Article: Shannon Smith from FAIRLADY

You know the feeling. Hot and scratchy, itchy and tetchy. And it usually happens when you're stressed out, exhausted or have an important date on your agenda. The last thing you need is skin that's having a nervous breakdown, but irritable, sensitive skin never happens at a good time. It's no coincidence that, according to the Clinique Truth in Beauty Global Survey, a huge percentage of South African women think their skin is sensitive. Our hot, sunny climate, combined with lifestyle and skincare factors, wreaks havoc on skin that's just slightly out of sync.

Although thin, dry skin is more susceptible to sensitivity, sensitivity can affect any skin type regardless of its colour or thickness. Skin is made up of cells and fats that fit together like a brick wall; the cells are the bricks and the fats are the cement. When the fats become depleted, like the cement missing between the bricks, substances that would usually have been blocked both in and out of the skin can move more freely. This results in a vicious cycle of water loss from the skin followed by sensitivity, which leads to inflammation and even worse sensitivity. Yes, the barrier can repair and rebalance itself over a number of hours so you might not even know there was a problem, but with repeated assaults, it can eventually become horribly unbalanced, and this is when you usually notice that something’s wrong.

The skin is the largest organ of the body and, as Ted A Grossbart and Carl Sherman explain in their book Skin Deep: A Mind/Body Program for Healthy Skin, it's also unique in that it's in an 'exposed position up against the world'. It also has an intimate bond with the nervous system, which means that it doesn't only react to physical change, but also to emotional upheavals. Our state of health, what we eat, how much sleep we're missing out on and whether we get enough fresh air and exercise impact on how it looks and functions as well.

Given all these variables, it's understandable that so many of us battle skin sensitivity at one time or another. But why is it that some lucky souls tend to pass through life's experiences and changes without their skin showing the slightest sign of irritability?

Dodging the shots
In the same way that each of us has a particular response to stress, so too do we each possess an individual skin response to skin aggressors. Whether the aggressors are internal, such as a food sensitivity or hormonal change, or external, such as climate extremes, some are just able to dodge the shots better than others. For the unfortunate few who have very reactive skin, never a day goes by that they do not have to deal with a skin crisis. Hormonally reactive skin grumbles as soon as hormones shift, environmentally reactive skin doesn't take kindly to a shift in climate and stress reactive skin goes for a loop at the slightest hint of emotion. However, at the base of all reactive skin problems usually lies a compromised skin barrier. The good news is that you can do something about it.

What causes sensitive skin?
Sensitive skin has a low tolerance to change. This doesn't only mean that skin becomes dry and flaky in winter; in summer it might also become flushed and hot. It's the extreme that sends skin into a hissy fit, and in South Africa, with our extremely hot, dry summer days and chilly winters, it's no surprise that South African women consider their skin to be sensitive. A huge contributor to sensitive skin is a diet that lacks essential fatty acids. We know these are an essential element in the skin and that they cannot be manufactured by the body, but in our size zero obsessed times, we've cut most fats out of our diet because we consider all fat to be bad fat, which is certainly not the case. A diet low in fat might get you into your favourite pair of jeans, but take a close look at what it's doing to the lines around your eyes and to the tolerance of your skin.

Aside from these two major factors, there's also the sensitivity to certain cosmetic ingredients such as preservatives and fragrance, a sensitivity that's difficult to pinpoint because of complicated cosmetic labelling.

Is sensitive skin such a catastrophe?
Apart from feeling uncomfortable and possibly looking red and flaky, skin sensitivity has a direct impact on how skin ages. As with all the degenerative diseases associated with ageing, inflammation is at the root of the system meltdown.

Inflamed skin conditions generate free radicals that contribute to the ageing process; collagen is broken down, elastin becomes inelastic and cell metabolism slows down to a tick. So, while the uncomfortable effects of sensitive skin might not feel too bad, on a deeper cellular level the impact is huge, with unseen damage only manifesting itself later in life.

Click here for an action plan for dealing with sensitive skin.