Friday 30 January 2009

Minimalist Skin Care

A recommended strategy for people with sensitive skin is to use products with fewer ingredients so as to limit the number of potential chemical irritants. In fact, beyond giving cortisol for ezcema conditions, doctors I saw always told me to just wash my face with Cetaphil and apply nothing else, so as to give the skin a rest when it becomes agitated and starts peeling or becomes dry and itchy. According to an article on Sensitive Skin, " Products containing less than 10 ingredients should be used. The fewer ingredients a consumer is exposed to the less the possibility of sensitisation." I've actually read this statement at several places. If as-few-ingredient-as-possible and as-natural-as-possible is the best way to go, then the geek in me would like to seek out the optimal outcome (good basic skincare) for the minimal inputs (good price). Hmmm, then, I would think I should go for as cheap as possible with as good ingredients as the brand could use. How should one such as myself make a choice about products. Step 1: Take 2 comparable products (like face wash or toner) that contain similar basic ingredients and proclaim nothing special beyond the basic functions like cleansing without stripping the skin. I would think, to make the choice between the 2, I should go for the one that has the "best" basic ingredients. So, the question is, "What is considered 'best ingredients'?" Because we are talking about sensitive skin here, I am thinking, 'best' would be ingredients that contain as few chemical additives and are in as "pure" or natural a form as possible. So, organic would be good. Natural would be good. Not a chemical product would be good. And not chemically processed would be good. Step 2: If 2 brands have equally "good ingredients" as I have defined above, then the geeky consumer like me, should go for the cheaper one. Why pay more, yes? Haha. ...... Eerrrms erggg hahaha ... actually this is me trying to rationalise why I went and bought the $36SG 4-piece Sukin trial set, instead of going the Fancl, Jurlique or Dr Hauscha route ... What do you think? I'm just trying to be logical but probably over-analysing this. I'm emotional in the way I buy things, which is why I keep trying new products even though I know it's not so good to aggravate my touchy skin. Still, I should think harder before I buy. If Sukin works, I should stick to it ... it's rather cheap. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

3 comments:

Jamilla Camel said...

Hi Aichaku,

My skin gets unhappy when I use to many products, and harsh products--I cannot tolerate retinol in any way, shape, or form! I get this horrible dermatitis even when I use the mildest Vitamin A/Retinol product.

The brands that I've had the best luck with when my skin is really unhappy are Vichy and Laroche-Posay, both French brands. They also make fantastic sunscreens for sensitive skins.

I agree with Chizu Saeki about not over-treating your skin--because it gets unhappy with you!

Good luck!

Yumeko said...

hang in there! i hope u find what works for u

fuzkittie said...

Haha, your geeky rationalization was too cute to read! ;D I had fun imagining you going over these things in your head!

I hope it does work for you, imagine the extra amount of money you can save up for makeup! xD