The No1 Cause For Skin Reddening & Sensitivity 

Unexplainable incident of skin reddening is mainly due to disrupted skin barrier. So to clarify your doubts, what causes a poor skin barrier? And the answer is that most of you may not realize that the undesirable abrupt reddening effect is due to the prolong use of certain harsh ingredients in your daily skin care products.

I reckon that it is not a sexy subject, but it is one of our major topics if you are longing for a healthy, vibrant younger looking skin.

Poor Skin Barrier Causes Burning & Stinging Sensation

The skin barrier is the outermost layer of our skin surface which consists of cells and lipids (fats). Also known as the permeability barrier, moisture barrier, or lipid barrier, its main function is to prevent epidermal water loss. The skin barrier is the outer most layer of the skin composing of 0.5 µm to 0.7 µm in thickness depending on the level of hydration. Do you know that its measurement is even thinner than the width of our hair! 

An intact and functional skin barrier reduces water loss while preventing harmful irritants, allergens and toxins from penetrating into the dermis layer. It is vital that the skin barrier restores the healthy protective and functional integrity of the skin. All of these factors contribute towards achieving a smooth, nourished and glowing skin.

However, there are a number of internal and external causes that can weaken or destroy the skin barrier. As time goes by, our skin’s ability to synthesize natural oils and lipids which is the cement that binds our skin cells and protein is gradually decreased. This natural phenomenon leads to a dry and flaky skin.

External manmade causes include excessive facial cleansing with hot water or the prolong use of harsh cosmetic ingredients will literally strip away the natural lipids of the skin, inciting its sensitivity and inflammatory cascade. Meanwhile, unprotective exposure sunburn and UV induced photoaging, air pollution also aggravates skin disorder such as eczema and rosacea which break down the healthy skin barrier.

 As you can imagine, when this outer layer of protective skin is malfunction, it allows irritants, chemicals, allergens, bacteria, viruses to be highly permeable and easily accessible to the living portion of the skin. When this happens, it triggers inflammation and irritation, which eventually lead to redness, uncomfortable burning and stinging sensations.

In this way, it is clear that even with the most expensive skin care which does not enhance the protective functions of the outer layer of our skin, it will eventually pose threat to distort our skin’s natural healthy structure.

5 Common Types of Ingredients To Avoid:

1. Alpha (AHA) & Beta (BHA) Hydroxy Acid

AHA & BHA are used in many skincare products. They function to exfoliate the skin making it smooth and soft. They can treat acne and other unwanted blemishes. At a higher concentration, these acids can also stimulate collagen production and help to erase wrinkles. All these anti-aging benefits are the reason that AHA and BHA are commonly present in many skincare products. 

However, acids have a low pH. When the acids penetrate the skin, it can sting and burn. In addition, the acids also dissolve the oils and lipid that hold the skin cells together and weakens the skin barrier. 

Common acids used in the formulation include glycolic acid, lactic acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acids. So watch out for lotions and creams with those ingredients, if you have a sensitive skin.

2. Surfactant and Emulsifier

Lotions, serums, and creams are made by mixing water and oil together. If you ever made salad dressing, you know that oil and water do not stay together in a mixture for long. They will separate.

Surfactant or emulsifier is added to hold water and oil together in a mixture, and the mixture is heated to a high temperature. The problem with this traditional manufacturing process is that some of the surfactant, especially the ionic type, tend to irritate the skin and trigger that burning and stinging sensation. In addition, the high temperature will destroy the active functions of other ingredients encapsulated in the formulation.  

3. Preservative

You need preservatives to prevent the growth of fungus, bacteria and yeast in the daily routine skincare products. However, it is notable that preservatives, like formaldehyde, Diazolidinyl, paraben, and methylisothiazolinone, trigger irritation and allergy reactions in sensitive skin. 

That is why, all Lagom daily use skin care products are produced under a paraben-free manufacturing process as per stringent supervision by the EU authorities.

4. Alcohol

There are a number of reasons to include alcohol in a skincare formulation. It ranges from acting as a preservative to changing the texture of the formulation. But the downside is alcohol strips away the natural lipids while weakening our skin barrier which causes the stinging and burning pain.

5. Fragrance

In general, artificial fragrance derived from chemicals tend to be more likely to cause the irritating symptoms, such as the burning or stinging sensation.

In view of the above, you are highly recommended to strengthen your skin barrier by conscientiously wash your face with non-irritating pH balancing Lagom Glowing Cleanser, followed by preparing your skin with Lagom Poreless Revitalizing Toner which helps to hydrate, protect and renew your skin with a synergistic blend of marine mineral, acid amino and powerful antioxidants. Upon its full absorption, apply Lagom Illuminating Essence sparingly on your face day and night as a superlative skin relief soothing elixir which intensely nourish your damaged skin cell while revitalizing its natural moisture barrier. This simple protocol helps to produce a protective film that limits trans-epidermal water loss from the stratum corneum while repairing the quality of the skin tissues and enhancing the skin thickness. All Lagom daily care products exhibit anti-bacteria, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory actions in reducing elevated skin sensitivity while refreshes stressed skin in emitting its natural brilliance.