Gentle Skincare for Those with Sensitive Skin

There are several factors that help care for sensitive skin. The first is to make sure you are using the correct skin care regimen and not making a skin condition worse.

Often those who are worried about aging skin try too many skin care products are once which irritates the skin and makes it look dryer and older. Use a gentle cleanser, sunscreen and moisturize with a basic gentle moisturizer like Oil of Olay or Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion for all over skin care, and add a serum for areas around the eyes and forehead wrinkles. Eucerin makes an excellent extreme dry skin cream. Nivea cream also has a consistency similar to Creme De La Mer without the seaweed properties, so if Creme De La Mer never made your skin more than just soft, then you can save lots of money and get a similar effect with Nivea.

Be careful to not scrub harshly with either an exfoliant or a washcloth. Investing in a good quality washcloth is important when taking care of sensitive skin. An excellent brand of towel is Abyss, who makes towels out of very fine cotton called Giza 70 Egyptian Cotton. A particularly good one of the Abyss collection is the Abyss Super Pile towel that Oprah likes - it is made with a super hefty 700 grams of Egyptian cotton and the towel weight almost a pound and they are very soft and durable. They do not fray and are low lint, highly absorbent, very strong and have a signature continuous bias trim that makes for no abrasive edges. Abyss Super Pile Towels is probably the thickest, most luxurious towel you will find. Abyss towels are made in Portugal. A washcloth is about $16 retail, and is an excellent cloth for sensitive skin such as those with eczema or those using topical treatments, retinols, peels or exfoliants. When washing your face, always use mild warm water, the boiling hot water many used in their teens to steam out pimples years ago is way too harsh even for problem skin. Remember when we thought scrubbing with hot water and Phisoderm helped? Skin cannot tolerate that sort of treatment, you can't "tough love" yourself out of skin problems. This makes a gentle cleanser, a gentle scrubbing motion, and a gentle product vital. Remember, your exfoliant does most of the work, so you need a gentle face towel.

A good sunscreen is important to protect your skin (even if it is cloudy out) but it is good to find one with the least extra chemicals in it. While SPF 15 is often too low, the higher SPF 55 - SPF 70 are often not needed for everyday use unless the skin has been burned or someone has had skin cancer in the past. A brimmed hat (such as a J CREW crusher hat) will protect areas most susceptible to skin damage including your scalp and earlobes.