Skin sensitivity is a hot topic as brands report increased demand for help coping with redness, prickling, stinging and skin that is quick to react to heat, UV, and topical products.
Countless internal and external factors can trigger sensitivity. Genetics can be responsible for the likes of rosacea, but this and other redness and sensitivity can also be triggered by hormones, lifestyle or environmental factors.
This can be as simple as UV exposure on your skin, pollen exposure or having to constantly adapt to a change in temperatures and dryness as a result of swapping between winter indoor heating and cold and windy outdoors.
It’s why at this time of year you might need to seek out nourishing, caring formulas that help re-establish skin’s healthy state and rebuild its natural protective moisture barrier.
Having regularly battled roscaea for years, fighting to keep redness under control and protect warm flushing skin from the elements, there are a few go-to products I reach for. They’re usually pharmacy brands with a bland but coddling formulation that is like a soothing blanket for angry skin
Soothe and hydrate: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+; Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protection Cream; Ren Evercalm Redness Relief Serum; Murad Cellular Hydration Repair Mask
If your skin is feeling tight, sore, hot or sensitive, try a mini reset where you lay off the treatment serums and active ingredients for a few days and concentrate simply on gentle but deep hydration.
Try layering a hyaluronic acid serum with a moisturiser full of reparative ceramides.
Look for simple skincare for sensitive skin like products from Avène, CeraVe or La Roche-Posay you can find at the pharmacy without added fragrance or strong ingredients.
Gentle and calming: Paula’s Choice Rescue & Repair Intensive Moisturiser; CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser; Tower 28 Daily Rescue Facial Spray; Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream; Dr.Jart+ Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment
For ongoing care for sensitivity, Dermalogica’s UltraCalming range is a Godsend. The Stabilizing Repair Cream in particular is a barrier-repairing moisturiser that helps improve sensitive skin (the brand says it works within one week) by helping skin produce more of its own ceramides, or natural oils found within the skin. It contains soothing Cica and a botanical blend that relieves symptoms like itching, redness, and dryness.
If skin sensitivity is ongoing, it may be worth keeping a diary and noting down when redness, skin flushing or sensitivity occurs to identify potential triggers like certain foods, drinks, the weather, or stress. Seeking advice from a skin professional or dermatologist will then help you devise a plan of care going forward for your skin.
One incredibly important step is to wear SPF every day. Skin that has sensitivities may have a damaged barrier, and SPF is crucial to ensuring further skin damage is avoided.
I like the liquid Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50+ Face Fluid Drops from Bondi Sands to wear under makeup each day.
