The Sunday Sensitivity Edition (or "Getting the Red Out: Part 1")
Most people I know can use pretty much any decent skin cleanser, treatment, moisturizer, etc. and be fine with it. Their face soaks it up, takes it in and moves on through the rest of the day without a hitch. If this describes you, then cherish the time you don't have to spend thinking about what you're slapping on your skin. You'll never know the accumulated waste of hours, days, weeks, months and years spent cleaning, wiping, masking and scrambling for damage control.
There is, however, a small subsection of people (mutants?) who can barely waft a jar of cleanser past their faces without some kind of screaming, irritated, itching, blotchy reaction that spreads like a plague across their complexion. To those poor huddled masses, I say -- I feel your pain!
I'm not certain why my facial skin is especially sensitive, but just the act of shaving is a huge irritation, and as I've grown older, that, plus other issues, have become more severe to the point that I've had to start searching out special products to deal with the breakouts and irritations caused by simply waking up in the morning and breathing.
I tried the whole holding my breath until I pass out solution, but it only made me late for work.
Below are a few products for sensitive skin that I've experimented with, to mostly negative results (i.e. I took the bullet for you . . . and payback is h*ll). These products claim to be specially formulated for sensitive skin, with several of them meant to combat redness and irritation, specifically. One thing to keep in mind is that just because some of these products didn't work for me, doesn't mean they won't work for you. This is just an FYI post from one battle-weary, sensitive soul to another -- if you have the skin of a poet, you know just what I mean.
Two products that many have found success with, but that didn't work at all for me, are from the DermaDoctor line: their Born to Be Mild Cleanser and the Calm, Cool and Corrected moisturizer.
If you go to Amazon and search under the product names, you'll find a lot of very satisfied comments from equally satisfied consumers, with a few naysayers here and there. Unfortunately, I have to plant my flag in the naysayer soil. This cleanser and corrector did not soothe or clear up my skin, but just exacerbated the very issues they were meant to clear up. I used it for a number of days in a row to give the product a chance to do its thing, but my skin just grew more and more blotchy and irritated, accompanied by an outbreak of acne -- precisely what I was trying to avoid.
I also tested out the Skyn Iceland The Antidote daily lotion and the Kinerase Clear Skin Treatment serum.
I used the Kinerase once, and despite its claim of being noncomedogenic, my facial reaction was so negative (blotchy, irritated redness) that I didn't have the courage to use it again.
Skyn Iceland bills itself as a line of products that are "solutions for stressed skin" -- The Antidote is described as "a lightweight hydrating lotion for chronically stressed skin. It goes on with a cooling burst to decongest, detoxify and stabilize skin, returning it to its natural fresh and healthy state. With daily use, skin is fortified and protected from the ravages of stress."
For my face, this couldn't have been any further from the truth. The lotion is extremely "cooling" only in that it feels very much like patting a layer of full-on peppermint mixed with chili peppers all over my face, and with about the same results -- wherever the lotion was applied, I turned beet red and remained beet red for about four hours, after which the redness started to fade, leaving behind an itchy, uncomfortable sensation.
I tested the lotion four times, but with worsening results each time.
Next up: Ole Henriksen.
My older sister has been battling rosacea for several years, and recently started to use a few products in the Ole Henriksen line that she says work well for her. I was particularly interested in the Blue/Blackberry Enzyme Mask that's intended to calm the skin, soothe irritation and clear up redness and breakouts ("Anti-inflammatory, reparative and renewing" says the website). I used the mask three times with not so great results. The third time was the bad luck charm, causing so much irritation that I had to discontinue its use entirely.
Below is a photo of my face with the mask on. You can see that I'm breaking out in blotchy rashes even as the so-called "reparative" mask is still on my face:
It was also extremely drying, I might add. My face was nearly screaming for moisture after I rinsed the mask off, hence my trial usage of the Henriksen Nurture Me moisturizing lotion (from the Ole Henriksen website: "helps calm, protect & hydrate sensitive skin with this wonderfully calming creme that literally melts into the skin").
"Ha!" I say. One use was all that my skin needed in order to draw up and sign its very own declaration of nuclear war against Nurture Me, so out it went.
I can, however, recommend the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave for men. It's the best shaving product I've yet used, and doesn't irritate my skin the way most shaving creams/lotions tend to do.
***Note: This turned out to not be true at all -- see below update for a photo of the damage that the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave product did to my skin.
