Sensitive Skin? Natural cosmetics are here to help

Natural cosmetics can help you look younger, even with sensitive skin.

As we age, our skin also ages with wrinkles caused by loss of subcutaneous tissue and years of damage from the sun. We also lose color from our skin and hair and very often looked faded and drab which makes us feel older. Cosmetics have been used for thousands of years to help women (and even men) look and feel younger, but for those with sensitive skin using cosmetics can be an expensive challenge of trial and error.

These tips from dermatologist Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC can help you find the best cosmetics for sensitive skin.

Choose mineral makeup when possible. Mineral cosmetics are not only great at removing shine, many (generally speaking) don't contain ingredients that can cause skin irritation. This means mineral cosmetics are much less likely to cause problems for women with sensitive skin than traditional liquid foundation.  Be careful to look at the ingredients, though - more and more companies are starting to add unnecessary "filler" ingredients to their mineral makeup - which can have an adverse effect for those with sensitive skin. 

While waterproof  mascaras are great for tearful moments, they require a solvent to remove them that also removes sebum, the oily substance made by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Without this oily barrier, skin is exposed to potential irritants that can cause a beauty breakout.

Check sunscreen ingredients. Dermatologists recommend daily use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 15 or higher. For women with sensitive skin, this sunscreen should only contain the physical sunscreen ingredients zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Unlike chemical sunscreen agents which absorb UV rays, it is impossible to be allergic to physical sunscreen ingredients since they deflect the rays rather than absorb them.

 

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