Category: Sensitive skin

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My skin when it's cold

Better understanding

How to get through winter safely with your sensitive or atopic skin?

Why does the skin dry out during winter? Why is it more sensitive and less comfortable? But above all, what can you do everyday to limit the impact of cold on your skin, wether atopic, reactive or simply reactive? Have a look!

In this article

My skin when it is cold

When temperature drops, our body reacts to protect us and our behavior changes. 

What are the impact on our skin?

Our skin: the first barrier against heat loss

Our skin has to change the way it operates when it gets cold, creating a barrier against low temperatures. In particular, the sebaceous glands produce less sebum when temperature drops, with 2 main consequences: 

  • Our skin dries out 
  • Our body becomes more vulnerable to exterior aggressions, like pollution, allergies, or metals, sebum having an antibacterial action and acting as a “cement” between our skin-cells

Cold weather changes our lifestyle

During winter, we spend more time indoors, in heated environments, where the air is drier: our skin gets dehydrated. 

When temperature drops, our body reacts to protect us and our behavior changes. 

What are the impact on our skin?

Our skin: the first barrier against heat loss

Our skin has to change the way it operates when it gets cold, creating a barrier against low temperatures. In particular, the sebaceous glands produce less sebum when temperature drops, with 2 main consequences: 

  • Our skin dries out 
  • Our body becomes more vulnerable to exterior aggressions, like pollution, allergies, or metals, sebum having an antibacterial action and acting as a “cement” between our skin-cells

Cold weather changes our lifestyle

During winter, we spend more time indoors, in heated environments, where the air is drier: our skin gets dehydrated. 

Tip #1 : Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

The skin’s protective layer, called hydrolipidic film, is composed of layers of water and lipids. When our skin is dry, which means it is not moist or oily enough, its protective action is less effective, exposing us to more external aggressions. 

As we have seen, the cold amplifies the dehydration of the epidermis while decreasing the natural production of skin lipids. Therefore, during winter it is important to: 

  • Moisturize your skin daily, especially your face, which is more exposed to cold
  • Restore lipid levels by applying essential fatty acids 

Tip #2 : Enhance the natural protection of your skin

  • If you have an atopic skin, it is easier for allergens responsible for inflammatory reactions to penetrate your skin
  • If you have a reactive skin, it is a sign that your immune system is more sensitive to allergens

In either case, the low production of sebum when it is cold weakens our skin’s protective layer. It is important, in addition to our Tip #1,  to reinforce it by applying protective creams against allergies and pollution. 

Moisturizing Lotion HP: like a coat for your skin

ATOPIC, REACTIVE AND SENSITIVE SKINS
Powered by CAPTURIFIQUE™

Hight quality hydration*

87% of users praise its hydrating effect

Boosts the skin's protective film

Thanks to the exclusive patented technology CAPTURIFIQUE™

Safe & clean formulation

13 ingredients • Fragrance-free • Hypoallergenic
No nasties

> See sources

Moisturizes

Restores lipids

Protects

See product
ATOPIC, REACTIVE AND
SENSITIVE SKINS

Moisturizes

Restores lipids

Protects

High-quality hydration*

87% of users praise its hydrating effect

Boosts the skin protective film

Thanks to the exclusive patented technology CAPTURIFIQUE™

Safe & clean formulation

13 ingredients • Fragrance-free • Hypoallergenic
No nasties

> See sources

See product

Available bundles

Single bottle

6.76 Fl oz

See product

Pack x 2

2 x 6.76 Fl oz

See product

Pack x 3

3 x 6.76 Fl oz

See product
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Find the perfect after sun cream for your sensitive skin!

Summer and the sun are here… and it is time to choose an efficient after sun cream for your sensitive skin. Indeed, with the sun shining, again and again,  it is important not only to protect your skin with an appropriate sun protection but to soothe it with a good moisturiser and after sun cream. Skintifique could be a good fit for your skin!