But two more swings and misses -- Cosmedicine Hydra-Healer (blotchiness and itchy-scratchy hell) and Kiehl's Blue Herbal moisturizer (again, more blotchiness and itchy scratchy hell, plus acne breakouts):
My only other successes so far (beyond the Henriksen Clean Shave) have been with the Kate Somerville brand. I picked up the Detox Daily Cleanser, the Clearing Mask and the Anti Bac Clearing lotion.
The Anti Bac lotion is extremely drying , so I don't use it very much even though it's highly effective in combating acne breakouts, but the Detox Daily Cleanser and the Clearing Mask, used together, have done wonders. I still, however, need to find a moisturizer that won't cause the equivalent of the L.A. riots to break out across my face.
"Can't we all just get along?" is perhaps my daily morning cry as I'm washing, rinsing and despairing.
But for right now, I'm making do with the Clinique Redness Solutions cream as a daily moisture provider -- it doesn't cause huge irritations to spread across my face, and while there's probably something better I could find, it doesn't leave me feeling greasy, itchy and uncomfortable, so I can live with it for now.
I have a Kate Somerville moisturizer on its way in the mail, and perhaps that will actually be just what I need without feeling like I'm settling for the lesser of evils. Once the Kate Somerville moisturizer shows up, I'll do another post with more information on the brand, and how its continued use works (or doesn't work) for my skin.
Thank you for tuning in. Hypersensitivity man is logging out.
UPDATE:
Those nice things I said about the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave product? I take them all back:
Kids, don't try this at home!
I am presently in itchy, scratchy hell. I've never had my skin react so badly to a shaving product in my life.
In fact, all three Ole Henriksen items I tried, the Blue/Blackberry Mask, the Nurture Me cream and the Clean Shave product -- all turned out to be the most damaging, skin-irritating items that I tested.
21 Comments
Hi Nathan,
I too have very sensitive skin and my cleansing routine usually consists of Cetaphil Cleansing Gel and a drugstore moisturizer called Complex 15. However, I was recently introduced to Trish McEvoy Gentle Cleansing Lotion. I was nervous to try it but lately the Cetaphil has been making my face a bit dry, so I begrudgingly tried the the Trish cleanser and I was shocked! It works beautifully and I experienced no irritation whatsoever. I have been using it now for over 2 weeks and my facial skin is no longer dry or irritated. It has a built in moisturizer in it but does not leave a greasy feeling or buildup. So get you butt over to the Trish McEvoy counter and see if they will give you a nice sample size (enough for at least 3 washes) and keep me posted.
On a sidenote, I do have a mild case of rosacea on my cheeks and when it flares up, my cheeks turn bright red, but my dermatologist and I have been treating the rosacea with V-Beam Laser treatments over the course of a year and a half and that laser is a miracle. I only go now every 6 months or 2x's a year, vs 4 times a year. It pretty much controls the redness.
As for the moisturizer I mentioned (complex 15) you can pick it up at your local drugstore. It's super lightweight and can be used daily - day or night.
And do check in with the Kate Somerville and how it ends up working for you.
From one hypersensitive skin person to another...
hang in there!
Oh one more thing.... I cannot use chemical sunscreens on my face because they turn me red and itchy. Could that be a culprit for you also if you are using sunscreens?
~Dawn
said:
Hey Dawn! I can't do sunscreens period. Every single one of them is like a time-bomb on my skin. I spend most of my days indoors anyway, so the sun is not really a problem, but when I do have to go out in the sun, I grit my teeth and slather something on my face, then wash it off as soon as I return home (or vacate the direct reach of sunlight).
I'll definitely check out the Trish McEvoy gentle cleansing lotion! have a terrible problem with being both dry and oily at the same time -- excruciatingly dry without moisturizer, excessively oily with moisturizer -- so I have to find a cleanser that provides the relief from cracking, flaking and itching without leaving my face looking like the Exxon Valdez capsized across it. The Kate Somerville cleanser is great (non-irritating), but it leaves my face feeling parched, and I'd prefer something that didn't dry me out quite so excessively.
Like I mentioned, the Clinique Redness cream is doing a semi-decent moisturizing job, and while my skin doesn't love it, it doesn't overtly hate it either, so I'm hanging in there with it until I can find something better as a replacement. I'll check out the Complex 15 you mentioned. Thank you!
I've been curious about the Clinique Redness line but I have had issues with all things Clinique. You are the first person I know to be using it.
I wanted to mention a shave gel you may want to try if you haven't alreday. It's Zirh Shave Gel and it's an aloe vera based gel. Good stuff. Hubby uses it on his face and I use it for my legs. It helps to soothe irritated skin, so you may want to try this in conjunction with your cleansers and moisturizers. Here's the link:
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P5892&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5342
I have another question for you. Do you also react to organic type cleansers that have a ton of plant extracts in them, ie: Jurlique? Those kinds of skincare lines are my worst enemy. I get patches of eczema or contact dermatitis when I use them. Synthetics only please. ;0
said:
I picked up a travel size Clinique Redness kit for my sister, and she had success with it, which made me think that perhaps the moisturizer might work for me -- and it does, mostly. At least, it works better for me than anything else I've yet tried.
