Aside from figuring out what you are allergic to and calming the allergic reaction, the same skin-care recommendations this book describes apply here as well. Doing what you can to reinforce the skin’s barrier by giving the skin the substances it needs to repair, restore, and protect skin cells is essential to reduce the damage caused by allergic reactions. That means your skin needs the same antioxidants, skin-identical ingredients, and cell-communicating ingredients as anyone else. Just as a good diet doesn’t change in terms of what’s healthy, the same is true for good skin care. Of course you don’t want to use some substances, even if they are healthy, if you are allergic to them. So that is part of experimenting to find the products that work best for you. What works best are those ingredients that are beneficial for skin, and you just need to find the ones that make your skin feel the best!
When it comes to dealing with allergy-prone skin you have to be a detective. Here is what you need to do when you have allergy-prone skin:
1. Primarily you need to be certain you are dealing with an allergy or sensitizing reaction to a product, and not with a skin disorder or irritation. Many skin conditions such as psoriasis, rosacea, eczema, folliculitis (an inflammation of the hair follicle), and reactions to food can account for the skin becoming irritated, swollen, red, itchy, flaky, or rashy. Irritating skin-care ingredients can cause an occurrence that looks like an allergic reaction but is not the same thing. A great resource for identifying whether what is occurring on your face is a skin disorder is the Primary Care Dermatology Atlas at www. dermatlas. org, where you can search over 10,000 images of skin problems. This gives you a way to identify whether or not your skin is similar in appearance to the images found for a particular skin disorder.
2. It would be great if you could find what product(s) or ingredient(s) are causing the problem and stop using them. Sometimes that is a simple enough procedure. If you started using a new concealer and within a few hours that area became red, itchy, and swollen, it would be clear that the concealer is the problem and you would stop using it. Unfortunately, it isn’t always that easy. Even after you’ve stopped using the offending item or items, your skin can remain rashy, reddened, flaky, dry, swollen, and irritated for days—and for some, even months. There is no known medical reason why some skin types can’t shake an allergic reaction while others improve immediately after the allergen is no longer applied.
3. For some unknown reason your skin can develop an allergic reaction over time. Further, given the number of cosmetic products women use daily, each one containing a disparate range of ingredients, it is no wonder that pinning down exactly which one caused the problem can be a challenge. To make matters even more complicated, it may not be a single product but the combination of products worn one over the other that caused the problem (maybe the concealer isn’t the problem, but the mix of concealer, foundation, and moisturizer together that sparked the reaction). The key is to be patient and diligent, experimenting with the item or items you suspect and then watching how your skin responds when you discontinue using them.
4. Whether or not you’ve been able to identify the problem product, an over-the – counter cortisone cream can be your skin’s best friend. Lanacort or Cortaid are excellent over-the-counter cortisone creams that function as anti-inflammatories. When either of these are applied to irritated, inflamed skin they can turn off the reaction that is causing the problem. It is essential to be conscientious about using these on a regular, methodical (though short-term) basis while your skin is having problems. For example, once the skin irritation shows up, keep applying the cortisone cream over the affected area for several days, even a day or two after everything seems back to normal. Remember that the skin can hold onto a sensitizing or allergic reaction for a long period of time, even after you’ve stopped using the offending product. And don’t be afraid about the short-term use of an over-the-counter cortisone cream. It is the long-term, consistent use (for more than two or three months) of cortisone creams that can damage collagen and elastin in the skin, not short-term use.
5. While you are combating the allergic or sensitizing reaction, do not use any other skin irritants of any kind over the affected area. Fragrances, scrubs, washcloths, AHAs, Retin-A, Renova, benzoyl peroxide, skin lighteners, or other skin-care products with active or abrasive ingredients can trigger skin irritation and will only add to the problem.
6. Avoid saunas, steam, sweating (if possible), or rubbing the affected area, all of which can help re-trigger the reaction and further weaken the skin’s barrier.
7. Finally, if matters don’t improve after four to six weeks, or if the reaction is severe from the beginning, you should see your dermatologist for an evaluation.
8. If you suspect that you are having a serious allergic reaction (in the form of hives, extremely swollen skin and eyes, or red patches over the skin that feel warm or tingle), consult your physician to discuss varying options. Prescription-strength topical cortisone, oral cortisone, or oral antihistamines may be necessary.