Summer is here…

… and before you realize it, the first sunburn of the year is turning your cheeks from rosy to bright red! And this is when you start wondering: “Who thought about bringing after sun cream or other fancy products to soothe your burnt skin?”

But if you have the Skintifique Hydrating Gel Plus HS with you, then you have the solution: not only does it provide exceptional moisturising to dry and very dry skin, but in addition to that, its soothing properties help the skin to regenerate as quickly as possible and transform that bright red into a nice suntan. Indeed, thanks to its exclusive and patented technology (Activifique) the Hydrating Gel Plus HS has a unique moisturising and soothing power. Its benefits can be felt up to 24 hours after use and increase over the time without saturating the skin in surfactants or losing its effect. It’s a great skin care product to have always with you during Summer!

Moreover, thanks to its safe and pure formulation, the Hydrating Gel Plus HS is suitable for all the family. Adults, children, and infants can use it as an after sun cream.

Nevertheless, next time, think about putting sun protection, though: the Skintifique Hydrating Gel Plus HS will still be a wonderful after sun cream, however, your skin will stay healthier without the sun burn.

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How to take care of your sensitive skin during winter?

Here we are, winter settled in with an entirely new set of challenges for our skin. But what about our skin care routine? And how to take care of sensitive, dry and demanding skin during winter?

During winter, our skin can send various “signals” to underline its needs of hydration: dryness, cracks, loss of radiance …  Hands and lips are especially affected by this change in temperatures.

These symptoms are common for people with very dry skin (xerosis) or suffering from dermatological conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, dyshidrosis or ichthyosis. They are often aggravated by cold, dry air, harsh temperatures of the season, or snow…

Dry skin is especially common during winter

During winter, the skin is assaulted by:

  • environmental factors: wind, cold and sun (UV in mountains) …
  • external factors: wearing thick clothing or using irritating skin care products.

These factors have a direct impact on our skin. Indeed, the barrier function of our skin is affected. Our skin has reduced ability to retain water, which evaporates more easily, leading to dryness. The skin is also more vulnerable to irritants.

Then, what is the best routine to moisturize and protect our sensitive skin during winter?

Here is a two-steps routine to moisturize and protect your sensitive skin during the winter:

1. Eliminate all the allergens that can irritate your skin

• Cleanse: Clean your skin smoothly. It’s important not to alter the skin’s protective barrier. You can use skin care products which do not contain soap and fragrance. For instance, try the Cleanser P. This micellar water will tone and cleanse your skin without irritations. Indeed, with only 5 ingredients, this cleanser is ideal for anyone with a sensitive or reactive skin and who wants to reduce their exposure to pollutants and impurities. It contains pure demineralized water and gentle surfactants, all cleverly combined.

• Do not use irritating skin care. Use products with minimalist formulations and without fragrance. The skintifique range contains the fewest possible ingredients (between five and thirteen). Moreover, Skintifique products are paraben-free, fragrance-free, dimethicone-free, lanolin-free, phthalates-free, Nickel-free and Chromium-free.

2. Choose emollient, moisturizing and non-occlusive skin care which can soothe and moisturize your skin while letting it breathes

• Moisturize your skin: to avoid dry skin due to cold temperatures, you need to moisturize your skin every day. In the morning, you can use the Moisturizing Lotion HP which moisturizes your skin deep down and provides protection against external agents such as air pollution. You will feel your skin moisturized and protected. Moreover, its rich and smooth texture is quickly absorbed with no stickiness or shine. It’s particularly recommended for a dry, reactive or allergic skin. At night, you can use a skin care which will moisturize and soothe your skin. You can, for instance, try the Hydrating Gel Plus HS. It is an exceptional face and body moisturizer which provides a triple emollient, humectant, and soothing action. This skin care also releases its moisturizing and soothing agents on demand and offers an exceptional and long-lasting hydration. With its rich texture, it is a true SOS skin care to have on hand during winter.

. Use non-occlusive skin care products to let the skin breathe. Skintifique currently offers four innovative skin care products that are non-occlusive. They do not contain ingredients derivated from petroleum such as mineral oil and dimethicone.

