By SOLA OGUNDIPE

Many people say they have sensitive skin because certain skin care products, or household products that contact their skin, cause stinging, burning, redness, and/or tightness. Although they have no visible effects after contact with a product, it always makes their skin feel uncomfortable.

Even dermatologists, doctors specialising in skin, consider the diagnosis of sensitive skin when they see skin reactions such as pustules, skin bumps, and/or skin erosion or observe excessively dry skin, which doesn’t adequately protect nerve endings on the skin and may lead to skin reactions from cosmetics or skin care products.

Skin problem could also arise from noticing a  tendency to blushing and skin flushing, which may also be signs of sensitive skin. There are many causes of sensitive skin, however, the most certain way to find out if you have sensitive skin, or if there is another cause for your skin condition is to see a dermatologist.

Dermatologists say that people’s sensitive skin responds differently to different cleansing methods. But most agree that “deodorant” soap or highly fragranced soap contains strong detergents and should not be used on the face.

Soap-free cleansers such as mild cleansing bars and sensitive-skin bars, along with most liquid facial cleansers, have a lower pH than soaps. They have less potential for facial skin irritation, along with cleansing creams and disposable facial washcloths. Moisturizers help skin retain moisture so it resists drying and abrasion.

However, there is good news for Nigerians with sensitive skin as Thompson & Grace Pharmaceuticals Ltd. represents its Sebamed range of soap-free products into the Nigerian market. Speaking at the media presentation in Lagos, the company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Isaac Thompson Amos highlighted the essence of a skin-friendly cleanser in normal body care routine.

“Sebamed is super brand from Germany conceptualized a special product with the philosophy based on pH 5.5. the products are ideal for medicinal and scientific skin care.

“The pH value of 5.5, helps to develop the skin’s protective acid mantle,” he asserted, noting that the skin’s natural acid mantle has a pH value of 5.5 and protects the sensitive skin against the effects of bacteria, fungi and other harmful substances found in the environment. “The cleansing and moisturizing products in the range, with a pH value of 5.5, help protect this mantle, especially in babies which develops in the first three months of life.”

Based on the premise that there can scarcely be a stage in life when it is more important to have skin care products to trust, Amos said individual and regular skin care is important for everybody’s defense against the noxious influences of the ever increasing environmental stress to the skin.

“Sebamed offers you a complete assortment of personal care products with the physiological pH value of 5.5 to support the ecological balance of the skin’s acid mantle and its significant barrier function in disease prevention.”

Stressing the importance of pH 5.5 for healthy skin, Mr. Michael Vatter, the Area Sales Manager, Export Personnel, observed that a regular processing of precursors of the skin barrier requires a pH of 5.5, as neutral or higher pH values interfere negatively with the lipid production and thus with the maintenance of the barrier.

“Skin cleansing with neutral or alkaline products disturbs the physiological acid mantle and increases pre-existing dehydration and barrier impairment in sensitive skin. At a pH value of 5.5 the moisturizing effect of skin care products is maximized,” he stressed.

Designed and especially well suited for sensitive and problematic skin and recommended for normal to oily skin, Amos argued that pH 5.5 is the secret to healthy skin. “Say no to soap with sebamed, he noted, pointing out that soap-based skin care products are simply too harsh for sensitive skin and breakdown the skin’s natural protective layer (the acid mantle).

Unlike soap and other cleansers, sebamed products are soap-free and formulated to precisely match your skin’s natural pH of 5.5. “In fact, Sebamed is mild enough that it is trusted by many users with acne, eczema, rosacea and other problematic skin.”

The bottom line, however, is that sensitive skin, in this environment, has come to mean people who have allergic or irritant reactions to products mostly, but can also mean people who develop rashes in response to the external environment.