Skin Care Tips

Gentle Skin Care Recipes for Sensitive Skin

These natural skin care tips for sensitive skin will show you how to care for your skin simply and affordably using natural and hypoallergenic ingredients that you can find in your kitchen!

When you are trying something new, I recommend that you only try one new tip each day, so that you can see how your skin reacts.

Sensitive skin care is a dance between you and your skin. You make a move, then you see how your skin responds. Based on that response, you then make another move!

Skin Care Tips - Cleansing Your Skin Gently

If you have sensitive skin, it is important that you avoid using most bar soaps on your face, which can be drying and irritating. Even those 'face and body' bars which are supposed to be very moisturizing can cause a skin outbreak. The few times I've had to use bar soaps on my face always ended up the same, with pain, redness, and me looking like a strawberry!

If you have really hyper sensitive skin, and nothing seems to work for you, I recommend you start by simply cleansing your face with water. Water is one of those skin care tips that is hard to go wrong with!

I also recommend drinking plenty of water each day ... you'll be surprised just how effective that can be in clearing up your skin! 

Water does an amazing job and does not need a lot of extra help. Then, when your skin calms down a bit, you may want to try a good hypoallergenic skin care product for facial cleansing.

There are different approaches to sensitive skin care, and you will have to see what works for you. Some skin care tips shared by experts in the filed recommend always using a cleansing skin care product and they feel that you should never cleanse the face with water. They believe that the chemicals or minerals in the water can be drying. You will have to try this out for yourself to see what works for your skin.

If you live in a dry climate you may find that washing your face with just water is drying for your skin. In that case I highly recommend using a professional skin care products that are made for sensitive skin.

Another reason to use hypoallergenic skin care products to cleanse your face is if you wear hypoallergenic makeup and need some extra help cleansing the makeup off of your face.

There are also people with oily skin who get blackheads and need help with a deeper cleansing of their skin to avoid a buildup on the face. See our page on acne sensitive skin care for more acne skin care tips.

When my skin is really acting up, I will share with you one of my VERY favorite skin care tips. This simple, natural skin care recipe that works incredibly well for me - yogurt! I use organic, full fat yogurt, and after cleansing my face with water, I apply the yogurt, leave it on for a few minutes and wash off. My skin looks and feels clean, smooth and radiant. The lactic acid in the yogurt acts as a mild exfoliant but does not cause irritation.

When your skin is ready to try some new sensitive skin care products, first check the label and make sure that the ingredients in your facial cleanser are non-toxic. I like this brand of hypoallergenic facial cleanser which is gentle, non-foaming, and provides moisture as well as gently cleansing.

Skin Care Tips - Toners for your Sensitive Skin

Some skin care tips shared by experts recommend you always use a toner for sensitive skin after you cleanse your skin, to complete the cleansing process and to close the pores and begin the moisturizing process. Others experts feel that simply splashing cold water on your face is enough to close the pores and prepare the skin to be moisturized. 

I have tried both methods, and splashing cold water is in some ways is the perfect toner for sensitive skin. It is simple and affordable, though not as luxurious as applying a really nice facial toner, which provides extra cleansing and moisturizing benefits.

Using toner for sensitive skin was a challenge for me, because I found that my skin erupted when used many brands, even the really nice, organic, non-toxic products. Some brands even stung my eyes so badly I was afraid I'd need to go to the hospital!

After extensive research and reading hundreds of skin care tips I finally found a gentle hypoallergenic toner for sensitive skin with no botanicals and with safe ingredients. It sprays on and does not sting, and leaves my face feeling soft and refreshed. It is also surprising affordable, the bottle lasts six months to a year depending on how frequently you use it. 

You can also try using homemade toner for sensitive skin, to see how your skin likes them. I love trying out new skin care recipes! I've listed a few here that you can look through.

First though, I have to say that even though these are all natural ingredients, they MAY be too strong for your sensitive skin.

 

One of our most important skin care tips for sensitive skin is to ALWAYS do a skin test first, on the inside of your arm before using any new product for your face, whether it is one that you buy, or a homemade skin care recipe.

The benefit using of a toner for sensitive skin that you make yourself is that you can control the ingredients and try one at a time, to see which ones do or don't work for your skin. Most of these you will already have in your kitchen!

Cider Vinegar Toner - One of the great and simple natural skin care tips, passed down through the generations. This one is great for normal or oily skin. Mix 3 parts pure water to one part natural cider vinegar and splash on the face.

If this is too strong for you, dilute with more water. This is affordable, and can be a great acne treatment for sensitive skin.

Apple cider vinegar restores the natural ph of your skin. The only downside is that really good, organic apple cider vinegar smells very strong! After using a cider vinegar toner, you can splash your face with cold water to wash off the smell.

