
Choosing the right skincare product is important, because each person's skin is different in composition and sensitivity, even well-formulated skincare products might not work for everyone. Maintaining skin health, preventing negative reactions, and getting the intended skincare outcomes all depend on knowing when your skin doesn't agree with a product.
Signs that show that your skin is not tolerating a skincare product:
Following are some signs that can be seen when using a skincare product that is not well tolerated by an individual's skin.
Redness and irritation
The most common sign when a product does not tolerate your skin is redness, which is normally followed by burning or an itching sensation. This is an immediate skin reaction of the product, due to factors such as fragrance, alcohol or even certain active ingredients.
Exfoliating products renew skin cells by removing dead skin. This can cause slight dryness to the skin, however excessive dryness and peeling of the skin can be due to the skin not receiving the product well, as it compromises the skin’s natural barrier. This could lead to further sensitivity of the skin.
Allergic reactions
If a product results in your skin being itching, swelling or even causing hives, it is a cause of an allergic reaction to the product which can be also known as contact dermatitis. Allergic reactions are caused when immune cells, called T cells, detect a foreign substance and try to eliminate it.
Researchers have discovered how certain compounds in personal care products can trigger an immune response by interacting with a skin protein called CD1a. This interaction causes T cells to react, even though these compounds are much smaller than the proteins T cells usually respond to (Nicolai et al., 2020).
Changes in skin texture
Changes of the skin texture such as bumps or rough patches or even skin discoloration can be due to adverse reactions of skincare products. These abnormalities of the skin show that the particular skincare product does not promote healthy skin function for the individual.
Analytics of adverse reactions to skincare products
In a research, a cross-sectional study was done among 425 participants. 50.6% of participants had experienced at least one adverse reaction to skincare products in the past two years. The most common issues were skin redness (19%), pimples (15%), and itching (13%), with hair care (29%) and skincare products (25%). Most people (84.2%) managed these reactions by stopping the product's use (Lucca et al., 2020).
Conclusion
Understanding your skin’s responses and recognizing when a product isn’t suited, is the key to effective skincare. Those with sensitive skin should prioritize patch testing when introducing new products (Wetter et al., 2010). By being aware of signs like irritation, dryness, breakouts, allergic reactions, and shifts in texture, you can make choices that support your skin's health and resilience.
References
Lucca JM, Joseph R, Hussain Al Kubaish Z, Mohammad Al-Maskeen S, Ali Alokaili Z. An
observational study on adverse reactions of cosmetics: The need of practice the Cosmetovigilance system. Saudi Pharm J. 2020 Jun;28(6):746-753. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2020.04.017. Epub 2020 May 11. PMID: 32550807; PMCID: PMC7292860.
Nicolai S, Wegrecki M, Cheng TY, Bourgeois EA, Cotton RN, Mayfield JA, Monnot GC, Le
Nours J, Van Rhijn I, Rossjohn J, Moody DB, de Jong A. Human T cell response to CD1a and contact dermatitis allergens in botanical extracts and commercial skin care products. Sci Immunol. 2020 Jan 3;5(43):eaax5430. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aax5430. Epub 2020 Jan 3. PMID: 31901073; PMCID: PMC7247771.
Wetter, D. A., Yiannias, J. A., Prakash, A. V., Davis, M. D. P., Farmer, S. A., & el-Azhary, R.
A. (2010). Results of patch testing to personal care product allergens in a standard series and a supplemental cosmetic series: An analysis of 945 patients from the Mayo Clinic Contact Dermatitis Group, 2000-2007. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 63(5), 789–798.doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2009.11.033
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