Your skin is one of the most vital components to your body.  As the body’s first line of defense, it protects everything on the inside from anything threatening on the outside.  It’s job is to protect, heal, and rejuvenate. So why assault it with harsh products containing skin corroding toxins?

Many people fall under the category of “sensitive skin.”  Sensitive skin can come with a multitude of annoyances:  acne, roscacea, dry skin, fair skin that is prone to sunburn, skin prone to oiliness, skin that falls victim to contact dermatitis (allergies) or a combination of one or more of these.  One thing that all types of sensitive skin have in common is an unfortunate sensitivity to just about every product applied.  When you have sensitive skin, buying a skin care product is always a toss up.  The product may say for sensitive skin, but chances are you apply the product and the burning and stinging that follows is enough to make you renounce all skin care products.  Not to mention the red, splotchy appearance of your face that can hang around for days afterwards.

Most cremes, rinses and moisturizers contain chemicals or toxins that, all things considered, no one should really apply to their skin, sensitive or not.  Many skin care products nowadays contain petroleum by-products which create a film that coats the skin and clogs the pores.  It has also been linked to skin cancer.  Petroleum by-products may appear on the package as mineral oil, paraffin oil, paraffin wax, and petrolatum (this last one is a huge one in Bath and Body products!) Propylene glycol, parabens, silicon derived emollients, lanolin, formaldehyde, alcohol-isopropyl, chemicals used for fragrance (always buy fragrance free) and triethanolamine are just some of the many toxins to look out for in commercial skin care products.  All of these toxins can have negative effects on the skin varying from contact dermatitis, corrosion of the skin and third-degree burns.

So what’s the solution?  Try to avoid buying commercial skin care products.  Whether or not they claim to be gentle on sensitive skin or even claim to be all natural, one look at the product package will tell you that these products are full of chemicals and toxins.  A good rule of thumb: if you find yourself having trouble pronouncing most of what is on the product label, then you probably don’t want to apply it to your face.  Unfortunately, the products that are all-natural can be rather pricey.  Products like Burt’s Bees can be a bit on the expensive side, especially if you are looking to establish a full skin care regimen.  However, Burt’s Bees is a great product for sensitive skin.  Some of their products contain some toxins but the majority are completely all-natural.  Be sure to check out the label and it will tell you what percentage is all-natural (go for the ones that are 98-100% natural).  If you can’t afford all-natural products, don’t worry.  You have the ability to make your own.  Which is actually better, especially for sensitive skin.

An ideal skin care regimen contains the following steps: cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing and applying sunscreen (yes, even in the winter months.)  Here is a great all-natural skin care regimen for sensitive skin:

Milk and honey cleanser – Honey is great for the skin as it absorbs dirt and other impurities from the pores.  Warm about a tsp of honey and mix it with a tsp of milk or cream.  Apply to your face in gentle circles always working your way up, never down (as massaging the skin down weakens elasticity.)  Rinse with luke-warm water.

Yogurt and sugar exfoliator – Yogurt is very gentle on the skin and is a great base for exfoliators (lemon juice is as well but can be too strong for some skin types.  Feel free to experiment!)  And sugar grains are small enough that they will not be rough when exfoliating.  Add one table spoon of yogurt and two table spoons of sugar.  If you want a smoother exfoliator add more yogurt, if you want a more rigid exfoliator add more sugar.  Rinse with luke-warm water and pat dry.

Virgin olive oil moisturizer – Olive oil is a wonderful skin healer and always makes a great moisturizer as the skin absorbs it well and leaves it soft and glowing.  Apply a bit to the tips of your middle and ring fingers (these are the most gentle and will apply the least pressure) and rub it in a circular motion upwards (don’t use too much as olive oil can be rather thick.)

Unfortunately, there is no way to make a home made natural sun screen as of yet.  Look for products containing zinc oxide (which protects against UVA and UVB rays unlike synthetic chemicals that just absorb them), jojoba oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, olive oil, vitamin e oil (great sun damage repair oil) and stay away from preservatives, frangrances and harmful chemicals like PABA, obybenzone and avobenzone.  All of these chemicals are extremely harmful and RAISE the risk of cancer rather than protecting against it.  Also, stay away from extremely high SPF levels as they are virtually ineffective after SPF 30 (and the higher the SPF, the higher the amount of harmful chemicals included.)

Last but not least in the fight against harsh chemicalized skin care products, is your diet.  As we have all heard before, drink water, eat your fruit and vegetables and exercise.  Water is a natural skin moisturizer and the regular consumption of fruit and vegetables (especially citric fruits as vitamin C is very good for skin and for slowing the aging process) will show in your skin’s appearance.  Exercise increases circulation and skin elasticty which is also beneficial to anti-aging.

Avoiding harmful chemicals, keeping things natural, and sustaining a healthy diet is advantageous to all skin types, especially sensitive skin as sensitive skin will suffer bad effects the most.  But as shown above, there are solutions and ways of winning the war between sensitive skin and the infamously insensitive skin product.