Clean Body Care Products For Sensitive Skin
If your skin is ultra-sensitive, you probably have a drawer filled with products that your skin couldn’t tolerate. Even though each label says, “for sensitive skin,” it seems like they never truly are.
Before giving up hope, it helps to know more about what may be causing your sensitive skin, and what ingredients you should avoid verses what ingredients to use. Read on to learn how to properly care for your sensitive skin.
Why We Have Sensitive Skin
If you're reading this, you've probably been dealing with sensitive skin, or know someone who has. With skin sensitivity seemingly so common, do so many of us actually have sensitive skin, or are we doing something wrong?
Our skin is our largest organ, and it's made of seven layers. The first layer, otherwise known as the skin barrier or stratum corneum, is the outer layer and the first line of defense against environmental stressors and incompatible products. According to Healthline, "the outermost layer of your skin, known as your skin barrier, defends your body against a constant onslaught of environmental threats while simultaneously protecting your body’s critical water balance." When your skin barrier is compromised, your skin becomes more sensitive and prone to reactions.
Though some of us are genetically more prone to skin sensitivity than others, multiple factors contribute to harming the first layer of skin: harsh chemicals, lack of essential nutrients, and over-exfoliating are some of the most common causes. Like other organs, water is essential to having hydrated, healthy, and happy skin, so when we're dehydrated our skin can become more sensitive. Also as we age, our skin gets increasingly more sensitive - suddenly all those years of using harsh exfoliants start to catch up with us, and our skin can no longer handle the same products. This is because our skin barrier naturally degrades with age, leaving our skin feeling dryer and more dehydrated.
As mentioned above, over-exfoliating and using products with harsh ingredients are common causes of skin sensitivity. Unfortunately, the beauty industry is somewhat to blame for selling us products that cause skin sensitivity, just to sell a solution to the problem the previous product has actually caused. Products like this don’t provide skin-nourishing benefits; they actually damage the skin barrier - which leads us to believe that we were born with sensitive skin, when in fact, the products we’ve trusted may actually be what’s causing our skin to become more sensitive.
What to Avoid With Sensitive Skin
With millions of body care products on the market, understanding ingredients is key to avoid buying more products that will irritate your skin (and wasting money on products you won't end up using), as conventional beauty products labeled for “sensitive skin” may not always have the most gentle ingredients.
Some of the ingredients to stay away from include sulfates, synthetic fragrance, parabens, and phthalates. You also want to be extra careful when introducing any physical or chemical exfoliating products. Physical exfoliating products have a harsher texture, used to slough away dead skin, while chemical exfoliants typically contain AHAs or BHAs (different forms of acids) that can penetrate more deeply. If you are prone to sensitive skin you may want to avoid exfoliating altogether. And if your skin isn't usually sensitive, you still do not want to expose your skin to too much at once or too often. Try not to combine multiple "active ingredient" products at once. If you do have a skin reaction, stop using the new product until your skin has fully healed, before deciding whether it's worth trying again in a smaller amount or lesser frequency. You may also want to consider avoiding products that contain common allergens such as gluten, soy, or animal-derived ingredients.
To protect your skin barrier, make sure to stay hydrated and drink enough water, avoid over-exfoliating and using harsh chemicals, and choose clean personal care products (including your body wash, body cream, and soap) that will work with your skin, not against it.
Products Made For All Skin Types Including Sensitive Skin
At FORK + MELON, we feel strongly about using clean, non-toxic products with ingredients that nourish the skin. Clean ingredients may be even more essential to those with sensitive skin, but it’s wise for all of us (all skin types) to be more mindful of what we put on our body, in order to avoid damaging our skin barrier and introducing questionable ingredients that may have adverse affects.
Our products never contain any of the harsh chemicals that can be damaging to your skin barrier. They are also gluten-free, soy-free, and vegan. When we say clean, we mean it! Instead, our body care products contain hydrating, nourishing, and non-irritating ingredients, such as watermelon seed oil. Here’s what our lovely customer who suffers from sensitive, allergy-prone skin had to say about our Rich Hydrating Cream for Body & Hands (scroll down for full email):
“I have many allergies and sensitivities and have spent at least the last five years trying to find something that I can use without any adverse reactions...After using your product for two weeks, I haven’t had any reactions, and my skin looks and feels so much better - I actually cried with happiness.”
Made for all skin types, including sensitive and allergy-prone skin, our clean body care products will love on your skin, and in return, your skin will love them right back🖤
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.