My Cure for Red, Sensitive, Extremely Dry, Flaky Skin

Even though I am busy running a growing skin care company, I still like to keep my hands in skin care, so I take clients once a week in my downtown Dallas skin care spa. I really enjoy my Wednesdays, as it keeps me connected with clients and their concerns and allows me to visibly see the great results that our professional facial treatments and home care skin care products can deliver. Plus, I love the one-on-one time connection – after all, that’s why I got into this business in the first place.

Read: Why I Love Being an Esthetician

So when my client, Tracey Schwartz first came to me complaining of dry, extremely sensitive skin, I ran through my list of questions. I share this because I know many of you will be able to relate. (Note: conditions such as excema will also have success with this program as excema is a condition related to a weakened barrier within the skin.)

During my consultation with Tracey, she expressed the following concerns…

“My skin is always red and every product that I use stings my skin, so I have to be really careful with what I use on it.”

“I have to keep my skin care routine really simple and use products for sensitive skin but my skin still aways feels irritated,

“My skin is constantly dry and flaky and always looks red.”

“I’ve always had sensitive skin but it started to get worse in my mid 40′s.”

“My doctor diagnosed me with rosacea and gave me a prescription which I used for awhile and it only made my skin more irritated.”

Looking at Tracey’s skin, there was no doubt in my mind that her skin was extremely fragile, so I knew I had to go easy.
My diagnosis of Tracey’s skin was pretty simple. Her skin’s protective lipid barrier was damaged and that was the underlying cause of all her redness, dryness and hypersensitivity. She’s a classic skin type #9. (See our nine skin types.)

What is a damaged lipid barrier?

Your skin has a moisture barrier made of natural lipids that keeps moisture in the skin and irritants out. When this barrier is damaged, it creates tiny, invisible cracks in the skin that allow moisture to escape (causing dry, flaky skin) and irritants to enter more easily (making even sensitive skin products cause a stinging, irritating sensation.) All the moisturizer in the world wouldn’t help fix her dry, flaky, sensitive skin until we repaired her skin’s protective barrier.

How do you fix a damaged moisture barrier?

- For starters, avoid washing your skin with anything that leaves it feeling tight. Look at your cleansers and make sure to avoid the ingredient Sodium Laureth Sulfate or Ammonium Laureth Sulfate as these only further damage the skins barrier. f you’re using the wrong cleanser, you’re instantly stripping the moisture out of the skin which is the worst thing you can do for sensitive skin. See our collection of sulfate-free cleansing gels and cleansing lotions.

- Always use a toner to give your skin extra hydration, but make sure it’s alcohol-free. (Read: Five Reasons to Use Alcohol-Free Toner)

- Use a vitamin C or antioxidant serum daily. They can have excellent anti-redness properties but make sure it’s a no-sting formula, like our Vitamin C&E Complex which is formulated for sensitive, red skins.

- Wearing a broad-spectrum sunblock every day is a must. Our Daily Protection SPF 30 is perfect! UV rays from daylight cause inflammation in the skin which only makes sensitive skin more sensitive.

- Use a moisturizer with lipid-rich oils to reinforce skin’s natural barrier. This one is really important as regular moisturizers will hydrate but not necessarily fix a damaged barrier if they don’t use these special repairing ingredients.  Look for moisturizers with Linoleic Acid, Soybean Sterols, Jojoba Oil, Phospholipids, Borage Oil, Merospheres (liposome encapsulated rosemarinus officinalis), Kukui Nut Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Glycolipids, Squalane and Rose Hips Seed Oil. Many of these are found in our Phytolipid Comfort Cream which is formulated to repair the skin’s protective barrier down deep, where damage begins. Within weeks, visible redness and skin sensitivity will be greatly reduced – if not eliminated. Trust me, this cream works!

- Be sure to use products exclusively formulated for the unique needs of your skin. What’s your skin type?

So with that being said, I performed our moisture infusion facial, concentrating on barrier repair. I recommended Tracey purchase skin care products formulated for our #9 skin type. She was very nervous about purchasing the entire collection, as she had used various skin care products before, without results. With any sensitive skin, I recommend one new product at a time, and certainly understood her apprehension from the false promises of products she had previously used. To start with, I recommended she use our Phytolipid Comfort Cream for four weeks and then return for her next facial treatment.

When she returned, her skin looked so much better. The redness/dryness had improved, and she was thrilled with the results. Now, a year later, Tracey is a Renée Rouleau product junkie using all of the products for skin type #9, and she has never felt or looked better.

Which products are right for you? See our nine skin types and get products recommended.

For expert skin advice, check out Skin Source–the A-Z guide on all things skin. Also sign up here for our skin tip e-newsletter, follow Renée Rouleau on Twitter and like our Facebook page. You’ll be your own skin care expert in no time!

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Information courtesy of www.ReneeRouleau.com, a website with skin care tips, products based on nine skin types and advice from skin care expert and celebrity esthetician, Renée Rouleau.