One of the worst things in the world is having sensitive skin.

(Que the dramatics).

No, but seriously. Discovering you have sensitive skin is one thing, not knowing and not having the awareness of the cause is another.

The first time I discovered I had sensitive skin was in my early twenties’. I went from having ‘flawless’ skin (not my words), according to friends, family and strangers walking the streets. To constant blemishes, pimples etc.

The worst feeling was not knowing what was going on. I tried every product on the market you could think of. I even tried proactive thinking I had some type of ‘acne’ problem only to find that the product made my breakouts even ‘worse’. I drink’d all the water you could think of but all I kept getting was more bathroom trips, not less breakouts.

No matter what I did nothing seemed to work and I couldn’t afford to go to a dermatolgist. Ya’ll this caused my self-esteem to plummet! Let’s be real for a second, a woman’s physical appearance holds a lot of weight in American society.

So finally, I had an ‘epiphany’. Not even sure what that means but I digress.

I finally sat down did some research and in my ‘findings’ it made perfect sense, ‘all skin is NOT created equal.’

Most mainstream beauty products are not created for skin like mine. Brown, pigmented and prone to breakouts. As a woman of color, there are just certain ingredients my skin needs to avoid.

If you have sensitive skin or are trying to figure out if you do, here are the following tell-tale signs that you may have it.

Your Skin Reacts to Bad Weather

When its extremely cold followed with bad winds and rain, you notice your skin flares up followed with broken blood vessels.

You Break Out Easily

This is usually the biggest giveaway. I know it was for me. Sensitive dry skin can typically produce extra oils to compensate for lack of moisture. Over production can clog pores worsening your skins ‘sensitive’ condition.

Your Skin Feels Itchy

Itchy skin is definitely a key indicator that you may have sensitive skin. I found myself scratching my face before realizing I was making it worse.

You Have Dry Patches

Along with sensitive skin sometimes comes with dry patches. You’ll notice your skin is flaking. Scaling and flaking develops the longer dryness persists.

So now that we know some of the biggest signs of sensitive skin, lets discuss some of the remedies to combat the adverse effects from having sensitive skin. In this case for your face.

If your skin easily flares up no matter what the weather, use products with soothing ingredients like chamomile, calendula, and azulene extract.

The St Ive’s ‘Calming’ Daily Cleanser and Mario Badescu facial spray with chamomile and aloe are a good place to start. The main ingredient is chamomile.

If your skin is breaking out too much opt for washing no more than twice daily. Avoid products with alcohol, benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid.

I love the ‘Nocturnal Cleanse’ by Sken Essentials. It contains tea tree oil and witch hazel which are gentle ingredients that help treat blemishes and breakouts.

For dry patches it can be tricky, but whats worked for me is using products that contains hyaluronic acid, ceramides and some niacinamide.

I use The Ordinary’s pure Hyaluronic Acid serum religiously with my ‘Day Restore’ Creme by Sken Essentials. If I want my skin to feel like its had 15 glasses of water, I use Pixi’s Rose Essence Caviar.

These are just starting points. As always drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated and detoxified from the inside out.

Let me know if you’ve tried these recommendations and how they’ve worked for you.

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