Our culture views sensitivity as weakness, but what if our sensitivity was actually the source of our greatest strength?
This is true for skin—sensitive skin is communicative skin. It’s skin that tells you what it needs in the form of redness, irritation, pimples, dullness, and texture changes.
Our skin is the permeable boundary between us and the world. When we tune into it, we get the amazing opportunity to fortify it for the future.
So, what are your sensitivities saying to you? Let’s decode a few of the most common skin responses.
Redness + Irritation
Redness and irritation can occur as the result of climate, stress, hormone changes, rosacea, eczema, or even your products. If you experience these symptoms, the first thing to do is to give your skin a break: Pare down your routine to only the simplest essentials (cleanser, toner, lotion) and eliminate any products that contain fragrance or essential oils. These are the best essential oil free products we make for sensitive skin.
For immediate relief, pump on a generous layer of Chamomile Yarrow Gel Toner. This super-soother cools hotly irritated skin, reduces redness, and promotes skin cell turnover. It contains no essential oils, but has healing plant hydrosols of chamomile, yarrow, and lavender instead, plus soothing aloe leaf juice. It’s like a cool washcloth for your face that you can wear all day long. Apply it as often as needed.
Dryness
Here’s a common sensitive skin cycle: skin gets aggressively cleansed, which leads to dryness, which causes itching and redness, which leads to more washing, and more drying, and on and on. Break the cycle by paying close attention first to how you cleanse.
For very dry skin, we recommend our Lemon Rose Cleansing Oil. This is the gentlest, least drying cleanser you can use on your face. Apply to dry skin, then wipe off gently with a damp washcloth. You only need to cleanse at night. In the morning, just rinse several times with water.
After cleansing, build healing moisture layers with Aloe Rose All Over Lotion followed by Rosehip Chia Face Oil. At night, do all of the above, plus add a moisture-locking layer of Rosehip Shea Skin Cream. Sleep on a towel and wake up to skin that is supple, soft, and comfortable, because it’s got enough moisture. You can also spot-moisturize dry patches and/or the delicate under-eye area with Chamomile Myrrh Repair Balm or Rosebud All Over Balm.
Combination Skin
The trick with combination skin is to use products that balance oil production, which even out skin’s responses on the different areas of the face. With any skin type, including combo skin, it’s important not to cleanse aggressively. Washing too much or with products that are too harsh will dry out skin and send it in an oil overproduction spiral.
Feed combo skin balancing plant hydrosols with Geranium Palmarosa Face Toner followed by a balancing oil, like Juniper Carrot Seed Face Oil. This oil is nongreasy and will not cause breakouts. When skin absorbs this nutritious oil, it becomes less “anxious” and less likely to overproduce oil in “trouble spots.” Apply Spot Serum to any pimples (or burgeoning pimples), which heals them typically overnight, without overdrying.
Climate Stress
Our skin faces the elements all day and night, and increasingly, it faces more pollution and stronger UVA and UVB rays than ever before. Protect skin from climate stress by adding a layer of antioxidants that will strengthen the skin barrier and fight free radicals. Our Rosehip Chia Face Oil was designed to do just that. Think of it as a protective layer between you and the world.
Exfoliate 1–2 times a week to encourage new skin cells to grow and to shed those that have been deadened by poor air quality and pollution. And never leave home without a layer of sunscreen. It’s important, no matter the weather.
Find our complete sensitive lineup here.
Written By Vera Kachouh