Finally, do not hesitate to pay a particular attention to your hands and lips. These two parts of your body are particularly sensitive to cold. Not to suffer chilblains, use a balm for lips and a cream for hands, which moisturizes, repairs and protects.

Some advice to take care of your sensitive skin during winter

  • Drink !  Drinking water helps to prevent skin’s dryness. It is not because the sensation of thirst decreases with the cold that your body needs less water than the rest of the year. So drink 1,5 to 2 liters of water a day.
  • Eat lipids: for more flexibility and elasticity, adapt your diet with essential fatty acids (fishes fat, plant oil and dried fruits), with food rich in vitamins C (citrus fruits, pineapple, kiwis, parsley, carrot, tomato, spinach, lamb’s lettuce) and E (plant oil, walnuts, hazelnuts), and with minerals (magnesium, copper, zinc).
  • Wear comfortable clothes and if possible in cotton. Indeed, the cotton will absorb the humidity and keep it near your body.
  • Avoid the extreme changes in the temperatures.

You now know how to take care of your sensitive skin during winter.

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Why are Skintifique products specially tailored for sensitive skin?

Do you have sensitive, demanding or stressed skin? Discover the four innovative dermatological skin care products, which are specially designed for sensitive skins! Learn in this article how innovative these products are!

Skintifique works to bring comfort and relief to people with skin that is demanding, sensitive or stressed (for instance affected by eczema, psoriasis, or other aggravating skin conditions). That is why Skintifique currently offers four new generation skin care products which use innovation to help the most sensitive skin.

Skintifique products benefit from very pure and safe formulations to bring comfort to sensitive skins

Nothing is better than products with safe and pure formulations for sensitive and stressed skins. Skintifique develops the safest possible formulations which deliver maximum efficacity and tolerability. The four products only contain the fewest possible ingredients: between 5 and 13 ingredients. These ingredients have been chosen for their exceptional safety profiles.

Moreover, all the Skintifique’s products are paraben free, silicone free, mineral oil free, fragrance-free, EDTA free, lanolin free… By eliminating all the possible allergens, the brand’s scientists and collaborators have created products among the safest in the market and probably the safest.

For instance, the Hydrating Gel Plus HS only contains 8 ingredients. Contrary to “classic” moisturizers, it does not contain any petrol-derivated ingredients. And the use of such ingredients in moisturizers is a controversial issue considering that some people may become allergic or hypersensitive to these ingredients, most of which are completely synthetic, like plastics.

The quality of our products has been recognized by independent institutions

Skintifique products have been recognized by two American associations: SkinSAFE and SkinDEEP.

  • SkinDEEP launched in 2004 by The Environmental Working Group (EWG), an American nonprofit environmental research. Its aim is to give information about personal care and cosmetic products that you purchase and bring into your home. Indeed, for each product, an online profile is created with its potential hazards and health concerns. All four Skintifique products have low hazard score.
  • SkinSAFE is a database of skin care products based on ingredients, that can help you avoid a product that contains your allergens. All products are ranked based on how free they are from the top most common allergy causing ingredients. Skintifique products are ranked among the safest in the world. Indeed, The Cleanser P for instance, is in the Top Allergen Free category, meaning that it is free of the top common allergy causing ingredients.

You too, you are telling us about the efficiency of Skintifique products

Your comments are very precious to us. Your feedbacks allow us to continually improve our products and services. Here are some testimonials of people with sensitive and stressed skin that are using our products on a daily basis:

Kay Q. about the Moisturizing Lotion HP:” I have very sensitive skin which often reacts to a lot of skin products. Luckily, my skin did not have any allergic reactions to this moisturizing lotion by Skintifique which is fantastic! I love that it doesn’t have any fragrances (which some people are allergic to) and is non-greasy. It absorbs quickly into the skin and doesn’t leave much behind in the way of residues. I use this lotion as a daily body moisturizer. For instance, I apply it after getting out of the shower while my skin is still damp. I suffer from dry skin which has been greatly helped by a continual use of this lotion. It now looks glowing and hydrated. I would recommend this lotion to anyone out there who has sensitive, easily irritated skin.“

Julie B. about the Cleanser P: ” I have very dry and reactive skin. I finally find a product which does not dry or irritate my skin. I am loving the Cleanser P and its smell is great. “

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How do you moisturize your sensitive skin during summer?

