Skin Care Tips for Sensitive Skin

Created: Tuesday, 12 September 2017 15:20

What Makes My Skin Sensitive?

While everyone is different, many similar factors can affect your skin's sensitivity. You have control over most causes for sensitive skin, such as:

• Pollutants. Indoor pollutants that stoves and fireplaces create can make your skin dry and irritated. Getting fresh air and using humidifiers can reduce these effects. Outdoor pollutants, like air pollutants, irritate skin and can cause rashes. Air pollution also hurts the ozone layer, which means more exposure to UV rays.
• Sleep Quality. Poor sleep quality may cause the skin to age, making it harder to recover and repair itself. Those with better sleep quality typically have more even pigmentation, and their skin has more elasticity. Make sure you're getting around eight hours of sleep each night.
• Stress. When you experience stress, it increases your skin's sensitivity and reactivity. If you're in extended periods of stress, your skin has a more difficult time healing. One of your body's stress responses is to make more oil. When your skin glands make more oil, you're more prone to skin outbreaks. If you're experiencing a lot of stress, you might want to try some relaxation and meditation techniques to center yourself. As you manage stress levels, your body won't release those hormones that cause your skin to break out.

How to Care for Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin often gets bumps or erosion and can quickly flush. When your skin gets too dry, it can't protect the nerve endings in your skin. This leads to skin reactions, which is why caring for sensitive skin is critical.

Some other reactions are eczema and rosacea. Your skin could even be reacting to the environment — extreme heat or cold and prolonged sun or wind exposure will affect sensitive skin.

Your sensitive skin could also be genetic. While your skin might be naturally sensitive, you can still take measures to cleanse and strengthen your skin, such as:

• Trying Lemon-Infused Water. Drink lemon water on a daily basis. Lemons have many antioxidants and Vitamin C that help get rid of toxins in your blood. This small boost will improve your skin health, like preventing acne.
• Using Sunscreen. Don't save the sunscreen only for the beach, the pool and picnics. Wear sunscreen regularly regardless of the time of year. Also protect your skin with light long-sleeved clothing and hats.
• Buying Natural Skin Care Products. Watch out for harmful ingredients in the skin care products you purchase. If they have sulfate, alcohol, acids, coloring agents or synthetic fragrances, they can irritate your skin. You want to look for natural ingredients like tea, aloe vera and chamomile. When products have fewer ingredients, they're typically better for you.
• Choosing the Right Makeup. You should be careful with how often you wear makeup and what kind of makeup you purchase. Be mindful of how many products you apply to your face. It might be better for your skin if you wear minimal amounts of makeup. Choose makeup that doesn't contain a lot of preservatives. It's also a good idea to regularly throw out old products.
• Moisturizing. Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer that gets into your pores and prevents dryness. It's anti-inflammatory, and you can apply it to your body and your face.
• Cleansing Your Skin. A good skin cleanser is raw milk because it helps get rid of dry skin. Dip a cleansing pad into raw milk and gently dab your face. After 10 minutes, rinse off with warm water.
• Applying Rose Water. Regularly apply rose water to prevent wrinkles and give your skin a natural glow. It's anti-inflammatory and antiseptic, which will not irritate your skin. Rose water can also remove makeup.
• Dieting. Proper nutrition will benefit your skin. Make sure you're getting vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Try to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods to your diet like salmon, spinach, blueberries and avocados.

• Drinking Green Tea. This antioxidant drink helps keep your skin looking smooth and healthy. You can also use green tea as a facial cleanser.
• Exfoliating. Exfoliate your skin once a week. This process scrubs away particles on your skin and reduces the chance of blackheads and acne. Be careful — if you do this too often, you can irritate your skin.

There are also some habits you should avoid to keep your skin healthy, like:

• Cleansing With Hot Water. Don't cleanse your face with hot water because it washes away protective oils. Use lukewarm or cool water instead.
• Using Petroleum-Based Products. Avoid petroleum-based products because they'll irritate your skin. Petroleum can close off your skin, blocking it from air and water. This film can cause a buildup in your pores. The trapped dirt and oil can lead to acne, blackheads and pimples.
• Over-Stimulating Your Skin. Too much cleansing or massaging can dry out your skin.
• Enduring Extreme Temperatures. Don't spend a lot of time in extreme heat or cold because these conditions can dry out your face. If it's for an extended amount of time, your skin can break or crack.
• Drinking Alcohol and Smoking. These habits dehydrate and reduce the amount of blood getting to your skin.
• Not Exercising. Exercising increases your blood flow and nourishes skin cells. After exercise, wash your face to get rid of the sweat and oil.

How Do Clean Towels Help Sensitive Skin?

After you use a towel once, it collects the skin particles, dirt and oil from your face. You should only use towels one time and then put them in the laundry. It's common to want to use a towel more than that, but even after a shower, your towel is collecting a lot of things that you don't want to touch your face.

If you do use a towel more than once, make sure you hang it up so it dries. At the second use, try not to dry your face with it. Use another clean towel. Do not use a towel again if you left it on the floor — it can't dry properly and is collecting whatever dirt is on the ground, which creates a breeding ground for bacteria. If you have sensitive skin, you want to make sure your towels are as clean as possible. It might even help clear up some skin problems.

The issue of dirt and bacteria can easily transfer to your pillowcase. When your skin touches the pillowcase, it encounters everything on it. But you probably don't want to have to wash your pillow cases every day. So what should you do?

