforehand to see if any of the ingredients are irritating.
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Moisturise with Care
Sensitive skin demands a regular, maintained skincare program. Moisturise both morning and night to protect the skin from water loss. This will strengthen the skin barrier and protect the skin against the daily environmental ravages such as wind and pollution.
One of GERnetic’s most renowned creams is Cytobi.
Cytobi is a high-performance, super nourishing cream that soothes, repairs and enhances the skin’s defences by delivering essential nutrition directly to the cells. It is ideal for delicate, dry, sensitive or inflamed skins and is especially recommended for treating skin problems such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. Cytobi is not your average moisturiser – it is truly extraordinary!
GERnetic’s New Sensi Boost
GERnetic is no stranger to treating sensitive skin and providing gentle solutions to strengthen and protect the skin barrier.
With the most sensitive skins in mind, we have launched a new 2-in-1 skin ampoule.
Sensi Boost provides an immediate calming effect on sensitive, irritated, and uncomfortable skin. It reduces redness over the long term, thanks to a specific polyphenol from tomato skin and mallow extract. Sensi is also rich in Vitamin B3 and Beta Glucan, both of which reduce redness and strengthen the skin barrier.
With soothing properties, it reduces the skin’s reactivity and sensitivity, as well as feelings of irritation and discomfort. In addition, Sensi Boost has been shown to control the appearance and symptoms of rosacea and couperose.
Sensi Boost is a treatment of 7 ampoules to use morning and evening for 7 days. Ideally, you use this as a seasonal treatment; however, Sensi Boost can be used more regularly to control irritation and redness.
Sensitive skin can be extremely uncomfortable, but relief is possible with some careful tweaks to your skincare routine.
If you have sensitive skin and want to discover how GERnetic can make a difference, we highly recommend seeking advice from a beauty professional. Salons that stock GERnetic are highly trained in all our products and will be able to assess your unique skin and treat it the way it deserves.