Aloe Vera Toner - mix a little aloe vera gel with some water, or put in a blender until it is well mixed. This is very soothing as long as you are not allergic to aloe vera. It works well for men after shaving or for women after using tweezers to remove unwanted facial hair.

Lemon Toner - squeeze a little lemon juice into a few ounces of water and pat on your face with a facecloth. Keep away from your eyes! Lemon is astringent and if used every day can help lighten age spots. Also, the vitamin C in lemon is great for the skin.

These next few homemade toners for sensitive skin use herbal teas. Because they use just one ingredient, you'll be able to see how your skin reacts. If you are salicylate sensitive or allergic to herbs or botanicals then I recommend that you avoid using herbal teas.

Green Tea Toner - Steep a green tea bag in a cup of hot water for a few minutes. Cool or add an ice cube and splash on face. Cooling and soothing and energizing! The used tea bag can also be used to apply to the face. Green tea is filled with antioxidant properties that are healing to the skin.

Yerba Mate Toner - Steep a yerba tea bag in a cup of hot water for a few minutes. Cool or add an ice cube and splash on your face. Yerba mate tea is used a base for medicinal herbal preparations in South America and has an abundant supply of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants .. almost all of the nutrients needed to sustain life. It is energizing for the whole body.

Peppermint and Lemon Toner - Make a cup of peppermint tea by adding one tea bag to a cup of hot water. Steep for a few minutes, cool or add ice cubes and a drop of lemon. Very cooling, refreshing and astringent!

Skin Care Tips - Moisturizing Your Sensitive Skin

Unless you live in a tropical rainforest, your sensitive skin care needs some help each day to maintain proper moisture levels, and to be able to stay elastic and smooth and avoid premature aging. Some people with sensitive skin have trouble finding sensitive skin moisturizers that work well and that also do not aggravate their skin. 

If even the hypoallergenic moisturizer that you are using is not causing your face to break out, you may want to try finding products that not only chemically safe but also that do not contain herbs or botanicals. I've only found one line of hypoallergenic products that are both chemically safe AND botanical free.

Another approach if you have really hyper sensitive skin is to try using one ingredient at a time, instead of a formulation. This approach is limited because no one ingredient is the absolute best moisturizer for sensitive skin, but it can be a start if you're having trouble finding something that works.

Like all new products you place on your skin, test behind your ear or on your forearm first! Here are a few natural skin care recipes that use just one ingredient.

Shea butter is a fantastic skin care tip which few people know about. It is very moisturizing and not greasy unless you use too much of it. A little goes a long way. Shea butter is one of the ingredients in my favorite moisturizer for sensitive skin . 

Unrefined, cold pressed avocado oil is relatively feels very nourishing on the skin and is soothing for sensitive skin. You might find it a bit too greasy for your face, even though it is less greasy than most natural oils.

I like to use avocado oil on my body, especially before bed. It feels very nourishing, and when you wake up your skin will be so soft! Avocado oil is one of the natural sensitive skin moisturizers that may even work for you if your skin is having an outbreak.

Once your skin outbreak has calmed down, try to find a gentler skin care product that is specially formulated for very sensitive skin. I find the best moisturizer for sensitive skin is also one of the most affordable.

Skin Care Tips - Exfoliating Your Sensitive Skin

Exfoliating is one of the great challenges of sensitive skin care. Exfoliating helps to remove dead skin cells from your skin which allows new skin cells to come forward. This more deeply cleanses the face which is exposed to the sun, to pollution and to either your makeup or your shave once each day.

Even though exfoliating your skin is very helpful, it can also cause more problems that it solves if you have sensitive skin! This depends entirely on how you do it.

You can use mechanical exfoliation, or chemical exfoliation treatments. Mechanical exfoliation includes using a skin brush or an abrasive material. Chemical exfoliation uses acidic products to peel the skin. Over the counter exfoliating products usually contain AHA or BHA. I don't recommend using chemical exfoliation if you have sensitive skin, unless you already know for sure that you can tolerate it!

In terms of mechanical exfoliation, you will have to experiment gently to see what works for your skin. Don't try anything new except your exfoliation treatment, in order to see the results more clearly.

In your travels you might see some exfoliating skin care products which use small plastic beads to exfoliate your skin, which they say is less irritating than natural abrasives. This is one of those skin care tips which sounds good until you look deeper into the issue. 

These plastic beads do not biodegrade and end up in our Earth's rivers and oceans. The small plastic beads get stuck in the digestive tracts of the animals who have swallowed them. Who knows what they do to our bodies! Please, for the sake of your own health and that of the Earth and her inhabitants, do not use sensitive skin exfoliators that contain plastic beads!

