Why do you blush all the time?

I believe many people have had this experience - the cheeks easily turn red, like a big red face, and there may also be itching, tingling, burning sensations, and the skin feels very sensitive. Many things may aggravate this situation, either sun exposure, or the use of certain skin care products and cosmetics, or even a simple hot and stuffy environment.

Image source: Tuchong Creative

If you have any of the above conditions, you may be suffering from "sensitive skin".

1.What is sensitive skin?

The so-called sensitive skin refers specifically to the skin overreacting in certain special circumstances, that is, being very "sensitive". These special circumstances may be physical stimulation, chemical substances or mental factors, and the manifestation of sensitivity is that the skin is prone to redness and heat, and there may also be changes such as dandruff and red blood. In addition, the subjective feeling may be burning, itching, stinging, or tightness.

Essentially, sensitive skin is mainly caused by damaged skin barrier function. At this time, the skin's reactivity to adverse stimuli will increase, causing skin immune inflammation and ultimately leading to sensitive skin.

This question was first raised in 1970 and has become very common in recent years, both at home and abroad. Surveys show that women with sensitive skin are significantly more than men, with 22.3% to 50.9% of American women, 40% to 55.98% of Asian women, and about 36.1% of Chinese women. In other words, one out of every three women in my country has sensitive skin.

2. Why is sensitive skin so common?

So, why do so many women have sensitive skin? In summary, there are many reasons, and each person's situation is different:

On the one hand, it may be individual factors, internal factors, such as genetics, age and mental factors. Because studies have shown that sensitive skin is related to genetics, the incidence rate of young people is higher than that of the elderly, and mental stress can release special neuropeptides, which in turn cause sensitive skin.

On the other hand, it may also be related to many external factors, which may cause or aggravate sensitive skin. Physical factors include sun exposure, seasonal changes, temperature changes, and clothing materials; chemical factors include skin care products, cosmetics, cleaning products, disinfection products, or indoor and outdoor air pollutants; some are therapeutic factors, such as topical irritants, long-term and large-scale topical glucocorticoids, etc.

Psychological factors, such as stress, depression, and emotionality, may induce or aggravate sensitive skin.

In addition, some sensitive skin is caused by other skin diseases, such as rosacea, acne, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, etc.

For individuals, it may be one or several factors that are the main reason. Therefore, everyone's coping methods will be different, and you need to summarize more based on the actual situation.

3. What should I do if I suspect I have sensitive skin?

The first step is to further verify whether it is sensitive skin.

Generally speaking, you still need to consult a dermatologist for help. Doctors generally evaluate two aspects. One is the subjective symptoms of sensitive skin, which are basically subjective manifestations of varying degrees of burning, stinging, itching, tightness, etc. on the skin after being affected by physical, chemical, mental or disease factors. These manifestations may last from a few minutes to a few hours. The other is to evaluate objective signs. The appearance of sensitive skin may be basically normal, but some people's facial skin may have patches or diffuse rashes and red bloodshot, which may also be accompanied by dry skin, fine dandruff and other changes.

It is important to emphasize here that although the face is the most common area where sensitive skin occurs, other parts of the body can also have sensitive skin, including the hands, scalp, feet, neck and back.

After initially considering sensitive skin, it is also necessary to evaluate whether there are other skin diseases that cause sensitive skin, such as rosacea, acne, atopic dermatitis, and contact dermatitis mentioned above. This aspect is too professional and requires a doctor to make a distinction. If the doctor determines that there are other skin diseases, then targeted treatment is required, and do not just focus on sensitive skin.

4. Home care tips for sensitive skin

Regardless of the type of sensitive skin, care is an important relief and a basic operation to control the sensitive state. After proper care, it helps to repair the skin barrier, reduce sensitivity (reactivity), control inflammatory response, and even slowly improve the skin's tolerance.

In terms of care, the first thing to do is to summarize the factors that easily cause or aggravate sensitive skin, and then try to avoid them. Some common adverse factors include sun exposure, spicy food, drinking, mood swings, closed environment, hot environment, irritating skin care products or cosmetics.

Usually, you can give priority to the simplified skin care rules, which are the three basic principles - gentle cleansing, enhanced moisturizing, and adequate sun protection. For cleansing products, choose weakly acidic or neutral interface products; for moisturizing, you can choose creams, milks or lotions from reliable big brands, which should not contain fragrances, alcohol, preservatives and other ingredients as much as possible; for sun protection, it is best to avoid sun exposure, physical shielding and apply sunscreen.

Another thing is to regulate your emotions, adjust your expectations for treatment, remain patient, build confidence, and keep your skin in a relatively good condition.

Finally, if there is no sign of improvement after care, or even if the condition becomes more severe and the attacks become more frequent, please remember to see a doctor in time.

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project (Creation and Cultivation). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, attending physician of dermatology, doctor of medicine, popular science author

Reviewer: Cheng Fang, Chief Physician, Department of Dermatology, Xingtai People's Hospital, Hebei Province