Tips for Beauty

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Beauty Talk: Sensitive Skin and Makeup

People with sensitive skin very often develop sensitivity to makeup. Well, of coure, all the foundations, powders, eyeshadows and blushes are filled with chemicals that can cause irritation. Even though I personally haven’t developed sensitivity to any of my makeup, I thought it would be a very important topic to cover in my sensitive skin posts.

Sensitive skin reacts with irritation to synthetic dyes, fragrances, sulfates, sillicones, preservatives etc. What kind of makeup doesn’t have these ingredients? The answer is mineral makeup.

Mineral makeup is completely natural. It is produced from the minerals developed from the earth. The true mineral makeup does not contain potential irritants named above. However, there are mineral makeup lines that would, alongside natural ingredients, include various chemicals as well.

Mineral makeup has so many positive points for those who have sensitive skin.

1. Due to elimination of commom makeup irritants, the chance of sensitivity to mineral makeup is much lower.
2. Mineral makeup is so mild to the skin that it can be used after aggressive skin treatments like laser and peels.
3. Certain ingredients in mineral makeup, such as Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide and Allantoin are actually soothing for the skin and are recommended for those suffering from rosacea and acne.
4. Mineral makeup has light texture, is non-comedogenic and doesn’t clog your pores.
5. Mineral makeup has natural SPF UVA-UVB protection. Look for Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide ingredients.

Some drawbacks of mineral makeup you should know about before buying:
1. Those who have dry skin observe that mineral powders can be drying, which on the other hand is good for those with oily skin. Such ingredients in mineral powders and foundations as Kaolin Clay and Rice Powder absorb the excess oil.
2. Mineral makeup shades tend to become darker when applied. This is due to oxidation process. It means you need to be more careful about selecting desired shade or tone.
3. Avoid Bismuth Oxychloride – it is considered a skin irritant.
4. Some concerns have been raised about the “micronized” (pulverized) minerals and a possibility that by dramatically reducing molecules’ size their initial characteristics may be changed and they can obtain some toxic properties.

Since any makeup containing minerals can be named “mineral makeup”, before buying a product I recommend to look at the ingredients and make sure it is truly natural. Remember, there is no guarantee that your sensitive skin won’t react to one of those minerals. But if you have a choice between giving up makeup alltogether and having to try out more than one mineral makeup product in hope to find the one non-irritating, I think it is worth the effort.

Below are some examples of well-known mineral makeup lines and brands.