Here we are. Summer is finally here! It is the best time to go to the sea, to eat outside, or to take sunbathes. With such sun and heat, it is important to take care of your sensitive skin by hydrating it. Find in this article all the tips and good habits to moisturize your sensitive skin during summer.

During summer, our skin is exposed to exterior aggressions such as UV, pollution, chlorine from swimming pools, salt from the sea… And this is even more the case for sensitive, damaged,or stressed skin. To moisturize your skin properly during summer, find in this article three simple and easy tips to keep your skin smooth, soft and radiant.

1. Drink a lot of water!

It not a secret for anyone, a good skin hydration is linked to a good internal hydration! You should drink between 1,5 and 2 liters of water per day. The body needs this daily intake to compensate all that he rejects (perspiration, urine…)

2. Adapt your diet

Go for foods naturally richer in water such as fruits (watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, oranges …) or vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, salad, carrot…). During the summer, enjoy fruit juices, smoothies or mixed salads!

Don’t forget the foods that contain lipids (oils and butter) which are richer in vitamin A and E to bring elasticity to your skin.

3. "Make your skin drink" with a good moisturizer!

After having moisturized your skin from the inside, try to hydrate it from the outside with a great moisturizer. For a sensible skin, choose moisturizers with minimalist formulations to deliver maximum tolerability. With only 8 ingredients, the Skintifique’s Hydrating Gel Plus HS is an exceptional face and body moisturizer that boasts one of the world’s highest concentrations of glycerin. Its formulation is also based on pure demineralized water and enriched with castor oil and bisabolol, providing a moisturizing level of 40%. Using exclusive Activifique technology, which Skintifique has patented, the Hydrating Gel Plus HS gradually releases its moisturizing and soothing agents on demand. It is thus an excellent after-sun, that offers a long-lasting hydration (its benefits can be felt up to 24 hours after use). Its soothing agents participate in the regeneration of your skin and transforms a sunburn into a tan.

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How safe are skincare products?

How safe are skin care products? What an interesting yet challenging question. Learn in this article why the safety of the formulations is a key topic when it comes to skin care products!

Why is the safety of skin care products an important topic?

According to a survey conducted by the nonprofit environmental research organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and a coalition of public interest and environmental health organizations, the average adult uses 9 different personal care products daily, with 126 unique chemical ingredients. It is a lot of chemicals to put on our skin! Maybe too many, considering that what we put on our skin is also absorbed and enters our body through a process called “dermal absorption”.

Dermal absorption is according to the World Health Organisation : “a global term that describes the transport of chemicals from the outer surface of the skin both into the skin and into the systemic circulation (ie, the blood). Dermal absorption can occur from occupational, environmental, or consumer skin exposure to chemicals, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products.”

As your skin is our biggest organ, we really have to be careful about what we put on it because it can drastically  affect our quality of life or health!

Why do skincare products have so many ingredients? How can they be dangerous?

As you have certainly noticed, skin care products generally contain a lot of ingredients. According to EWG, “personal care products are manufactured with 10,500 unique chemical ingredients”. Among these chemical ingredients, some are considered as human carcinogens, toxic for the reproductive system or suspected to disrupt the endocrine system.

It is the case of many phthalates and parabens that are often used in skin care products or cosmetics and are considered as “endocrine disruptors”. According to the Endocrine Society press release, endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure is connected to “infertility, hormone-related cancers, neurological issues” and to two of the main challenges of our society – diabetes and obesity.