If you've got sensitive skin, how can you exfoliate gently? I personally find even using a facecloth that is too scratchy can irritate my face! Here are some of my favorite natural skin care tips to exfoliate your face. You'll have to experiment to see whether your skin can tolerate the abrasive action.

Yogurt - This seems to be the gentlest of all the natural skin recipes I've found. Simply apply a tablespoon of organic, full fat plain yogurt to your face. Let it sit for a few minutes and rinse off. Your skin will be radiant and refreshed because the lactic acid provides gentle exfoliation.

Ground oatmeal - grind up some rolled oats in your coffee grinder, mix with a little water and apply and gently rub onto the face. Very nice and gentle. More skin care tips -- ground oatmeal can be blended with yogurt or milk adds a gentle, soothing cleansing action.

These next natural skin care recipes provide mechanical abrasion so please go very slowly and be sure to test first on your inner arm or behind the ear.

Ground almonds - good for dry skin, but be careful and go slowly and be sure they are ground up really fine. This is simple to make by grinding organic almonds in your coffee grinder or blender. The almond oil provides moisture for dry skin. If you don't have almonds on hand, try sunflower seeds. This produces a really nice, soft, buttery scrub.

Ground barley - grind in your food processor and mix with avocado oil or your favorite hypoallergenic facial cleanser. Once again, go slowly.

Sugar Scrub - Very simple, simply add a little granulated sugar to your favorite facial cleanser, cream or cold pressed oil. Has a nice brightening effect. Some people like using brown sugar which smells nice. I have never used this, as I don't eat sugar, but many people love it.

Sea salt body scrub - I recommend you use these for your body rather than your facial exfoliation. You can apply sea salt with some oil or a good moisturizer. Go very slowly and gently, use for 30 seconds to one minute at the most. Use a finely ground salt. Salt can be irritating if you scrub too hard or leave on too long, but also feels refreshing and energizing.

Coconut oil and cornmeal - A good body scrub. Mix together and rub slowly and gently onto the skin.

I've experimented with many kinds of natural exfoliants for sensitive skin, but I still found many of them a bit rough for my skin.

Then I started trying a few select hypoallergenic exfoliants, which were less abrasive but caused my face to break out!

I finally found a botanical free, chemically safe hypoallergenic Exfolating Scrub for sensitive skin which is quite remarkable. It does not irritate or dry and leaves the skin moist, soft and very smooth. It will remove dead skin cells and unclog pores, without causing a rash. It has cleared up the occasional blackheads that would develop during those times when I couldn't find a good skin cleanser!

Skin Care Tips - Facial Masks for Sensitive Skin

A facial mask for sensitive skin is a great way to pamper yourself and give your skin a little extra nourishment. Most skin care tips about facial masks require that you leave them on for ten to twenty minutes, so they are also a good way to make sure you take a short rest lie down for at least a few minutes!

When you have sensitive skin, it can be a challenge to find a facial mask for sensitive skin that does not cause irritation or breakouts. I am still working on finding the right facial mask for my sensitive skin! Here are some natural skin care tips I've learned that you may find helpful.

Avocado Facial Mask - Mmmmm, this one is so wonderfully creamy, nourishing and healing for the skin. I personally love to eat avocados so it is difficult for me to part with one long enough to put it on my face! 

Yogurt Facial Mask - Very gentle, cooling and soothing especially if you have irritated skin. Yogurt contains beneficial bacteria and lactic acid which can gently exfoliate as well as nourish your skin.

Egg White and Oatmeal Facial Mask - is gentle and moisturizing for sensitive skin. Mix an egg white with some ground oatmeal until it makes a paste you can apply to your face.

Bananas and Honey Facial Mask - Mix a very ripe banana with a touch of honey and a few drops of fresh lemon or orange juice. Apply to face for 15 minutes. Gentle and fantastic for oily skin.

Energizing Coffee Facial Mask - A very unique facial mask using 1/4 teaspoon ground coffee mixed with a tablespoon of yogurt or honey. Bled together and apply to your face, and leave on for not more than 5 minutes. Very energizing and refreshing for the skin but use just a little coffee as the caffeine is absorbed into your bloodstream. I actually use this as a medicinal facial when I have a headache. The small amount of caffeine eases the pain so I don't need to take Excedrin! :-)

Another very effective facial mask for sensitive skin uses kaolin or French clay. This can be messy to mix yourself but there are hypoallergenic products available which have no irritating ingredients. I use a facial mask for sensitive skin which does wonders for my skin if I leave it on for no more than fifteen minutes. If I leave it on for longer, my face will sometimes get red. My skin emerges from this facial mask glowing and completely cleansed, with the pores tightened and all blackheads gone!