Safe Cosmetics for Hypersensitive Skin

Does your skin react badly to many different products? Does almost every single mainstream product you try cause your skin to break out or itch? If you can’t pinpoint a single type of ingredient that’s causing the problem, then it could be that you simply have hypersensitive skin.

Hypersensitive skin cannot tolerate certain ingredients in skincare, yet it requires moisture and care just as much, if not more, than other types of skin. However, there’s no need to miss out on essential skincare if your skin is deeply sensitive.

Synthetic ingredients

Parabens from the petroleum industry. Chemical preservatives that can keep a cherry looking fresh for a whole year. Do these things really belong on your face? Synthetic ingredients tend to benefit the manufacturer rather than the user. It’s cheaper to produce skincare with synthetic ingredients in and it makes the products more chemically stable. However, some skin simply will not tolerate these synthetic ingredients.

Solution: 100% pure products, with no fillers or preservatives. While this sounds simple in theory, a lot of otherwise natural products have either a synthetic filler or preservative added, to extend the shelf life or the profit margin of the product. Look for 100% organic products, rather than products with only a small percentage of organic ingredients added.

Animal ingredients

Animal based ingredients in skincare tend to slip through the net when sensitive skin sufferers examine what is causing their symptoms. This is because a lot of the time it isn’t the ingredients themselves that’s causing the problem – it’s the preservatives and fragrances necessary to keep for example beef-based ingredients in skincare and cosmetics from going off.

While it’s true that some types of animal-based ingredients can benefit skin (for example lanoline from sheep’s wool, or honey), those benefits need to be balanced against the preservatives and fragrances that also need to be included in the final product.

With so many 100% plant and mineral based ingredients now available, animal-derived ingredients have really had their day. They’re a cheap type of ingredient that are by-products of the meat industry, they are heavily refined before they end up in skincare and thankfully it’s relatively easy to avoid them.

Solution: vegan-certified skincare

While it’s now second nature to choose products free from animal testing, going further to avoid any type of animal ingredient also means you avoid the preservatives and other chemicals necessary to include them in skincare. Look for the Vegan Society logo to certify that your cosmetics are free from all meat by-products, as well as ingredients derived from eggs and milk.

Heavy perfumes

The heavenly scent of some types of skincare can draw you in, but perfume is yet another potential irritant, especially when it’s merely a marketing tool rather than the scent of a genuinely therapeutic ingredient. Many sensitive skin sufferers are surprised when they think they are allergic to or intolerant of a particularly strongly scented plant such as Frankincense, but find that their skin accepts it in a pure and diluted form, such as an essential oil in a neutral carrier oil.

Solution: choosing naturally scented products

Naturally scented products are perfumed by the ingredients themselves, rather than having a natural or synthetic perfume added to them. A high quality plant-based serum or balm should smell strongly of the active ingredients, but won’t necessarily irritate your skin in the same way a strong-smelling imitation of a high quality balm will. Look for 100% botanical ingredients and essential oils on the label.

EarthZest products

Our 100% organic products were created for people with extremely sensitive skin, who can’t tolerate mainstream skincare. Using highly concentrated botanical ingredients, we create preservative and paraben-free balms and oils, with absolutely no synthetic ingredients or fillers. We're certified by The Vegan Society and used by models, actors and performers with sensitive skin, as well as customers the world over. We'll help you find the answer to your sensitive skincare issues, as we understand how demoralising it is to have highly reactive skin. You can check out our blog and follow us on social media for more sensitive skincare tips, or feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

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