While everybody talks about the sun, aging, or ingesting poor foods as the skin’s enemies, another real culprit may be many beauty products themselves. The very products that we are buying to protect us may just be accelerating the process of aging due to the irritation they may cause.

It is estimated that nearly 20% of all women suffer from serious, continuous problems when they apply almost anything to their skin. I think these estimates are accurate because about half of the women I talk to in health food stores say they are ultra-sensitive. It makes sense to me that the incidence of sensitive-skinned people shopping in health food stores would be at least twice as high, because this is one of the main reasons that people end up shopping there instead of at mainstream stores.

Sensitive skin

Sensitive skin is described as being unable to tolerate over-stimulation. The face is often the most sensitive, and light-complexioned women seem to have the most trouble. People with sensitive skin seem to be much more sensitive to the sun and wind, as well as more prone to allergies. Itching, blisters, scaling, or redness indicate allergies. The words “allergy tested,” “hypoallergenic,” and the like don’t seem to have much influence on the undesirable ingredients some manufacturers use.

Constant irritation to the skin is potentially damaging. If you suffer from asthma, allergies, and hay fever, you are more likely to have irritation with many cosmetic products. The condition of not being able to apply anything to your skin is termed status cosmeticus. Many times, however, if you patch test women with this condition, they do not come up allergic. I think a lot of the problems stem from the harsh ingredients in many products on the market today. Between the strength of many of the chemicals, the preservatives, and now the alpha hydroxys, people are much more likely to disrupt the skin’s natural barrier function.

The dead layer of skin, the outermost layer, has as its primary function to provide protection against the outside world. If you use harsh chemicals on this outermost layer of skin, it may cause irritation. The skin can become degraded. It may be that both elastin and collagen can be destroyed by the constant inflammation, which could ultimately cause premature aging of your skin.

Moisturize

Moisturizer is needed to slow down the evaporation of water from the layers of skin. Dryness is often the beginning of skin sensitivity, so keep your skin moisturized all the time. My recommendation is: Do not use any product that contains any ingredients that are not purely botanical.

A good suggestion for those with sensitive skin is to begin by using only products from your kitchen. Oils for moisture, teas for toners, and fresh vegetables and fruits, honey, and yogurt as masks. Keep it simple. Use plain oils, almond or kukui, for example. Then after a few months free of irritation, make your own pure products, or move up to an impeccably clean body-care line from your health food store. Check to see if they are “clean.” Read the labels..

I personally heard so many complaints from so many women for so long saying they couldn’t use any products (e.g., they couldn’t tolerate vitamin E, aloe vera, essential oils, etc.), that I made an ultra-sensitive skin cream with only the gentlest ingredients. So far I have not had one woman tell me she broke out from it. It contains only purified water, almond oil, shea butter, vegetable glycerin, lily, xanthan gum, lecithin, soy protein, and grapefruit seed extract.

Kukui oil is another great ingredient for people with extremely sensitive skin. People who are allergic to everything else can usually use it. (See more in the section on oils.)

Sunscreens are extremely harsh. Even the only natural SPF-sunscreen PABA, which I prefer, causes breakouts in about 20% of the population.

Depending on your skin and body’s tolerance I would follow a regimen like the following:

First, you are going to have no choice but to become completely educated in all phases of reading ingredients. Usually, health food stores will be the only places you will be able to buy products at all, and even then you are going to have to become the pickiest. You will probably not be able to use any products with any synthetic, animal, or petro products. Those with sensitive skin will probably break out from urea, propylene glycol, and all of the parabens.

Many companies put “derived from” after chemical ingredients to let you know that at one time this ingredient was botanical. However, I don’t think it matters if the molecular makeup of the ingredient has been altered. It is not the same as natural. You may not be able to use any ingredients that have been chemically reacted to other substances. You will also not do well with products that are preserved with alcohol. This leaves you with very few choices. The only preservative you will probably be able to tolerate is grapefruit seed extract.

Ultrasensitive

The very best thing to do if you are ultra-sensitive and everything makes you break out is to make your own body care products. We have many recipes in this book; in addition, there are many more great books. (See bibliography.) If you are very sensitive, it will be worth the trouble. You can also ask at your health food store for the cleanest products they carry without any synthetic or petro chemicals