In this article:
Top skin assaulters
Paula's Choice favourites for soothing skin
Even if you don't think you have "sensitive" skin, what's happening where you can't see it is an entirely different story. Slowly but surely and often hidden from view, harsh skin care ingredients, pollution, unprotected sun exposure, and other environmental factors can wreak havoc on your skin.
Over time the silent impact of these hostile skin attackers causes untold problems including dry rough skin, redness, enlarged pores, uneven skin tone, a loss of firmness, and make skin looker older and tired.
The best way to combat all this and get your skin back to normal vibrant health is to only use gentle, soothing skin care products and a sunscreen. Without question this is something we should all be doing.
Now is the time to get the best skin of your life and it starts by knowing which products will embrace your skin with soothing properties. Below are the research-supported recommendations to get your skin looking its best and staying that way.
Top skin assaulters
Unprotected sun exposure is at the top of the list for aggravating skin, hence daily SPF is a must! Red, peeling skin and uneven skin tone are clear indications that skin has been affected, but other less obvious environmental factors may be at play, including air pollution or arid conditions.
Perhaps the least obvious, yet most common, skin assaulter is fragrance (whether synthetic or natural) in your personal care products. While many people want products that smell good, the way most fragrance ingredients impart scent is through a volatile reaction, which can cause, you guessed it, skin sensitivity. Harsh scrubs and hot water will also take an unwanted toll on having the beautiful skin you want.
All these factors deplete skin and the impact is more than just redness or discomfort. It can thwart skin's ability to replenish and renew itself, lessens resiliency, impedes hydration, causes dullness, and overall makes skin less able to be healthy and radiant. For those with oily skin, these kinds of assaults on skin can also spur more oily shine and enlarged pores.
Paula’s Choice favourites for soothing skin
So what can you do to calm skin and ensure a soothing skin care routine? The key is using gentle, fragrance-free skin care products and broad-spectrum sun protection every day. We're proud to say that every product from Paula's Choice Skincare is formulated to be non-irritating and without added fragrance (natural or synthetic). All of these products are formulated to nurture skin back to a healthy state in the gentlest way possible; they are even gentle enough for eczema-prone skin. Here are some of our staffer favourites (and Paula's) to help improve the look and feel of skin as soon as you start using them:
- SKIN RECOVERY Softening Cream Cleanser – A rich, creamy cleansing formula that feels cushiony-soft and soothing on skin while still cleansing thoroughly.
- CALM 1% BHA Sensitive Skin Exfoliant– This extremely gentle, soothing leave-on cream-gel exfoliant containing a 1% concentration of BHA (salicylic acid) helps alleviate redness while also unclogging pores and smoothing rough, bumpy skin including stubborn, tiny, hard white bumps that occur primarily on your cheek bones but can show up in other areas too. It's even suitable for milia-prone skin.
- CALM Repairing Serum – This lightweight serum, suited for all skin types, immediately soothes temperamental skin and calms redness with gentle, yet highly effective antioxidants and skin-replenishing ingredients.
- SKIN RECOVERY Daily Moisturizing Lotion SPF 15 – This gentle, moisturising mineral-based sunscreen provides broad-spectrum protection as well as additional antioxidants to help reduce the risk of early skin ageing, as well as a bevy of other benefits too long to list.
- CALM Barrier Protect Mineral Sunscreen SPF 15– Finding the best moisturising sunscreen that protects and mitigates the visual signs of irritation can be tricky. But our mineral-based CALM Barrier Protect Mineral Sunscreen SPF 15 does just that with soothing allantoin and Centella asiatica. This gentle cream soothes, helps prevent sun damage and protects.
- CLINICAL Ultra-Rich Moisturizer– A specialised cream designed for the face, this incredibly rich formula helps replenish skin and defends against moisture loss for up to 12 hours.
- Moisture Renewal Oil Booster is an ultra-hydrating, skin nourishing blend of pure plant oils that's also infused with skin sustaining ceramides. This concentrated combination of antioxidant enriched facial oils is nourishing enough to alleviate dry, sensitive, red-looking skin and is suitable even for rosacea-prone skin.
For more Paula's Choice products geared to sensitive skin and specific for your skin type, see our entire CALM line.
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References for this information:
Food and Chemical Toxicology, February 2008, issue 2, pages 446 – 475
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, June 2005, issue 6, pages 937 – 958
