Sensitive Skin or Sensitized Skin?
Eliminating Skin Sensitivity While Simultaneously Delivering Results.
Many people complain of skin sensitivity, redness, irritation, and inflammation with the use of skin care products and professional spa services; leaving the aesthetician and client alike stumped in absolute frustration. How can skin conditions such as acne, rosacea, and symptoms of aging be relieved or reversed if the client cannot tolerate most products geared toward treating these problems?
If you want to deliver results that will ultimately create trust, loyalty, and positive treatment outcomes; there are just three simple rules to follow:
Rule #1 - Eliminate Irritants (not actives)
Rule #2 - Reduce Inflammation + Promote Balance
Rule #3 - Activate Balance + Benefits with Clean Skin Formulas and Professional Treatments
Get Savvy
Most skincare formulas available both over the counter and exclusively to the skin care professional contain unnecessary ingredients that attribute to skin sensitivities, irritation, and inflammation that further exacerbate conditions like acne, rosacea, sensitive mature skin.
Get familiar with these ingredient “No-No’s” and ask your client to bring their toiletry bag with them to their consultation for careful inspection. Use this opportunity to educate your client, and demonstrate a step-by-step plan to aid in the success of their personal skincare goals.
If you recognize a potentially irritating ingredient, point it out; and suggest that the client discontinue the product. Ingredients that have been shown to increase skin sensitivity and may contribute to underlying inflammation include DEA, TEA, Parabens, alcohol, fragrances, dyes, and the ingredients responsible for foaming bubbles; sodium lauryl sulfate/sodium laureth sulfate.
Activate Positive Benefits: In the Treatment Room
Begin treating your sensitive skin client with moderate to light pressure, and only gentle refining cremes; rather than more assertive skin peels. If the client is seeking relief from symptoms associated with acne, rosacea, and/or aging, you will need to become more assertive with each treatment to obtain a remarkable change; however, you must do this gradually as the skin becomes better acclimated to the active ingredients intended to treat the skin condition. If you are using a brand of skincare products in your treatment room that is results driven and simultaneously harsh, it may be wise to look for an additional or replacement skincare line
which offers formulas that are at once, free of the above-mentioned “no-no’s”, PLUS contain results driven active ingredients. Simply using an “organic/natural” line is unlikely to meet your client’s expectations, as they often calm the skin but provide little benefit to acne, rosacea and aging symptoms. If you want to win big for your sensitive skinned client’s, you’ll need to marry the two philosophies; in order to eliminate skin sensitivity while simultaneously delivering results.
Heal + Balance
The use of ingredients such as L-Bisabolol can contribute to a reduction of inflammation, and naturally derived surfactants in cleansers can aid in achieving a healthy balance. Veritas Bioactives Patented Inclusion Complex A technology is the first retinoid tolerated by sensitive skinned individuals and has even demonstrated an ability to reduce inflammation at the genetic level through two-gene panel analysis. This technology performs closest to a prescription strength tretinoin without a prescription. You can find the Patented Inclusion Complex-A in the following Veritas Bioactive products: Iconic Corrective A Complex, and newly launched A3 BioRetinoid. Benefits include a reduction of wrinkles and acne, reduction of pigmentation (melanogenesis) for an evener skin tone. An increase in youthful looking collagen production; and best yet, is that it is delivered corrective results safe for all sensitive skin types.
NO-NO INGREDIENT OVERVIEW
- SLS/SLES - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- TEA - (Triethanolomine) - “a number of short-term side effects associated with triethanolamine. Allergic reactions are common and can cause watery or itchy eyes, brittle or dry hair, and itchy skin. In the long term, this chemical can cause damage to the skin that includes scaling, blisters, and a burning sensation when the products are applied.”
- DEA - (diethanolamine) - According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), "There is sufficient evidence of a carcinogenic effect of N-nitrosodiethanolamine -- ." (1) IARC recommends that NDEA should be treated as if it were a carcinogen in humans.
- Parabens
- Fragrance
- Dyes (artificial colors)
References:
http://www.thedermreview.com/triethanolamine/