My sister also mentioned that she started using the Clinique Redness Solutions loose powder for her face, and she loves it. Says it works terrific for her and doesn't inflame her rosacea issues whatsoever, so you might want to look into that if you're in the market for a loose face powder that won't irritate your skin.
And yes, the more natural ingredients a moisturizer or cleanser contains, the worse it seems to be for my skin. The Ole Henriksen moisturizer caused me to react badly, and it trumpeted its natural ingredients list from the rooftops. The Skyn moisturizer was nearly lethal for my complexion, and . . . again, lots of natural ingredients.
Clinique doesn't try to pretend to be natural, and it turned out to be the best choice as a moisturizer so far. The same for the Kate Somerville line as a whole -- there are natural ingredients in the formula, but they're surrounded by plenty of synthetics and it seems to be the best line for me for cleansing. So I completely hear you in that regard. I've gone down that "Just rub some aloe vera on your face and it's great!" path before, and it couldn't have been a worse idea for me.
I'm really happy with my Ole Henriksen Clean Shave product, and when I find something that works, I try and stick with it. I'll keep the Zirh in mind in case the Henriksen stops working properly for me. Thanks for the tip.
Hi Nathan, I feel your pain!
I'm surprised you have occasional acne since your skin looks peaches-and-cream to me from the pictures. I wonder if you get allergic hives the way I do. I have oily skin and get normal zits from time to time (which Differin takes care of when I remember to fill my prescription) but I get a very special kind of itchy painful deep cysts when I wear wool or accidentally use a product containing lanolin. So maybe you are lucky enough to be allergic to something in these high end products.
I've had really good luck with Mario Badescu: http://www.mariobadescu.com/ - if you fill out their survey they will send you samples of the products they think you will like. Their healing powder is very calming when my skin is inflamed, but it may be too drying for you. I also like the Clinique Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector as a primer instead of makeup or moisturizer - it's basically a silicone gel that soaks up oil and is non-irritating. It may also be too drying, but you may end up preferring it to a moisturizer.
You have ALL my sympathy. I'm not quite that sensitive, though anything with hydroxy acids is a get-thee-behind-me-Satan sort of situation and I have been looking my whole life for something that left me neither dry nor oily, non-red, and unbroken out. I think I found it - been using the same products since early December and my skin is fantastic. Not dry, not irritated, not oily, not broken out. Just clear and good.
You know what I am using? Soap. I know, it shocked me too.
If you want to check it out, you start with a skin questionnaire http://www.daybreaklavenderfarm.com/beautifulskin4me2/profile.html
I feel your pain Nathan. I did as much research as I could on the topic, and came down to this - the more boring the product, the better it works for me. Generic cleansers like Cetaphil do wonders for my skin, as does a yawn-worth moisturizer like CeraVe Lotion or Complex 15. The only product from Clinique's redness line that was remotely useful for me was the sunscreen...although a bit scary at first due to the colour (looks like wasabi to me), it doesn't irritate at all.
Retin-A also does wonders...although the first few months of using it are hellish, the results are amazing.
said:
Abi -- I'm sitting here typing this with an allergic-hives reaction on my face right now. I think it was the Henriksen Mask. At least, I'm hoping it was the Henriksen Mask, because that's the product I've kicked out of my regimen -- the last time I used it was yesterday, and I made certain to slather it over my whole face and down my neck. Big mistake. My neck and cheeks are blotchy red and itch like a m**********r!
So, yeah, my issues have a lot to do with sensitivities to certain ingredients in products (I wish I knew which ingredients those would be) and/or being allergic to practically everything more than, say, something like actual rosacea, but the sensitivities also go hand in hand with basic oil and acne problems, so it's a bit of a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" situation. I also can't let wool near my skin (unless, it's the softest of cashmeres . . . natch), break out into rashes with the use of most sunscreens, etc.
Thanks for the link to the Badescu site. I'll go check it out post-haste! I'm fine with trying out samples of new products, though there always that little bit of trepidation involved: "Is this going to screw up my skin, cause rashes and itching and make my life miserable for several days, or is it actually going to be something that works and that I can use for the rest of my life?"
