I’ve always been fascinated by skin sensitivity. Mainly, because I have it. I had the opportunity to chat to Karen Bester, Lamelle Medical Training Manager and pick her brain about this skincare phenomenon that so many of us experience on a day-to-day basis. Here’s what she had to say:
KELLI: Define the term ‘sensitive skin’.
LAMELLE: Sensitive skin is skin that reacts to ingredients, products, changes in temperature and weather where the bulk of the population would not see any change in their skin. The reaction can vary from just feeling tight, through dryness and inflammation, right up to a full allergic reaction that could include swelling, puffiness, itchiness and hives.
KELLI: How do you know if you have sensitive skin?
LAMELLE: The easiest way to find out if your skin is sensitive is if you know you have to be cautious when applying particular products to your skin. For instance, if you’re on a weekend away and you can’t just grab your best friend’s general day-to-day BB cream or moisturiser and apply it to your skin because you know your skin will react, you probably have sensitive skin.
KELLI: Are there different variants of sensitive skin?
LAMELLE: There definitely are variants.
Some people will just have the odd bit of redness when they use a product that their skin is sensitive to. Others might find that their skin always feels sensitive and sore. I had a student once who mentioned that her skin was so sensitive it went red when the wind started to blow on it.
Some patients who have severe medical conditions like eczema and acne need to have cortisone creams on hand at all times in case of flare-ups.
Others need to be careful in winter when the air is less humid and their skin becomes dry - thus resulting in sensitivity.
KELLI: Can sensitive skin be cured?
LAMELLE: This would depend on the cause of the sensitivity. If you have a genetic predisposition to sensitive skin, curing it would be difficult. What we can however do, is add ingredients that are specifically focused on correcting the problems that lead to the sensitivity in your skin. In some cases we might even find, that with a little help, your skin will normalise functions and we might be able to get your skin back to its unreactive state.
If we know that the sensitivity was triggered by a specific ingredient or treatment, it is easier to cure it. Firstly, you need to remember not to apply that ingredient to your skin. We then need to correct what was ‘broken’ in your skin and make sure that it is properly fixed before you apply your usual products again. Avoiding the sensitising product may mean your skin might never react with sensitivity ever again.
Karen Bester, Medical Training Manager for Lamelle and skincare sensitivity whizz.
KELLI: What ingredients should one look out for in a skincare product if you have sensitive skin? (Both to avoid and help prevent sensitive skin).
LAMELLE: If we truly consider sensitive skin, any ingredients that the skin gets exposed to regularly might cause irritation and an allergic reaction.
Dr Bradley Wagemaker, who is our formulating doctor and co-owner of Lamelle, insists on only formulating our products in such a way that they have the biggest potential to correct skin with the smallest risk for reaction in all skins. There in too lies a challenge – some ingredients might cause slightly more irritation. In those cases we will train the product specialist who are providing you with the products that they need to use these ingredients with care. This is why your skin care therapist will advise you to add in a product slowly over a few weeks and not just start using it twice a day in large amounts.
As a rule of thumb though we would suggest that you not use highly fragrances products and products where colourants have been added.
Then the argument for natural vs. chemical comes up – so let’s not ignore it.
The truth is that even natural ingredients have the potential to harm – arsenic and belladonna come to my mind. The word chemical is also misleading. H-2-O is a chemical and your body is made up of mostly H2O. Yes I do agree there are harmful chemicals in our world. I just don’t know why any manufacturer of skin care products, that wants a loyal client following, would put harmful chemicals in their product knowing that they are going to cause damage.
At Lamelle many of the ingredients we use are made in a laboratory. The most important ingredient in our Serra range is made in a laboratory.
Why?
In the laboratory we can mimic structures and molecules that you have in your body. This means we can replace a full structure – like the lipid bi-layer – exactly as it would look in between your cells in your corneum (outer layer of skin). There might be plant extracts that are close to compatible oils but none that will bio-mimic this structure. This gives us very safe and very effective treatment options that have been well researched to give us results.
KELLI: What is the most common age group for sensitive skin?
LAMELLE: Even though age is not a determining factor in sensitivity, it is true that the older skin is, the more risk for sensitivity there is.
The key skin structure in protecting the skin form sensitivity is the lipid bi-layer. This layer protects the viable skin from foreign substances that might penetrate and cause irritation. This is also the layer that traps water inside the skin. As we age we produce less of the components that make up this layer – affecting our water binding and potential for reaction.
The older you are the more potential allergens you have been exposed to, making you a higher risk to acquire sensitivity.
Genetic predisposition is not linked to age though.
KELLI: What triggers sensitive skin?
LAMELLE: In the skin, foreign substances or substances that your skin perceives to be irritating, trigger a nerve response. The nerves then trigger an immune response that then trigger an inflammatory response. The inflammation then affects how the barrier is produced. This then becomes a vicious cycle/circle of reactivity.
We also now have data to support that in some people their nerves are abnormally sensitive to any change in the skin due to receptors on the nerve walls being activated. These are people who will perceive constant sensitivity, pain and discomfort of their skins. In some cases their skin is also much more reactive than any other person that they know. This condition is called Sensitive Skin Syndrome.
Generally, there are a few categories of patients with sensitive skin:
· Medical conditions, psoriasis, eczema or atopic dermatitis, acne rosacea.
