Aisling on beauty: One person’s life-saving potion is another’s route to itchy redness

We have all heard of clean eating: cutting out junk food and eating nutrient-dense food. Think about caring for your sensitive skin in the same way. Cut out the rubbish; there are several ingredients that cause reactions in many people. As a general rule try to avoid skincare containing fragrance, including aromatic oils, if you know they cause you problems. Products containing alcohol can also cause problems.

Remember that “natural” or “green” ranges are often loaded with essential oils. Even though I don’t consider myself to have sensitive skin, I need only open a jar of something containing lots of essential oils to trigger an eye-watering reaction.

Antioxidants are often touted as the last word in skin protection when in fact vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can irritate some skin types when used in a high enough concentration. On others it can work as a fast-track to smooth-glowing skin. This is why it’s impossible to make generalisations.

Providing recommendations for very sensitive and rosacea-prone skin can be problematic. Our unique body chemistry means that one person’s life-saving potion might be another’s route to itchy redness. If you have very sensitive skin, always do a patch test on your wrist before covering your face with a new product.

Finally, if you have very sensitive skin, never crack open a new product the night before a big event. Just in case.

The fewer ingredients on that label the better. Good-quality anti-redness ranges include Avene Anti Redness, Bioderma Sensibio AR and La Roche Posay Rosaliac.

In this week’s Tried and Tested, I have recommended six more good serums and oils to increase hydration and calm skin.

• amcdermott@irishtimes.com
• Twitter @aismcdermott