Decisions, decisions . . .
said:
Juno -- I would love to be able to use just soap. I've gone that route and wound up so dry and irritated that someone may as well have taken a roll of sandpaper to my face and scrubbed out every molecule of moisture from existence. Which means that I then needed an even more potent moisturizer, and the whole hellish merry go round just kept on spinnin'.
So my search for something extremely simple and gentle continues.
But I'm checking out skin questionnaire anyway, though anything that has "lavender" in its name is bound to be a no-go for me. Lavender is the kiss of death for my face, and don't get me started on witch-hazel. It works as a cleanser/toner for 99% of the population, and guess which percentage I fall into . . . ?
As Dawn mentioned earlier, I love the incorporation of as many natural products as possible in just about everything (cleaning products, perfume, fabrics, etc.), I just can't use a high concentration of them on my face. Thank god I was born in the 20th century.
said:
Dane -- after this last bout with both expensive and inexpensive products, the ones I found that have done the most damage have been the most exotic and expensive. And while I've been saying that the Clinique Redness Solution moisturizer works on me, it's usefulness is limited, and it may actually have run its course already.
I'm going to check out the Complex 15 that both you and Dawn have mentioned, and also see about a simple Cetaphil cleanser. I'd like to stay away from Retin-A if at all possible, but might turn to it if my skin issues stay as wildly see-sawing as they have been lately.
I hate getting older. I mean, I love getting older in that it's good to finally have some small bit of sanity about how to get through daily life (as opposed to the crazy inappropriate behavior that inexperience often breeds), but just when I feel like I'm getting a little better of a grip on the whole "Oh, so this is life!" thing, my body increases its rate of deterioration.
I mean, c'mon -- is it really necessary to demolish the building while I'm still inside?!!
Nathan,
Wow. You have my sympathy.
The only things I can suggest are: for shaving - you have something that works already, but I've heard from others who like Zirh, and I've tried the Philosphy shave product (razor sharp?) and found it decent for what it does (silicone for extra slip). But these days I'm going the brush-and-straight razor route with good results, and really like the Provence Sante soap: lots of shea butter and a soft linden scent. In other words: boring, but steady. The razor, though, takes some practice and can still scrape like mad on bad mornings.
Mrs. T uses a white gloppy moisturizer called Vani-cream - she gets it from the compounding pharmacy: they use it as a base for prescription creams. It works for her, which is really nice since she's allergic to lanolin.
said:
Thomas -- you showed up just in time. I woke up this morning to a terrible rash that seems to have been caused by the Ole Henriksen shaving gel I was using (see post update above, with squirm inducing photo!). I'm now in itchy, scratchy hell, and likely will be for days, as I wait for this present allergic reaction to calm down and go away.
So I quick put in an order for the Zirh shave gel that both you and Dawn mentioned. Hopefully, that will do the job I need without initiating major skin irritation.
Good lord. Before I checked the photo I was curious whether there might be some razor burn in there, but no luck.
!!! I just realized this... Kiss my Face is supposed to be fine as well (try Vitamin shoppe, and get unscented), BUT there are guys who shave with warm water and oil - like olive oil. Some wetshavers then put their lather over the oil, but there are some who don't bother with the soap/creams. If olive oil doesn't irritate you - try this route:
Hot shower, soak your face.
Hot damp towels on your face for a few minutes to soften the beard.
A light layer of olive oil,
a soft touch on the razor, and whatever you do, don't re-scrape an area without reapplying oil or lather.
Good luck!
Zoiks!!!
I have absolutely nothing useful to contribute to this discussion, except that I am so sorry... You really *do* go the extra mile to get the story, don't you?
And Thomas...I am cringe laughing...shea butter and a soft linden scent sound, well, nice to me. Of course, I'm the one who found that I liked PdN Temps d'Une Fete, which Nathan here summarized as --what did you say?-- "oh.so.pretty"? So true...so...true....
Ah, well...I can smack galbanum around with the best of 'em.
said:
Thomas -- you're telling me this NOW?!! But rest assured, I'm writing this down and will likely stick my head in a vat of olive oil before I go anywhere near a razor again. And no rescraping (which is a terrible habit of mine -- the proof is in the pudding).
I've noticed recently a number of "pre-shave" products on the market, and that's something that I should have been doing all along. The whole reason for switching shaving lotions in the first place was because I was experiencing mild irritation -- well, you can now use me as the posterboy for jumping from the frying pan and into the fire.
Shelley -- I'll cop to taking the bullet on this one. I'm sitting here in itchy agony so that you don't ever have to. ;)
None of the stuff I use from them has lavender in it, it's just how they got their start I think?
And ditto with soap and skin dryness in the past, though again, not as severe as yours. For their sensitive skin line they make a creamy milder-than-soap thing I think.
