Shouting out to all the troubled souls out there, in particular, those plagued with sensitive skin with a penchant for flare ups. We know that you've been paying extra attention to your skin, often staring at a new skincare product that you've been wanting to try, but yet questioning yourself, should I... or should I not?
For people with sensitive skin, it's not easy to hop onto the newest skincare and makeup bandwagon like everyone else. Instead, each ingredient printed at the back label of any skincare product needs to be thoroughly examined over and over again, and before it can finally land a spot in your vanity closet, it needs to pass the necessary 24-hour patch test to be deemed "safe for use".
Scrubs for Sensitive Skin
On first glance, you might shriek at the thought of your skin turning red and feeling the burn after exfoliating. Scrubs have never had a good relationship with sensitive skin, since they have been known to cause irritation, micro-tears in the skin, and unsightly bumps the day after. This is also the reason why people tend to stay away from exfoliators and scrubs in their skincare routine.
Are there facial scrubs specifically for sensitive skin?
To answer this question, you should understand that there are two types of exfoliation:
Physical exfoliation
These are the tiny scrub particles found inside your facial products, usually made from seeds or grains. Physical exfoliation can also be referred to as mechanical exfoliation whereby a brush, loofah or other kinds of tools that are used on the skin for exfoliating purposes. This can be done on dry or wet skin, but more often, dry brushing is used strictly on the bodily skin rather than the facial skin. Physical exfoliation is pretty straightforward if you look at it on the outside. The tiny granules rub against your skin to slough of those dead skin cells, revealing smoother skin beneath.
Chemical exfoliation
Now, this is where it gets a little tricky. But to tackle this head-on, you should familiarise yourself with alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) and beta-hydroxy acid (BHA). These are the two main types of chemical exfoliation. The differences are plain simple, AHA peels away the outermost surface of your skin so that new skin cells can regenerate, in other words, they work from outside-in, very much like a physical exfoliator minus the actual scrub bits. BHA, on the other hand, goes deeper into your skin, working to remove excess sebum and dead skin cells from within. In short, BHA works inside out. Another thing to note is that AHA is water soluble while BHA is oil soluble.
Back to the earlier question, are there facial scrubs specifically for sensitive skin, the answer is yes!
In fact, there are both physical and chemical scrubs suited for sensitive skin. The trick is to find one that is gentle on the skin, yet has the effectiveness of an exfoliator, just like HYSSES' Gentle Facial Scrub.
HYSSES Gentle Facial Scrub is a physical exfoliator that contains apricot seeds as its key ingredient. Apricot seeds are known to contain anti-inflammatory and moisturizing benefits for the skin, thus making it suitable for those with dry and/or sensitive skin. The added Geranium and Chamomile essential oils double as a gentle treatment for acne, dermatitis and eczema. Unlike harsh exfoliators, the Gentle Facial Scrub is prized for its smooth, gel-like texture that soothes irritation and redness on the skin.
How often should I exfoliate?
Exfoliation should be done regularly, whether you have sensitive skin or not. If you're concerned about the aftermath of exfoliating your skin, you might want to start by applying on one part of your skin first and see if you get any reactions in the next 24 hours. This will lessen the chances of a full-blown breakout if anything less than ideal were to occur.
Also, since exfoliation takes away the outermost layer of your skin, you should apply sunscreen before you step out of your home. This is to prevent any UV damage on your skin. Try out this routine once every 2 weeks and you'll be able to see glowing skin in no time!