With Sensitive Skin On The Rise, One Beauty Editor Reveals The Treatments That Finally Calmed Her Chronic Rosacea
I like my men sensitive. Ditto my phone screen. My skin? Not so much. It might sound overly dramatic, but sensitive, rosacea-prone skin has dogged me throughout my adult life. Irritable, unpredictable, temperamental. At best, sensitive skin is a minor irritation, at worst it is a bugbear that saps self-confidence and feels physically uncomfortable. And for me, as a beauty editor, a well behaved, glowing-with-health dermis is on the job spec.
I’m not alone. Up to 70 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men report having some degree of sensitive skin. In its recent trends report, skincare giant L’Oréal identifies an ever-increasing concern with sensitive skin, with online conversation about it up 66 per cent in the past year. Anecdotally, A-list skin doctor and author of the book The Expert Guide to Healthy Beautiful Skin at Every Age, Dr Vicky Dondos says it’s the most common skin concern she is asked about.
Why? Well, the pandemic has certainly played a part. Dr Barbara Sturm, dermatologist, and founder of her eponymous brand, says it’s “overwhelmingly likely to have caused harm to your skin”. Dr Dondos confirms that many of our lockdown behaviours have worsened it. But before we work out what the triggers are, how to calm your skin, treat and then improve it – let’s just define what sensitive skin is.
Firstly, it’s important to know “sensitive” is an umbrella term that means different things to different people, but, says Dr Dondos, essentially “sensitive skin is reactive. It often feels tight, and flushes easily. And it can present as any of the following or all of them: rough or dry with occasional breakouts; red and angry, which sometimes burns; erratic, sometimes calm, but unpredictable; and increasingly sensitive to various products. And there is an overlap with rosacea/acne/eczema/psoriasis and other sensitive skin conditions.”
So that is sensitive skin, but then there is also sensitised skin. While the former is genetic, sensitised skin is temporary – an acquired condition. It’s triggered by factors such as bad diet and other lifestyle factors, plus – and this is the main one – the over, or incorrect use of skin products. In fact, Dr Dondos says the majority of her clients fall into this category and are simply using too many active products at once, or the wrong products for their skin type.
Which brings us to the pandemic. How did it increase the instances of both sensitive and sensitised skin? Well, first off, with salons and clinics shut, and not much to do except fail at making sourdough, lots of us turned to self-improvement. And an easy win seemed to be upping our skincare regime. We wanted to emerge from the pandemic not only speaking Mandarin, but also glowing like Gwyneth Paltrow.
To achieve this we started DIY-ing. And DIY-ing with potent products. Because the pandemic coincided with the trend for “skintellectuals” (consumers who wanted to educate themselves on active ingredients and formulas), brands released ever-more active products to satisfy demand. We all started mixing up our own hyaluronic acid, retinols and niacinamides. Even usually cautious types attempted microneedling, peeling and exfoliating. And the result? Dr Sturm says: “When skin layers are being attacked with aggressive ingredients, the skin barrier function degrades, leaving skin more prone to irritation and inflammation.”
Dr Stefanie Williams, dermatologist and my go-to for rosacea help, also advises caution. “It’s about much more than just ingredients – you need to consider percentages, and delivery systems. Plus layering up certain ingredients can be problematic. You don’t know how they will interact.” Mind you, if you think the above is troublesome for skin, the lockdown trend for store-cupboard beauty was even worse.
Normally the preserve of TikTok-ing teenagers, Covid madness meant rational adults started improvising with household goods. There was the trend for “slugging” – using Vaseline as a sleep mask, which didn’t give anyone “glass” skin, but instead blocked pores and caused irritation. And then there were the home-made green-tea toners, honey masks and coffee exfoliators.
But these weren’t the only factors in the recent uptick in sensitivity. Stress and alcohol intake soared, both of which can lead to general inflammation in the body, which then, according to Dr Dondos, reduces our healing capacity and weakens the skin barrier. A weakened skin barrier is more permeable, so irritants get in, water escapes and your skin is less healthy-looking.
Lastly, the pandemic increased our screen time. And not only does interacting with screens increase the hormone cortisol flooding around our body, but also the devices themselves emit HEV (High Energy Visible) light, which according to Dr Sturm, penetrates the skin as deeply as UVA and UVB.
The good news is that it’s possible to get sensitive skin under control. I’m proof. Mine takes the form of rosacea, which is a genetic condition. It’s a chronic ailment that starts as cute blushing, but can progress to redness, red bumps, pimples, enlargement of the nose and eye irritation.
It took a long time for me to get a grip on it, but thankfully now I have. The best thing I did was to take my products back to the bare minimum. And if you have sensitive or sensitised skin, I wholeheartedly recommend you do the same.
And it was this, plus medicated creams and IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatments that have got the condition in abeyance. Dr Williams not only gave me a very short list of products I could use, but also prescribed me antibiotics first to clear my rosacea up, then gave me a prescription cream called Rosex to use in the morning and another called Soolantra for night time. My dressing table doesn’t look very beautiful, but the regime works and I’m so grateful.
I also have annual IPL facial treatments at Medicetics (medicetics.com), which nukes the tiny capillary veins in my face and so gets rid of unsightly redness (and sun damage, too).
To maintain my clear skin, I now just use a gentle wash-off cleanser like Avène’s Tolérance Extreme Cleansing Lotion for Intolerant Skin, £15.50 (lookfantastic.com), a brightening antioxidant serum, and I might go wild with a hyaluronic acid sheet mask. I avoid facials, and steam and sauna rooms are my skin’s nemesis. The former overloads my skin with products and the latter two cause flushing, both of which result in lasting redness and irritation.
I’ve worked out that for me, as a sensitive type, it’s easier to get my anti-ageing hit with tweakments like Botox and filler rather than risk adverse reactions from products. Any redness I get with the tweakments is transient. I get my hydrating hit from Dr Alexis Granite at Sarah Chapman’s Skinesis Salon. She injects a liquid hyaluronic acid called Belotero Revive, which disperses under the skin to give it a mega moisture shot and leaves it feeling bouncy, glowing and plump.
I know seeing these experts isn’t possible for many people suffering with sensitive skin, but the good news is there are now a new slew of online services like Get Harley and Skin & Me that offer virtual consultations with derm- trained medical professionals.
And to finish on a high. Dr Dondos is hopeful about the future for us sensitive types. “I’m seeing new positive habits in my clients that are definitely having a beneficial effect on sensitivity.”
She says one of the legacies of Covid is a shift in lifestyle and priorities, which for many means “getting into the whole self-care thing. Better sleep routine, more regular movement, slightly more time spent preparing food from scratch, less pressure to be out. Many of my clients’ sensitive skin is better than ever as a result. Really.”
Rosie’s rosacea kit
Gentle Skin Cleanser, by Cetaphil; Age-Balancing Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 30, by Murad; CC Red Correct Cream, by Erborian; C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum, by SkinCeuticals
