Do certain cosmetic products or items of jewellery cause you to come out in rashes? If so, it’s likely that you have sensitive skin. If that’s the case, check these beauty tips for sensitive skin!

Sensitive skin is something that usually cannot be cured, which means that you have to find a way of living with it. This could mean making permanent changes to your beauty regime and the way you look.

Fortunately, there are lots of products out there catered for those with sensitive skin. Below are just a few beauty tips that could come in use.

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Work out what’s causing flare-ups

It’s likely that a specific ingredient or material is causing you to develop rashes or hives. Once you know what this trigger substance is, you can take steps to avoid it.

Sometimes the cause may be obvious such as a specific type of metal like gold. In other cases, it could be an obscure ingredient within makeup. There are also cases where it could be a whole range of substances causing a reaction.

You can develop skin conditions at any age. This can be frustrating – especially if you one day become allergic to a product you’ve worn every day of your life. 

Allergies aren’t the only cause of sensitive skin. Irritant contact dermatitis, eczema and rosacea are other conditions that may cause you to have sensitivity to seemingly random substances on certain days, while possibly suffering no reaction on other days.

In these cases, you may not be able to avoid certain substances and the best solution may be working out treatment to counter sensitivity such as using prescription drugs, using specific moisturisers or reducing stress.

Getting a medical diagnosis is recommended. A doctor may be able to recommend you to a dermatologist who will help you to pinpoint the exact condition that you are suffering from, as well as the specific triggers that may cause a skin reaction.

A patch test is one common test that is carried out to diagnose allergy triggers. This involves putting tiny amounts of various substances on your skin and seeing which ones result in allergy symptoms. 

Once a dermatologist has diagnosed your condition, the two of you may be able to work together to find the best form of treatment. This could be a simple case of avoiding certain triggers or it could be a case of taking medication to reduce and prevent flare-ups. 

Shop around for hypoallergenic products

If your sensitive skin is the result of an allergy and you’ve been unsuccessful at pinpointing the exact triggers, it could be worth sticking to products that are designed to be ‘hypoallergenic’. Such products are made using ingredients that are rarely found to cause allergies, making them a relatively safe option.

There are lots of hypoallergenic makeup and skincare products on the market. These tend to be free of common trigger substances such as metals, sulfates, acids and essential oils.

This makeup brand guide at Mind Body Green lists some of the best hypoallergenic brands to try as recommended by dermatologists. 

When it comes to jewellery, certain metals like titanium are typically considered hypoallergenic. Products such as these titanium nose rings from UBJ could be a great choice if you’ve been developing reactions to various materials. Make sure that any products are wholly titanium and not mixed with other metals. 

There are also beauty products on the market catered for people with conditions such as eczema or rosacea. This could include makeup primers that combine the effects of specialist moisturisers to help hydrate the skin.

Be wary of false advertising

There is currently no regulation for terms such as ‘allergy-free’, ‘hypoallergenic’ and ‘sensitive skin friendly’. As a result, you should always be wary of products on the market that use these terms that you haven’t already researched into.

By reading customer reviews of products, you can find out if the claims are legitimate or not – if lots of customers are complaining that the product has caused allergic reactions, then you may want to avoid this product.

Knowing the exact ingredients that cause you to have reactions can be useful in these situations where you may not have time to research a product first.

By knowing these ingredients, you can then check for them on the back of the packaging to ensure that a product really is safe for you to use. If you’re allergic to various chemicals and they all have complex names that are difficult to memorise, you may want to make a record of them in your phone so that you can refer to them when necessary.

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