Intolerances and allergies

In cases of both intolerant skin or skin sensitized as a result of an immune reaction, it is key to respect its requirements by using products that are highly tolerant and very gentle.

Whatever your skin type, specific factors might trigger or lead to oversensitivity: Your skin reacts strongly when you’d rather it didn’t…

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Sensitivity, intolerance, allergy ?

Sensitivity or intolerance ? a question of degree…. Many of you have sensitive skin, but in varying degrees. It is, however, important to make a difference between sensitive and sensitized (or allergic) skin.

SENSITIVE SKIN AND INTOLERANT SKIN
Sensitive skin
Fine, light, often a little dry, gets red easily.
It itches, feels tight, gets hot…
The sun is a known aggressor for the skin, specially light skin.
Cold and wind are also difficult on light skin.

Some dermo-cosmetic or therapeutic products are formulated using ill-suited ingredients:
- Cleansers that include irritating surfactants
- Acne treatments with a gentle peeling effect

The skin doesn’t feel any relief, on the contrary, it is traumatized by these ill-suited products.

Sometimes, your skin reacts excessively to the slightest aggression; it cannot stand anything and becomes intolerant. It itches, feels tight, gets red, scaly. In this case, it is time to choose products containing very few ingredients.

Sensitized or allergic skin
An allergy is caused by an immunological response (to an allergen).
Obvious clinical symptoms can be observed on the skin: Red patches with small eczema bumps, strong itching, swelling and oozing along with more or less intense pruritus.
If you experience allergic reactions, consult your physician without delay; Through allergy testing, he will look for and find the substance that causes your reaction.

Questions

What is sensitive skin ?

The particular nature of sensitive skin is that it reacts more quickly or more strongly than normal skin to the same factors under the same conditions. This results in unpleasant sensations (pulling, tingling, itching…), even redness and dryness sometimes.

What are the mechanisms of sensitive skin?

They are complex. The skin is an organ that plays several roles and therefore different types of abnormalities can lead to skin sensitivity: lesions in the corneum layer disturb its barrier function, hypervascularization causes redness…

Can this sensitivity be controlled?

Even when the skin is sensitive, it is possible to reduce its sensitivity by eliminating the skin care products that it cannot tolerate and replacing them with specific products that are well tolerated and formulated with powerful moisturizers for the corneum layer.

What products should be used daily for sensitive skin?

For cleansing, it is recommended to use dermatological bars and soapless cleansers in order not to aggress the skin. As far as moisturizing, use products that contain a limited number of ingredients to reduce risks of irritation.

What is the difference between sensitive and allergic skin?

There is often a confusion between sensitive, intolerant and allergic skin. People who think they have allergic skin often have very sensitive skin, even intolerant skin which overreacts to certain products, topical medications, dermo-cosmetic cleansers or moisturizers. An allergy is caused by an immune response. The symptoms include red patches with small eczema blisters, strong itching, swelling and oozing pruritus that is sometimes severe.

What products should be used on a daily basis for allergic skin?

Your physician can advise you in selecting cleansing and moisturizers best suited for your skin type. Look for products that do not contain any known irritating or allergenic ingredients and offer a high tolerance confirmed by clinical tests.

Intolerances and allergies

Sensitivity, intolerance, allergy ?

Questions

Carnets experts