· Genetic predisposition.
· Hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy, peri-menopause and menopause might trigger sensitivity.
· Exposure to ingredients or procedures that cause the skin barrier to be impaired and the skin to be unprotected e.g. if you have a chemical peel and do not use the correct aftercare products.
· Exposure to a harsh environmental factors - for instance working in the sun all day or living in a desert.
At Lamelle we have focus on what you are seeing in your skin:
· Correct the lipid bi-layer (and don’t just apply a cream on top of the skin).
· Correct the pH of skin that has been dry for a long period of time. When the pH is impaired the skin cannot rebuild its own lipid bi-layer.
· Inhibit the inflammatory responses (calm and sooth inflammation).
· In sensitive skin syndrome, we turn off the over active nerve ending.
· Where required we add anti-microbial ingredients just to make sure we are protecting the skins integrity from microbes that might cause infections.
KELLI: Does diet play a role in increasing skin sensitivity?
LAMELLE: A poor diet will definitely affect you skin’s general condition. If you tend to have sensitivity to what you eat this will also cause reaction of your skin.
KELLI: What skincare routine should one have in order to keep sensitive skin under control?
LAMELLE: A good basic skin care routine is extremely important for any patient with a sensitive skin. The focus is to maintain a good barrier, calm any inflammation, correct the pH of the skin and protect your skin from possible irritants.
Cleanse, essence, moisturiser is the minimum basic with sunscreen during the day. Your skincare therapist might add some serums but that would depend on how much sensitivity you are experiencing at the point of your visit.
KELLI: What are the best products from Lamelle to help manage sensitive skin?
LAMELLE: All Lamelle, skin care products are formulated with sensitivity in mind. This does mean that your skincare therapist could add any of the products to your skincare regime. It’s important to initially stabilise and normalise processes in the skin that allow the sensitivity to take place. For this we always go back to the Serra range of products.
Your skincare therapist will choose the products that are most suited to your skin in her consultation with you.
However, I recommend using the below products during the following steps:
1. Cleanse
Use the Lamelle Serra Cleanser (R220). This is a creamy gel cleanser that contains very mild surfactants to break the surface tension of oils on your skin to remove oils, dirt, grime, pollutants and makeup off your skin.
2. Applying a Skin Essence
Aka skincare priming liquid. Your skincare therapist will choose the one that is most suitable for your skin:
· Skin Essence Clear, R385 – for very sensitive and problematic skin
· Skin Essence Rejuvenate, R410 – for younger, healthier skin
· Skin Essence Corrector, R410 – for older, more sun-damaged skin that is not acne-prone
3. Applying a Corrector
When skin is very sensitive we suggest that you start with the most simple product routine. This step will be left out until we can correct the irritation. In less sensitive skins, your therapist might select one of the following Lamelle Correctives products to boost your results:
· Correctives HA+ Serum, R700 – to boost hydration and plumping
· Correctives Vita C Lipid Serum, R880 – boosts anti-oxidant levels for those who are exposed to free radicals or are smokers. The product is also highly recommended for management of ageing in sensitive skin.
· Correctives Intensive GF Serum, R860 – Growth Factors are our best tool to rejuvenate skin and this formulation is highly stimulating of cells without risk of irritation.
· Correctives Brightening Serum, R910 – for those who want to treat hyper-pigmentation but their skin is sensitive. Your skincare therapist will have to correct that before starting on the full pigmentation inhibition program. She can however add the Brighter Serum to your routine as it contains potent inhibitors of hyper pigmentation in a base that supports barrier repair.
4. Moisturise
There are three moisturisers in the Lamelle Serra Range:
· Serra Restore Cream, R530 – for dry skin
· Serra Soothing Cream, R725 – for dry skin that is showing signs of irritation
· Serra NSB Cream, R640 (launched in April 2021) – for patients with very sensitive skin syndrome, those who experiece sensitivity with severe flushing and lastly, people who suffer from hypersensitivity. We believe this product will change how sensitivity is managed on skin for ever.
The new Serra NSB Cream is my new skincare lifesaver. It calms, soothes and sorts out any form of sensitivity. Try it!
5. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!
I know that some people might consider sunscreen on sensitive skin a bad idea.
Sensitive skin needs added protection from the sun. For this reason I advise that people with sensitive skin apply Lamelle Helase 50, R540. They need to apply their sunscreen daily, regardless of if they are spending time in direct sunlight.
For very sensitive and inflamed skin I would also advise that they take our oral Lamelle Clarity Acnevelle Plus Supplement, R290. The ingredients in Acnevelle Plus are focused on calming inflammation from inside your body.
KELLI: Is sensitive skin more common amongst men or women?
LAMELLE: At this stage it seems that women are more sensitive than men. It might have to do with the fact that woman seek help faster. It also does have to do with subtle differences in skin structure between men and women.
KELLI: Do you have any quick fix recommendations for sensitive skin flare-ups?
LAMELLE: There are no quick fixes, unfortunately.
Consumers who use the Lamelle Serra Range of products will get a near immediate relief.
Depending on the original cause of the sensitivity, most of us that have sensitive skin will have to be careful with how we look after our skin. It’ll help having some Lamelle Serra products close at hand. Just in case.
~FYI:
I always purchase my Lamelle products from Dermastore. They’re the best local online skincare store.
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