When dealing with skin sensitivity, finding the right makeup can be difficult. If you have sensitive skin, picking the wrong product for your skin just doesn’t cut it. Especially when choosing the wrong products results in skin inflammation, allergies, or acne. If you have sensitive skin, knowing what ingredients to look for is key. This allows you to go into any store to make well-informed purchases. Let’s start by looking at the sensitive-friendly ingredients. Note: be aware of any allergies you may have as well when reading this post. 

Ingredients to Embrace

Mineral Makeup

Mineral makeup is beneficial for all skin types. More importantly, it should be a staple for any person with sensitive skin. Mineral makeup can be helpful for people with acne, eczema, and other sensitivity issues. This is because the ingredients used provide anti-inflammatory properties and are non-comedogenic which means it will not clog your pores. Additionally mineral makeup usually contains ingredients like zinc oxide which is a  natural sunscreen.

Mineral Makeup Brands:

• Colorscience
• Bare Minerals
• Youngblood

Oatmeal

Oatmeal helps reduce inflammation and evens out skin tone. This product should be safe to use for most sensitive skin types.

Aloe

Aloe is another calming skin ingredient that soothes irritated skin. This ingredient is perfect for reducing inflammation and irritation when it occurs. 

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil can penetrate the skin with ease and provides antibacterial properties.

Ingredients to Avoid

Sulfates

Sulfates are detergents found in shampoo, toothpaste, body wash, and cleansers. While it’s not typically found in makeup, knowing what you are using to prep your skin is just as important. 

Common Sulfates: 

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate

The main reason sulfates are bad for sensitive skin is because it dries out the skin. While that may sound like a benefit for acne prone skin, over drying can cause more acne to pop up.  

Parabens

Parabens help lengthen the shelf-life of products by preventing the growth of bacteria and mold. Sounds like a good thing right? However, parabens are bad because your skin provides a gateway for parabens to enter your body. Parabens can penetrate your skin and get into your tissue.

Common Parabens: 

• Butylparaben 
• Methylparaben
• Propylparaben

Fragrance

Avoid makeup products that contain fragrance. While I love to have palettes with a fragrance to them, this is not ideal for sensitive skin types. Why? Products containing fragrances can have hundreds of chemical and botanical ingredients. This high number of ingredients means it is likely to cause irritation as a result. When searching for products, opt for products that specifically state “fragrance free”. Products listed as “unscented” may still contain ingredients that irritate sensitive skin. 

Botanicals and Essential Oils

Most products that use these ingredients boast that they are natural or organic. This sounds beneficial but they can cause irritation. Why? The unusuality of the ingredients may not have been properly tested. Tea tree oil, for example, is used as a natural salicylic acid but can cause irritation for some people. Opt for products that simply use salicylic acid as an alternative. 

Botanicals to Avoid:

• Tea Tree Oil
• Mint Oils
• Citrus Oils
• Lavender Oils

Understanding what irritates sensitive skin is important. Especially if you use multiple products, it can be difficult to know what is causing irritation. Here are my takeaways for tips to know what may be causing irritation:

• Read the list of ingredients of the products in your current routine. Do they contain any of the ingredients listed above?
• Replace your skin care products with CeraVe or Cetaphil. These products are affordable and good for sensitive skin. Just start out using the moisturizer and face wash. 
• Start to incorporate the products you were using prior one at a time. This will allow you to know which products are causing the irritation.