Outdoor Skin Care Tips - Learn to Look After Your Skin

It’s Fall and we all know we need to take extra care of our skin in the summer due to an increase in sun exposure, but that should actually continue all year round. There are additional concerns that may affect your family’s skin in the great outdoors. You can read more tips on how to look after your skin on www.DermatologyCare.ca.

Don’t Let Your Year-End Gardening Ruin Your Hands

Gardening can be tough on hands! Grab some gardening gloves before you start trimming and pruning your yard - it’s the most effective way to protect your hands from calluses, blisters, cuts and scrapes. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Let That Fabric Breathe

Beware of clothing that’s too tight. The fabric can rub and produce irritated skin and trapped sweat can start a breakout. Try fabrics that breathe like cotton or wool, use laundry detergent and fabric softener sheets that are unscented (e.g. Tide Free, Bounce Free) and shower after your workout to eliminate the sweat.

Careful Your Skin Tag’s Rubbing

Many people develop extra bits of skin, called skin tags, that range in size from one millimeter to one centimeter. These are completely benign, but they can be annoying if they rub on clothing or if you feel they affect your appearance. The good news is that removing them is a very simple procedure. Talk to your doctor for more information.

Sun Burnt Hair?

Did you know that your hair can get sunburned too? The sun’s rays affect the outer layer of the hair - the hair cuticle - causing hair to become dry and weak. Put on a hat when outside to keep your hair healthy!

Watch out for wool!

Cooler days bring warmer clothes out of the closet. Even people with normal skin often find that wool sweaters and scarves can irritate their skin. Cotton and particularly silk tend to be the least irritating fabrics for dry or sensitive skin.

Are You Sensitive To Insect Bites?

Take precautions before going outside by putting on insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants and a hat, and avoiding heavy perfumes or lotions that may actually attract insects. You may prefer to apply the insect repellant on the cuffs of your clothes and on the collars and not on your skin.

Cleansers and Skin Types

Over cleansing the skin can cause irritation and may aggravate your skin condition, as well as encourage you to use other products that will grease up your skin. This may then complicate your skin care. You may need to use a toner to remove the oil, which in turn may irritate your skin further.

Cleansers Can Be Grouped As:

1. Wipe-off cleansers (cold creams and makeup removers)
2. Soaps
3. Water soluble cleansers - these are the most gentle

Water-Soluble Cleansers (Soap Substitutes):
These should be non-irritating, non-greasy, unscented, and able to remove some excess skin oils as well as
cosmetics.

Oily Skin:

The selection of cleansers for oily skin should involve using products that rinse off well, both bar soaps and
liquid cleansers have been formulated for this purpose. Many of the soap gels and stronger liquid cleansers are helpful for oily skin. Because the skin on the face, chest, and back is oilier than the rest of the body, it
may be necessary to use one product on these areas, and a more moisturizing product on the arms, legs, hands, and feet. Many of the cleansers which are appropriate for acne-prone skin, would be suitable for oily skin.

Dry Skin:
The use of hard-milled face soaps and gentle synthetic detergents are very appropriate for dry skin. It may be necessary to only use cleansers on the face and body folds, when the ambient humidity is low (e.g in the winter or in the south-western United States). There are many liquid cleansers formulated by cosmetic houses, as well as products which are very useful. There are some new products, which incorporate a liquid cleanser in a cleansing sheet, these act to leave on a modicum of petrolatum after the final rinse, and have been demonstrated to be effective.

Normal Skin:
Most people can cleanse with bar soap daily. The synthetic detergent soaps react better with hard water. Liquid cleansers and soap gels are popular at this time, the advantages, being cleaner dispensers in the bathroom. The cleansing sheets may be used for normal skin as well, the petrolatum is suspended in the water by crystals that dissolve in the last rinse leaving the skin feeling smooth and moist. People with normal skin may enjoy using a loofah-type sponge to clean themselves, these have been sold with some liquid cleansers.

Sensitive Skin:
People with sensitive skin can react easily to fragrance and preservatives, and should avoid mechanical
cleansers such as cleansing grains, brushes, and loofahs. Most synthetic detergents have the pH balanced
favorably for the skin and are well tolerated by sensitive persons. A few liquid cleansers are not irritating,
but many interact with the skin because of their additional surfactants. Many of the hard-milled soaps are well tolerated also.

