What is sensitive skin?

Dr. Sylvie Peres: Several types of sensitive skin exist. Some are associated with pathologies such as atopy, a chronic inflammatory skin disease due to an excessive immune response and a deficiency of the skin barrier, which becomes dry and porous. It is characterized by persistent, intense itching, redness, and recurrent skin lesions in the form of eczema with microvesicles. Contact eczema is often associated with atopy but can also occur in isolation. The microvesicular and pruritic eczema patches occur where the allergen is applied, but with a delay. This happens, for example, on the neck from perfume, on the navel from the nickel in a jeans button, or on the earlobe from earrings...

What are the sensitizing factors?

These feelings of discomfort often manifest due to external factors:

- physical: heat, cold, wind, friction, sun...

- chemical: irritating cosmetics, tap water (chlorine, limescale), petrochemical detergents, pollution, tobacco...

- psychological: stress, emotions...

- hormonal: menstrual cycle

The sun regulates immunity and can calm eczema, but it is drying and damages sensitive skin.

In severe, resistant forms, an allergist assessment will be used to look for allergens.

A 3-step ritual:

Cleanse

Use cold-processed soap in the shower for the body and face. Natural soaps are less aggressive and less drying than shower gels, and they help rebalance the bacterial flora. Be sure to choose a superfatted soap with an organic formulation and made using the cold-process saponification method to preserve all the benefits of vegetable oils and glycerin.

For makeup removal:

Use a vegetable oil. Be careful, however, to choose organic, cold-pressed virgin oils. These have a high affinity with the cell walls of the epidermis and help preserve them, unlike petrochemical mineral oils. Be wary of micellar water, which does not cleanse deeply enough and alters our hydrolipidic film.

Finally, an essential step to protect your sensitive skin and reduce irritation is rinsing. Tap water is very irritating to the skin because it is concentrated in limescale and chlorine. It therefore attacks the skin's barriers. It is highly recommended to always rinse your face with highly pure spring water that is low in minerals and uncontaminated by pollution or any other external factor.

Moisturize

Morning and evening, moisturize your skin to soothe irritation. But it is important to choose a facial treatment adapted to your skin type, i.e., a cream for sensitive skin that is fragrance-free and allergen-free. Therefore, choose a moisturizing cream based on soothing vegetable oils and calming, anti-inflammatory natural active ingredients.

Protect and correct

Protecting your skin by renewing the cellular process is necessary. You must create a shield to prevent your skin from facing external aggressions head-on. Don't forget sunscreen in the summer, of course, but also during long winter walks or in the mountains. It protects you from bad weather and dryness, so your tan will last longer and your complexion will be more radiant. Organic hydrating masks are an ally for sensitive skin.

In atopy, it has been shown that the skin microbiota is depleted, with a prevalence of pathogenic staphylococcus on eczema patches. We currently have few ways to regulate the skin microbiota, however, it is possible to act at the intestinal level, which is linked to the skin. This is also true for sensitive or intolerant skin. This will be done through probiotics and, if necessary, gut flora testing.

Dietary aspects

It is advisable to limit foods that are factors for low-grade inflammation: red meat, gluten, sugar, lactose. More than ever, eat fresh, organic, seasonal fruits and vegetables with every meal. For the summer, foods rich in carotenoids (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, beets, tomatoes, chlorella and spirulina microalgae) promote the synthesis of the melanin shield. Following the seasons means a change in diet every 6 months, which is excellent for keeping your liver in shape. It is good to favor foods rich in soothing and "from within" moisturizing omega-3s (rapeseed, flax, camelina, walnut oil, and small fatty fish like sardines and anchovies...) and dried legumes (soaked for 24 hours before cooking) to rebalance the microbiota and provide a good intake of vitamin B.

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