During the winter, the air is particularly dry. For people with chronic skin conditions (like eczema or psoriasis), it’s important to keep the skin hydrated. When the skin dries out, then tiny breaks develop in the skin’s surface. These are often so small that you can’t even see them – you’ll just notice that your skin feels a bit rough. Various substances from the outside world can get in through these breaks, and can cause irritation. This leads to a flare-up.
In order to protect your skin from drying out, it’s important to keep your skin hydrated. One great way to do this is to use lotion. Ideally, do this while your skin is still moist from the bath or shower, to lock in that moisture.
It’s important to choose your lotion wisely. There are some ingredients in lotions that can irritate your skin. These may actually cause a flare-up, rather than preventing one. One common example is fragrances, which can be highly irritating to sensitive skin.
It’s very important to pay attention to the fragrances in any product that you’re putting on your skin, whether it’s lotion, sunscreen, or makeup.
How can fragrances in skin care products irritate your skin?
The molecules of a chemical fragrance are extremely small. This is actually what allows them to float easily in the air, so that they spread into your nose and you can smell them. In general, anything with a strong smell is made up of very small molecules.
Because they’re so small, the molecules of a fragrance are able to get through very tiny breaks in your skin’s protective surface – even if these are just microscopic. When your skin is dry, then there generally are many tiny breaks. Even when your skin seems to be completely healthy, chances are that there are at least a few little breaks in its surface. Your skin is exposed to the environment, and it often gets a little bit damaged, even if this isn’t noticeable.
If you put on a lotion containing fragrance, then the molecules of the fragrance will get into your skin’s tissues through the broken surface. Once they’re inside, these chemicals often cause a lot of irritation. This can lead to inflammation and can ultimately cause a flare-up.
This is why it’s better to avoid any type of skincare product that contains a fragrance. Even when your skin seems to be smooth and healthy, a fragrance can make its way in and cause irritation.
Should I choose unscented products?
It’s important to be very careful when you’re trying to protect your skin from the effects of chemical fragrances. You’ll need to look for products labeled “fragrance free,” not “unscented.”
This is because unscented products can still have a “masking fragrance” – a chemical that’s added to cover up the natural smells of the ingredients in the product. Masking fragrances can be just as irritating as any other fragrance, so you’ll want to avoid them. When you choose a product labeled “fragrance free,” then you can be sure that it really doesn’t have any fragrance in it, including a masking fragrance.
It’s also important to know that the specific chemicals of a fragrance don’t have to be listed on the label, because they’re considered proprietary. This means that you can’t really know what specific chemical – or chemicals – you’re putting on your skin when you use a product with fragrance.
Even if a product claims to be “natural,” the fragrances could still be irritating, and you won’t even know specifically what they are if the label only lists “fragrance.” For all of these reasons, the best bet is to choose fragrance free products.
Are “sensitive skin” or “natural” products safe?
Although it would be nice if we could rely on simple labels to let us know what’s safe to put on our skin, unfortunately this isn’t always how things work. Products labeled “for sensitive skin” may be less likely to cause irritation than their normal counterparts, but they can still contain irritating chemicals like fragrances.
But what about “natural” products? Well, the word “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean much in terms of product labeling. In fact, there’s no legal definition for a “natural” product. A company could choose to label a product “natural” when it really contains lots of chemicals – they could simply claim that they got these chemicals from natural sources, for example. You can’t rely on this label to mean that a product really does contain only natural ingredients.
In addition, fragrances that truly are purely natural can still cause skin irritation. In fact, a 2021 study found that one of the most common skin allergens is geraniol. This is a substance that’s naturally found in many plant oils, including citronella, rose, lemongrass, and lavender. These are among the most common natural fragrances used in skincare products.
Even though geraniol is truly a natural ingredient found in minimally processed essential oils, it still causes skin irritation for many people. Many other essential oils also contain potentially irritating substances. Even though a natural fragrance may seem like a better option than a chemical fragrance, it’s generally safer to choose a completely fragrance-free option instead.
Choosing skincare products that won’t trigger a flare-up
There’s so much to be aware of when you’re dealing with a chronic skin condition. You can’t rely on companies to help protect you – their labeling can be confusing and even deceptive. Instead, you need to learn as much as you can about skincare, so you know how to take the best possible care of your skin.
We talk a lot about how best to support your skin health inside Mind-Gut-Skin Academy. This includes not only creating a healthy skincare routine, but also many aspects of lifestyle that can have a huge impact on your skin health. Registration for the brand-new updated version of the program will open soon. Head here to save your spot, or to learn more!