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Sensitive Skin Triggers
Sensitive Skin Triggers...and What to Do About Them By David Steinman, from Healthy Living
Anyone who desires healthy glowing skin needs to learn to recognize their own personal trigger factors. According to surveys, 50 to 90 percent of people in the United States claim to have sensitive skin. Because only a fraction of persons with sensitive skin visit their doctor, it is understandable that dermatologists would put the figure at only about 15 to 20 percent of American adults. But in this day and age, with modern pollution, daily stress and our highly chemically laden world, it can be safely stated that most of us have sensitive skin. After all, the skin is the largest tactile organ in the human body, and it is in contact with the environment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, many consumers are persuaded by the largely unregulated, multi-billion dollar cosmetic and personal care industry to smoothen a myriad of cosmetic products on their skin daily. Many such products contain highly allergenic, sensitizing or irritating ingredients.
Common Trigger Factors
What are examples of trigger factors? For some persons, they may suffer adverse skin reactions when faced with various environmental challenges such as excess heat, cold, wind, pollution or airborne allergens (e.g., pollen and dust mites). For others, their worst trigger factors may be allergenic or irritating cosmetic ingredients. Still, for many, lifestyle challenges, including stress, emotions, and diet take an inordinate toll. Other persons may find their trigger factors are related to hormonal fluctuations or imbalances.
Understanding Sensitive Skin
Some people's skin is more sensitive because of structural differences. For example, the skin of some persons is thinner and far more delicate than other persons and has a less substantial outer barrier of lipids and natural moisturizers. This may be why populations in England, Scotland and Ireland are generally thought to have higher rates of skin sensitivity than Italy and Spain. With a thinner, smaller barrier, it is easier for external triggers to enter beyond the superficial epidermal layers and penetrate the stratum corneum or deeper layer of the skin. People with sensitive skin may also have a greater number of reactive blood vessels.
The problem is that when triggering agents continually bombard sensitive skin, this can cause premature skin aging, including loss of moisture and dryness, wrinkling, roughness, redness, and simply an unhealthy skin appearance.
Eliminating Sensitive Skin Triggers
Although the external environment cannot always be optimally controlled, you can control your home surroundings, diet, and choice of cosmetics and personal care products. Paying close attention to the following guidelines could truly help to eliminate some of the most common sensitive skin triggers: [For many persons, one of the keys to improving their skin health is to install a water filter in their shower. Chlorinated water is a very common cause of skin problems and the chlorination by-products can also be toxic systemically. In working with detoxification centres that stress shower water filtration, we have seen many persons' skin problems clear up completely. Such filters attach easily and are available at health food stores, natural product supermarkets and through various healthy living catalogues, usually at a price of about $60. Room air filtration units can also be very helpful to clear the air of dust mites and other airborne allergens. Drink at least eight glasses of pure, filtered water daily; your body's ability to detoxify will be highly enhanced. Cut out junk food. This can help immensely. Many people do not realize that common additives such as food dyes stimulate the body's inflammatory pathways. Increase consumption of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, found in seafood such as salmon and tuna, as well as flax. These foods help to minimize inflammatory processes in the body.
Cosmetic Choices Critical
It is both what cosmetics and personal care products do and do not contain that influences skin health. Some ingredients can act as triggers and adversely affect skin. Other ingredients act like "safeties," so the trigger cannot be pulled. (Next month, we will detail these beneficial ingredients.)
Common Cosmetic Ingredient Triggers
Many persons with sensitive skin seek cosmetics with "hypoallergenic" labelling. There is no legal definition for hypoallergenic, which means that manufacturers themselves are able to define this term. For many manufacturers, hypoallergenic means products without synthetic fragrance materials. Fragrance ingredients in cosmetics are a key trigger for many persons. A single fragrance may contain 600 or more different synthetic chemicals, many of which have been shown to be allergens, irritants, and sensitizers, and to also possess long-term adverse health effects. They are a leading cause of allergic sensitization and contact dermatitis among cosmetic users. Reddened skin, stinging eyes and dryness can all be caused by fragrances. Thus, elimination of fragrances goes a long way toward making cosmetics safer for persons with sensitive skin. (Natural fragrances may be safer for many persons but can also cause problems.)
Hypoallergenic cosmetics, however, often contain other important cosmetic triggers. For example, many cosmetic formulas that claim to be hypoallergenic contain formaldehyde-based preservatives. These, too, are leading causes of sensitive skin reactions. Some formaldehyde-based preservatives that you will see on cosmetic labels include imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, and DMDM hydantoin. Persons with sensitive skin may also want to avoid these ingredients. (The Aubrey Organics products contain none of these.) Instead, consumers should prefer formulations with gentle, yet effective, preservatives such as antioxidants (vitamins C and E) and citrus seed extract. These ingredients not only are less reactive to the skin, they are protective against trigger factors. Another type of preservative, known as the parabens (methyl, ethyl, butyl and propyl), may be slightly less of a problem for sensitive skin persons but is still known to cause problems in a small percentage of users.
It is also important for persons with sensitive skin to avoid harsh detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate. Not only is this ingredient a potential trigger factor, it abrades the skin, denaturing it of its protective lipid barrier, making it more penetrable. The skin's immune function may also be altered.
Following the lifestyle and dietary guidelines detailed in this report and using formulas from companies such as Aubrey Organics, Dr Hauschka, Ecco Bella, Logona, Noni of Beverly Hills and Weleda, that truly cater to persons with sensitive skin, can go a long way toward eliminating many of the most important sensitive skin trigger factors.
Sensitive Skin Symptoms
Sensitive skin may manifest itself as allergenic--or irritant-related dermatitis, acne, eczema, hives, blackheads, rosacea, or simply as nonspecific inflammatory redness (erythema), as well as dryness, stinging, itching, or blistering.