The Clean Towel Method is a clean way to protect your skin from bacteria, help clear up some acne and prevent future outbreaks.

• Use a Clean Towel. Always use a freshly laundered towel, regardless of how clean a used towel might look. If you don't want to use a new towel for your face, you can use a paper towel.
• Pat Dry. Gently pat yourself dry. Excessive or rough rubbing can irritate your skin. This can cause acne to flare up or make existing acne worse.
• Use a Separate Towel. You should use a separate towel for your face, hair and body. You don't want your face towel to touch your hair or body. If you dry your hair and then pat your face, your towel can pick up on residues from conditioners. Then, the residue gets on your face. When using the same towel, make sure to dry off your face first.
• Put a Clean Towel on Your Pillow. To prevent bacteria from your pillow getting on your face, sleep with a clean towel on your pillow. You should switch the towel each night. This can prevent bacteria getting on your face and can improve your skin's health.

How to Keep Your Towels Fresh

You need fluffy and absorbent towels because that's best for sensitive skin. After a few wash cycles, you might notice your towels aren't as lush as they were when you purchased them. There's one simple trick to make them absorbent again so you won't have to worry about irritating your skin.

Follow this process:

1. Load Towels. Put your towels, clean or dirty, into the washer. Set the machine to use hot water.
2. Add Vinegar. Pour a cup of vinegar where the laundry soap goes. Don't add any detergent or fabric softener.
3. Run the Cycle. Let your washer run for a regular cycle.
4. Add Baking Soda. After the first cycle, don't take the towels out. Pour a cup of baking soda where you previously poured the vinegar.
5. Rerun the Cycle. Use hot water or sanitize setting.
6. Dry. A high heat setting on the dryer will do, but you can also hang up your towels to let them air dry.

Taking Care of Soft Washcloths for Your Face

Your washcloth material might be too coarse for your skin. A softer material that's less abrasive will improve your skin cleansing routine. Materials you can try are muslin, microfiber and bamboo.

It's important to understand how to use washcloths before starting. Remember to scrub for a minute or so. You don't have to scrub for long because your washcloth is doing most of the work. Plus, washing your face for too long can make your skin red and coarse, which could lead to further outbreaks. You don't have to scrub with a lot of pressure — wash gently, and your washcloth will do the rest.

After using your washcloth, you don't want to use it again until you wash it. If you hang it up to dry in your bathroom, it's still in a relatively humid area. When you scrub dirt and oil off your face, that washcloth now has conditions for bacteria to grow.

If you don't want to throw your washcloth in the laundry after each use, make sure you rinse it to get rid of any cleansers or residue. Wring it out and dry it as much as possible. Hang it up to dry in an area without a lot of humidity.

One face-washing tip is to use your washcloth to steam. Whiles your cleanser is still on your skin, run your washcloth under hot water. Wring it out slightly and then put the washcloth on your face until it cools down. This steaming method will help cleanse your pores.

How Washcloths Exfoliate Sensitive Skin

Most skin care routines include different cleansers and moisturizers. But did you know that you can exfoliate using a washcloth and nothing else? Benefits of exfoliation include:

• It Benefits Sensitive Skin. People with sensitive skin might be wary of trying new skin products because they might cause a skin reaction. You don't have to worry about experimenting with new products.
• It's Less Expensive. Cleansers and moisturizers can get expensive. If you try to use a little bit of the product to have it last longer, the containers can develop bacteria over time. The washcloth method takes this out of the process.
• It Follows a DIY Approach. Maybe you don't want to spend time researching different facial products or you prefer to find solutions that you can do independently. This exfoliation method is simple, and it's all up to you.
• You're Taking the Natural Route. Facial products can contain a lot of chemicals that aren't healthy for your skin. Using a washcloth is more natural and doesn't involve you putting unknown chemicals on your face.
• You're in Control. As you get used to exfoliating, you'll learn how long you should wash your face and how much pressure you should apply. You'll have a method that works for your skin and keeps it looking healthy.

Exfoliating with a washcloth is a relatively simple process that anyone can do. Follow these steps:

1. Wet Washcloth. Use warm or hot water for your washcloth.
2. Twist and Wring Out. Squeeze your washcloth to rid of any excess water.
3. Fold Washcloth. Fold the washcloth over your hand. Make sure it's flat.
4. Start at Forehead. Start your exfoliation at your forehead. Rub in small circles and choose the pressure that works best for you.
5. Move Down to Middle of Your Face. After you've exfoliated your forehead, move to your cheeks. Keep using the circular motion. Pay close attention to under your nose because oil builds up in this area.
6. Continue to Chin. This is also an area with oil gland build up.
7. Rinse Face. If you used an additional cleanser, make sure to rinse it off.
8. Pat Dry. Gently pat your face dry with a clean towel.

Remember, never scrub too hard, regardless if this area tends to have more of an oil buildup. Keep your pressure even and gentle, and leave your skin blemishes alone. It might be tempting to scrub away at acne, but this will only irritate the skin more — let it heal on its own. You can boost this if you hydrate on a regular basis.

Get New, High-Quality Towels Today

Towel Super Center has the best towels and washcloths for your skin. We offer plenty of different materials that are soft, fluffy and luxurious.

Don't let mediocre towels irritate your skin. Give us a call and pick your new towels today.