Happy to sample you up if I have anything they recommend for you.....
The only Badescu product I ever tried made me feel like I'd sandpapered my face - but I know people swear by them. Cetaphil did nothing for me except give me occasional enormous pimples - but it has a huge and happy following.
It's all about your personal skin quirks. Frustration.
As I slide up to 40, the further I get from fancy lab stuff, the happier my face is. And re: Thomas - when I started using grapeseed oil instead of soap or shaving cream, all of a sudden I stopped getting razor rash and cuts on my legs.
Good luck -
(Also, I love how skin care brings us all out.)
said:
Funny you should mention that about Cetaphil. I read copious praise about the DermaDoctor pairing of Born to Be Mild and Calm, Cool and Corrected, but all it did for me is give me big pimples.
No No No!
I'll take a look at their sensitive skin soap, though I'm also going to grab the Grapeseed Oil we have out of the kitchen cupboard and take it upstairs to my shaving sink. Tara had mentioned before about using Grapeseed oil rather than a cream, so perhaps it might be something that will work well for me.
Maybe I can actually post some photos soon of a decent recovery from the recent damage . . . ?
And I did notice with some amusement that it's the "Woe is my skin!" post that brought us all together to commiserate.
said:
Oy! I am so sorry about your neck. You are a trooper in the name of face care!
I also find that as much as I love plants in nature, my face prefers pure lab grade chemicals, free from the little bits of protein that my immune system's antibodies find so appealing. For face wash, my oily skin hates almost everything but loves Johnson's Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser, $4.99 at CVS. They make an unscented version for sensitive skin which is also excellent. Pure lab grade solvents. No botanicals, no plant essences, no vitamins, no benzoyl peroxide, no enzymes, no fruit acids, just chemicals, sweet chemicals.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance, PEG-150 Distearate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Quaternium-15, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauroampho PG-Acetate Phosphate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Water
I hear great things about Cetaphyl, but it doesn't remove enough oil for my taste so J&J it is.
Many moisturizers give me hives, and as much as I love Differin, my cousin just has a bad reaction starting out with Differin. There's a week of expected drying and irritation (their old ad from the '90s features a rap with the lines "scratchy scratchy itchy itchy's how you know it's doing its job!") so you might want to wait a while before trying them.
said:
"as much as I love plants in nature, my face prefers pure lab grade chemicals" -- LOL! I think I'm right there with you on that one. For the longest time, I was under the impression that the more natural ingredients in a product, the better it was going to be for my skin, but I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that this is SO not the case for me.
Manmade all the way!
I have several different products on order right now -- suggestions from all the various commenters, and thank you! -- but if none of those work, the J&J cleanser you mentioned is next on the list. Thanks for taking the time to make the recommendation.
said:
Perhaps you could try my technique of just rinsing with water, and using a bit of jojoba oil for moisture when needed. Everything else seemed to strip and irritate my skin, so far this regime of just water and a bit of oil is working wonders.
said:
I'm pretty open to a lot of suggestions about right now. Kathryn pointed me in the direction of the Dr. Hauschka brand, and I'm going to give that a try as the Kate Somerville line, while working brilliantly for about two weeks, now appears to be too much for my skin to handle.
This has been a very educational process for me, and I'm glad I mentioned what I was going through on this blog, as all the feedback has been enormously helpful.
Things I learned:
1.) Natural skin oils are not the evil culprit I'd been led to believe.
2.) In my attempts to "correct" the irritations and issues with my skin, I was doing too much and going too far -- this only made things worse. Less is more when it comes to skin irritation, so your simple water and oil suggestion is sounding more sane by the minute. In fact, I put grapeseed oil on my face today to counteract an almost painful dryness and flakiness left over from the allergic reaction over the weekend. It seems to be working wonders so far.
3.) Correcting treatments and serums are, almost without fail, a terrible idea. It didn't matter what moisturizing mask I used, what cooling serum, what detoxifying cleanser, what anti-redness solution -- I was left worse off than when I started.
4.) Thomas' (and I think Dawn's) suggestion of layering shaving lotion over olive or grapeseed oil is a big success for me. The extra layer of protection it provides really tamps down on the inflammation and irritation I used to experience from just the daily act of shaving.
The web links that were provided from several commenters also provided a welcome source of information, so all in all, while the experience was painful and brain-dazingly uncomfortable, I feel like I came out way ahead in the information and future prevention departments on this one.
It's nice to not be flailing around in the dark anymore. Besides, it was getting *really* expensive to keep buying all these products that I simply wound up giving away or tossing in the trash.
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