
Babies, angels and many adults have sensitive skin. Photo by Mary L. Williams
An alarming percentage (about 60%) of normal adults, mostly women, self-report that they regularly experience ‘sensitive skin’. Most perceive ‘sensitive skin’ as various amounts of stinging, burning, irritation, and itch with the use of skin care products. In a large population based study in China, we found no increase in the proportion of females among those patients whose reactions were severe enough to seek the help of a dermatologist, but we did find the reactions to be more marked in older age groups.
The types of skin care products that produce these reactions vary greatly – and sometimes even include products like moisturizers and cortisone containing creams that are intended to help – not harm – the skin. This raises two obvious questions. 1) What is it about some people’s skin that makes it so ‘sensitive’ to skin care products? And 2) what is it about skin care products that is so hard on skin? [Read more…] about The How and Why of Sensitive Skin