Antibacterial Cleansers:
These products were introduced in the 1960′ s and have been used by many people since. They initially contained photosensitizers, which have since been removed. Triclosan is currently the most common active ingredient. For persons in occupations, which demand extra precautions, these products have been helpful. However, for many dermatologists, these products are very drying to the skin, and they often contribute to hand and body eczema. Various antibacterial cleansers are available that are of benefit to acne patients.

Mild Cleansers
Different gentle skin cleansers are available for acne, there are several types of mild cleansers that you may
use if your skin is irritated or aggravated. There are also several types of specific acne cleansers that you
can use for daily skin care, oil-free and non-comedogenic products are usually advisable.

Sensitive Skin Reactions & Allergens

Sensitive skin care is more than just choosing the right sensitive skin care product. Sensitive skin has a low tolerance level to certain products or environmental conditions. People with sensitive skin may react quickly to chemicals, heat or wind by developing red, blotchy and irritated skin. The four most common reactions tend to be acne, rosacea, stinging or burning reactions and allergies or redness.

Acne

Between 40 and 50 million Americans are troubled by acne, with eleven-to twenty-five-year-olds accounting for 70 to 80 percent of acne sufferers. While many adult women have acne resulting from hormonal imbalance, adults are often more perturbed by acne than teens. Three main factors contribute to acne: increased oil production, clogged pores, and a bacteria called P acnes. First, oil causes the dead skin cells to stick together, leading to a clogged pore, which is called a blackhead or a whitehead. Bacteria then moves into the pore, producing inflammation, which manifests as redness and pus. Addressing acne requires medications or treatments that decrease oil secretion, unclog pores, and kill bacteria.

Rosacea

Affecting tens of millions of Americans, rosacea typically begins in adults over twenty-five years old. Its symptoms are facial redness, flushing, pimples, and the formation of prominent blood vessels in the face. Prior to age twenty-five, people prone to rosacea may experience frequent blushing and facial redness with strong emotion. The same bacteria that causes ulcers (H. pylori) may contribute to rosacea, some studies show. Rosacea sufferers with inflammatory bumps and facial redness should be tested for H. pylori,which can be treated with oral antibiotics. If you suffer from rosacea, please see your dermatologist for the many effective prescriptive treatments.

Stinging / Burning / Redness

Stinging in response to products and ingredients is not due to allergies, but to more sensitive nerve endings. In dermatology, tests (like the lactic acid stinging test) can determine whether or not your skin has this sensitivity. If you do, you may experience terrible stinging in response to benzoic acid, present in many products such as vaginal yeast infection creams. Stinging skin is not necessarily accompanied by redness or irritation, although it’s more common in people who experience facial flushing as well. If you notice these responses to your skin care products, you should avoid products that contain the following ingredients:

Alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid)

Benzoic acid

Bronopol

Cinnamic acid compounds

Dowicil200

Formaldehyde

Lactic acid

Propylene glycol

Quaternary ammonium compounds

Sodium lauryl sulfate

Sorbic acid

Urea

Vitamin C

Allergies

Allergies are most common in those with dry, sensitive skin. Allergic reactions happen when the protective outermost layer of the skin breaks down or weakens, skin care ingredients can seep around the skin cells and penetrate to deeper layers of the skin. Through these gaps, allergens, chemicals, and other irritants invade the inner levels of the skin tissue and bloodstream, creating an inflammatory response. While this is the mechanism for topical skin allergies, there can also be internal allergies to foods or other substances that trigger an inflammatory response via the skin.

While stinging is the most common reaction, allergies to cosmetic ingredients also occur. To identify cosmetic ingredient allergies, dermatologists perform patch tests, where twenty to one hundred potentially harmful ingredients are taped to a person’s back. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours later, the tape is removed and the skin is examined for reddened or swollen areas, indicating an allergic reaction.

Up to 10 percent of patients test allergic to at least one cosmetic-product ingredient, according to various studies. But many more may be allergic and unaware of which product it could be as they simply discontinued use without medical testing.

The most common allergens are fragrances and preservatives. People who use a variety of skin care products are more likely to develop allergies as they have been exposed to more ingredients. If you tend to have dry skin (indicating an impaired skin barrier) you may tend to have more topical skin allergies.

However, whatever your type, due to the high rate of people who experience these allergies, there is no way to be absolutely certain that a product is right for you, without patch testing. It is always recommended that those with sensitive skin test a product sample, prior to purchase, if possible. If your skin reacts to many ingredients, you should consult a dermatologist to identify the specific offending substance in order to avoid them.