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Post in Skincare Aware
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Best brands for sensitive skin and allergies?

Hi everyone! Does anyone have any suggestions for skincare products and brands I can try for my sensitive skin? I am particularly interested in finding effective chemical exfoliants to help eliminate flaky skin and fine lines.

 

I have eczema, and the skin of my face can get very dry. I have had a lot of success with First Aid Beauty, but I wasn't sure if there were other similar brands for me to try. I am allergic to tree nuts, so I struggle to find products without nut oils. I am also allergic to a variety of preservative chemicals such as methochloroisothiazolinone.

 

I like a lot of products from The Ordinary, but I have to be careful with their chemical exfoliants. I tried their AHA 30% BHA 2% Peeling solution and it was a big mistake... I got chemical burns on my face after only 3 minutes. This was a disappointment because so many people rave about this product. 

Re: Best brands for sensitive skin and allergies?

Alright, I found a website called skinsafeproducts.com and it has a filter for the top ten allergens including MCI (the preservative you mentioned) and coconut oil. After filtering those out, I found a lot of products, many unavailable on the Sephora website, but two brands are available. The first is Kate Somerville and the second is Tatcha. 

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate™ Glow Moisturizer with AHA 1.7 oz/ 50 mL is a cream that targets fine lines and wrinkles among other skincare concerns. It contains AHAs: glycolic acid and lactic acid. Now, though it scores a 91 on the skin safe website. Clearya, an ingredient analysis browser extension, spotted multiple fragrance allergens including "Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil", "CitronellolBenzyl BenzoateCitralLimoneneLinaloolGeraniol". I only listed the known fragrance allergens, but there were also some common ingredients that are potential carcinogens. I say common because the U.S. doesn't really prohibit these ingredients while the European Union and other countries do. So you probably already have products with these ingredients listed. I recommend you look to see if you have skincare products with the allergens I listed in your home, if you haven't reacted to them then you'll most likely be fine using this product.

TATCHA - The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder as you can guess from the name is a powder. It transforms into a creamy foam when it makes contact with water. It is described as non-abrasive and has four varieties. For dry skin, the "Gentle" is recommended and for sensitive skin, the "Indigo" is recommended. Based on the Clearya ingredient analysis, this product has NO known fragrance allergens listed, but the preservative "Phenoxyethanol" is listed and Clearya describes it as "linked to skin irritation and allergic reaction". Phenoxyethanol is restricted to maximum 1% concentration in both the European Union and Japan. Minerals is also a listed ingredient, this is a general term and has no specified component. I recommend testing this product on a small area of skin before applying to your face if you order it.

All things in love.

Re: Best brands for sensitive skin and allergies?

@worldwidecutie thank you so much for the suggestions!!! That website you listed is super helpful, I didn't even know it existed!! I'll have to explore the website and see what else I can find

Re: Best brands for sensitive skin and allergies?

Just realized the ingredient list differs slightly for the varieties of the Tatcha Exfoliating Rice Powder. I would avoid the calming variety (light blue). It contains "Titanium Dioxide (Ci77891)" and was alerted as a synonym of a substance that "Only in case of airborne, unbound particles that can be inhaled (such as sprays and powders): known to the State of California to cause cancer". Since this product is a powder, I thought I would warn you. Rest assured, none of the other varieties contains this ingredient.

Re: Best brands for sensitive skin and allergies?

Hi

Now, I don't have a list of products at the moment, but please look forward to that. My advice to you is read the ingredient lists, educate yourself and be smart. You said you have sensitive skin and you know what you are allergic too. If I were in your shoes I would avoid any product that boasts about having a "potent" formula, they tend to cause flakiness and dryness. In your case, they caused burns. please check out the nontoxic revolution website as well as the Clearya website. These sites list and help you identify ingredients that are known allergens, cause irritation and are prohibited by the European Union and other countries. 

All things in love.

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