Monday 12 January 2009

More On Sensitive Skin

Previously I had written about sensitive skin in my posts What is Sensitive Skin? and Not Fated to Use Kose Skin Care.

Recently, in the spirit of good reporting and being a dedicated beauty blogger, I took a photo of what happened to the skin on my arm when I walked out of the air-con office into the humid, hot and dusty evening air after work. This has been happening alot more since I had to take the public transport home every evening, instead of driving comfortably in the car. (To avoid scaring you, I've made the photos small. Kekeke.) Image001copy Image000acopy As you can see, my body skin can get very blotchy and dry, and itchy and scratchy. To prevent such adverse skin reactions, I normally have to slather on alot of lotion to create a protective barrier. So, I shall share with you some of my favourite body and hand lotions. I always apply body lotion all over my body after every shower while the skin is still damp. I also reapply hand lotion every time I wash my hands. Well, yes, I admit, I do have some little OCD tendencies. Yb3RVvt_zev2

For most of 2008, I was able to keep my body skin soft and blotch-less by using Canus Goat's Milk Lotion. There's something in this lotion that allows moisture to absorb into the skin, such that when I wake up in the morning, I can still feel my skin is soft and moist. I also liked the delicate scent. I had the cream too, but I didn't find it as good as the lotion.

8G4DAR_cgWSk Then, I ran out of it late last year and since I find it overpriced here in Singapore and only the small bottle is available, I turned to using other creams. I didn't find any of them any good at all. Eventually, I found Origins' Paradise Found was a close substitute in providing good moisture and soothing properties. But I used it up very quickly and after it was finished, I didn't buy a replacement because I was on a guilt-trip about spending so much. I had a hard time finding a good cheap lotion. I needed cheap because I go through them very fast!

So, you can imagine my joy when recently, I found this cheap and good substitute ...

Image000 St Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter moisturiser. It works well in combination with the matching shower foam or by itself, regardless of whatever I use in the shower. I also love the buttery smell, yummy.

For my hands I always have these in my bag. There's no beating these for moisture and a beautiful scent! My favourite has to be the Rose Velvet Cream.

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Slathering lotions doesn't always work though. These couple of days, my neck has a patch of itchy ezcema. Ugh! Hard to remove without cortisone. Used to be that my friends thought my boyfriends (then later when I married ... husband) must be terribly horny and violent for always giving me so many HUGE hickies. Hahaa, but no, they're not hickies, just ezcema on my neck. LOL.

Recently, I read Now I know why so many people have sensitive skin on their face! and realised why even if your body skin isn't sensitive like mine, you might have sensitive skin on your face.

"Now it is certainly possible to irritate the skin of the hands. There are whole journals devoted to contact dermatitis which is most common on the hands. But there does seem to be something about facial skin that makes it especially liable to react to products. It is a bit of a puzzle because the skin is generally a pretty good barrier - and why should the most exposed part of the skin be the worst at keeping nasties out? Thanks to Tagami, I now know why. It turns out that the skin on the face is particularly rich in pores, and it seems to be these that are letting the allergens through. So it seems that are faces are most sensitive to irritation for the same reason that they are most prone to acne. It is because they have lots of pores."

Very interesting, isn't it?

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7 comments:

Jamilla Camel said...

Hi Aichaku,

I have the same problem you do! Here are some of my favorite products for curing itchy, sensitive skin:

http://makeupforprofessionalasianwomen.blogspot.com/2009/01/comforting-shower-creams-for-winter.html

and

http://makeupforprofessionalasianwomen.blogspot.com/2009/01/glycolic-acid-unclogging-pores-and.html

and

http://makeupforprofessionalasianwomen.blogspot.com/2008/12/winter-sun-skincare-routine.html

and

http://makeupforprofessionalasianwomen.blogspot.com/2008/12/dove-pro-age-products-for-every-age.html

My skin looks just like yours when it has a fit!

Jamilla Camel said...

BTW,

I see that you are also an accountant. I am a CIMA myself...

Perhaps there is a link between the detail orientation of accounting and a love of makeup ;-)

fuzkittie said...

I have eczema too! Sucks! But it usually stays away from me when I moisturize well.

pinky"the-middle-name-is-princess"beanie said...

Ooh, thanks for sharing! I went through a bout of sensitive/reactive problems with facial skin last month. It really seemed like nothing worked at all when my skin acted up.

I'm paying more attention to my diet and sleeping patterns recently :) Found some inspiration in this book: "Awakening beauty the Dr Hauschka way". Borrowed it from the library, so you may wanna check it out too.

birkinbagbeauty said...

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful and comprehensive article. I also thought about how you reacted when travelling with public transportation because I never made that link: I have sensitive, overreactive skin as well.
LOL about the comment about your husband and the hickies...

Anonymous said...

my sister and i appear to be developing ecezma as well

but we live in different countries and climates so i assume genes have a lot to do with it

but she only gets triggered by stress and its on the back of her neck

for me, its both my ears
they flake and flake like i have dandruft T-T

the comment abt ur husband made me laugh

btw if the package still hasnt arrived, i should ask for refund cos i paid for 2 day shipping hahaha and my sister got it in 2 days ie last wednesday[she isnt far from you right?] even mona who lives in nyc whom i sent on the same day as u got it 2 days ago [i sent her via speedpost aka ems too]

Yumeko said...

hey i checked the tracking
EI880802889JP

it appears to be stuck in customs? i dont know why though