Handle with Care: Sensitive Skin Success

Sensitive skin is most often characterized by high reactivity and low tolerance to most irritants and stimuli from both internal and external sources. This is generally not caused by contact or reaction with any specific ingredient or material; rather, it is an established state of skin’s inherent structure, nerve sensations, and inflammatory response. Sensitive skin is most often linked to one or more of the following characteristics: a systemically impaired barrier, a high neurosensory response, or chronic inflammation (frequently caused by a heightened immune response).

CHARACTERISTICS

Sensitive skin is generally characterized by thinner skin (most common in those of northern European ancestry), which, by its nature, has smaller sebaceous glands and therefore predisposes one to dryer skin. Thinner, dry skin is prone to having an impaired barrier function and skin becomes open to irritation and invasion by bacteria and viruses.

Sensitive skin tends to have more nerves present in the stratum corneum, making it more sensitive to stimuli than skin with an average amount of nerves in the stratum corneum. People with sensitive skin are also likely to have a heightened immune response, which, when combined with an impaired barrier or heightened neuro response, can lead to chronic inflammatory skin conditions, such as rosacea, eczema (atopic dermatitis), and psoriasis.