Sensitive skin

What are the characteristics of sensitive, intolerant skin?>

Sensitive, intolerant skin reacts more than normal skin, in fact it is hyperreactive. It experiences prickling, overheating, pins and needles and itching (less frequently).

Sometimes accompanied by redness, these feelings of discomfort appear to be an exacerbated reaction to stimuli of different kinds which normally should not trigger any irritation: physical (UV rays, heat, cold, wind …), chemical (cosmetics, soaps, water, pollution, …), psychological (stress, emotions …) and hormonal (menstrual cycle …).

Sensitive, intolerant skin therefore reacts to stimuli that have no effect on other types of skin. This hypersensitivity is a result of a reduction in the skin’s tolerance threshold.

The more sensitive the skin, the lower its tolerance threshold.

Two main factors are responsible for this reduction in the tolerance threshold and the subsequent exacerbated sensitivity.

First of all, the epidermis of those with sensitive, intolerant skin has suffered damage to its barrier function. This phenomenon leads to the skin becoming dehydrated and above all the possibility of potentially irritant agents being able to penetrate.

Sensitive, intolerant skin is also characterised by excessive production of free radicals, combined with an abnormally high secretion of cytokines, pro-inflammatory molecules.