Other heavily used ingredient with limitations, both for health and the environment are silicone (dimethicone) and mineral oils. These derivatives of petrol form a layer on top of the skin (similar to a plastic liquid glove) and thereby limit evaporation of water … but they also may allow bacteria to develop and prevent skin from breathing normally.

So why do manufacturers include so much ingredients? There are 3 main reasons. The first one is that it is easier: making stable products with nice texture with few ingredients is actually very difficult. The second one is because some ingredients are compulsory to have certain activities when one uses standard “technologies”: this is why scientific innovation remains so important! For instance, most manufacturers need both humectants like glycerine and petroleum-derived occlusive ingredients like dimethicone and mineral oils to make an efficient moisturizer. Only scientific innovation such as Skintifique breakthrough Activifique allows us to get rid of the need of petroleum-derived occlusive ingredients. And the third reason is that historically, consumers have not requested fewer ingredients; but they are more and more willing to know how safe are skin care products. The trend towards minimalist formulations is just now emerging.

How can we make safe skincare products?

Nowadays, skin care manufacturers may use many ingredients and as many as they want to formulate a new skin care. In the USA, a very limited number of ingredients are prohibited by FDA regulation and there is no premarket safety testing required for most chemical ingredients that go into personal care product. According to EWG, “The FDA does no systematic review safety, instead authorizing the cosmetics industry to self-police ingredient safety”. In Europe, the regulation is much tighter, and there are some significant safety tests that products have to pass (eg anti-irritation, ocular safety, anti-contamination tests…)

In this liberal context, it is largely up to the skin care manufacturers to choose which ingredients to put in their products. A laboratory like Skintifique integrates this need to develop the safest formulations while delivering maximum efficacy and tolerability. Only active ingredients that are proven to be effective and with exceptional safety profiles are used in their formulations. For instance, Skintifique products’ formulations are guaranteed with 0% paraben, silicone (dimethicone), mineral oil, fragrance, EDTA or lanolin. Of course, achieving such products requires strong commitment and scientific innovations. Such innovation allows, for instance, the Hydrating Gel to be an exceptionally efficient moisturizer although it contains no petroleum-derived ingredients such as dimethicone and mineral oils.Click here to learn more about Skintifique science.

How can you know which skincare products are safe?

Have you ever tried to decipher the endless ingredient lists on many self-claimed natural or non-allergenic skin care products? You certainly have and you probably need some help: two tools can help you!
The first one is a basic principle: the fewer ingredients in the product, the lower the chances to get ingredients that will have undesired effects on your skin or health.  Skintifique, for instance, focuses on quality over quantity with formulations that contain the fewest possible ingredients. Indeed, the 4 products in the Skintifique skin care range contain between 5 and 13 ingredients (including water!), no more. It is easier to find how safe are skin care products if they contain fewer ingredients! But, of course, the number of active ingredients is not going to explain all the differences in the product safety.

So here comes the second tool: databases. SkinSAFE, EWG, GRAS or CPSC are among the most popular ones and their aims are the same: to establish and maintain a publicly available, searchable database on the safety of consumer products such as skin care products. These tools help us to know how safe are skin care products.

SkinSAFE, for instance, is a database of skin care products based on ingredients, that can help you avoid products which contain specific allergens. All the products are ranked based on how free they are from the top most common allergy causing ingredients. With SkinSAFE, everybody can find safe skin care, free from allergens and irritants. Skintifique products have been ranked in SkinSAFE, and all four of its products are ranked among the safest in the world!

Finally, there are also non-public tools that scientists have developed to very simply identify for any product whether their formulations create risks such as the presence of paraben, silicone (dimethicone), mineral oil, fragrance, lanolin etc…We do use such tools at Skintifique and we are happy to let other benefits from them.

In a recent study, it has been found that more than 80% of popular skincare products contain al least one, often several common risks linked to their ingredients… and that Skintifique products contain none…

Final note: of course, one should also keep in mind that every person is unique and may be allergic or ultrasensitive to any ingredient. Some people are even allergic to water! Therefore, always test a new skin care on a small part of your skin before using it broadly, especially if you have a sensitive skin.