Why Does My Skincare Products Sting
July 14, 2022 2022-07-14 15:36Why Does My Skincare Products Sting
Why Does My Skincare Products Sting
This famous question has been going around for so long, from so many of you. It seems that you’re not the only one experiencing this phenomenon, therefore the reason why we’re writing about this today. Since most of you are familiar with this “face stinging”, you might’ve thought that it’s a normal thing.
Well, I hate to break it to you but ideally, your skin shouldn’t actually go through these stinging, or tingling which comes from a certain product. The normal thing to feel after applying a product, is the feel of nothingness. Yes, as if you didn’t apply any skincare, is how you should feel.
Just to make sure we’re talking about the same thing: – sting is an inflammatory reaction on the skin that happens when a topical skincare product is applied. There is various degree of stinging, according to what products are applied and how your skin tolerates it. For example, if your skin is more towards sensitive type, you’ll probably get a strong stinging effect compared to normal skin type. If it stings just a bit, you could say its more to a tingle and a stronger than tingle is more to a burning feeling.
So, what does it mean if you’re getting these stinging, tingling or burning feeling?
In most cases, these feelings signify that your skin barrier is disrupted by the presence of the specific skincare product. The product might be too harsh that it causes your skin barrier to collapse and break. Also, in most cases you would just shake it off because it doesn’t feel that serious. But the truth is, that’s the start of your skin being vulnerable and heading towards being sensitive and easily irritated. Consequently, your skin will be exposed to acne, wrinkles, redness and inflammation.
Reasons Why Skincare Products Sting
Since we’ve known the main reason to why your product stings, let’s go down to more specific cause as there are plenty of possibilities for you to check from.
Product contains high concentration of fragrance
Fragrance is one of the culprits behind your stinging face as the elements contained in them have a risk of irritation to the skin. The risk of stinging depends on the concentration. Therefore, the higher the concentration, the higher the risk of getting those side effects.
Product is too harsh for the skin
This generally means that your skin can’t tolerate the product at all costs, thus why it stings when you apply. Harsh products may contain ingredients like SLS, Phenoxyethanol, Allcohol and etc.
Skin barrier is compromised
Above mentioned that it stings because the product is disrupting your skin barrier. Do you know, it can also go vice versa at which the situation will be like this: You’re having a weak skin barrier, and then you’d apply product hence your skin will definitely react to it.
Skin is naturally sensitive
This situation is a bit different than others because it’s by default that your skin is sensitive hence any products that come in contact with your skin will make your skin sting.
Product contains high concentration of active ingredients
Active ingredients are mostly potent as it’s a concentration of a certain chemically active compounds that work directly on the skin. That being said, of course it comes with side effects and that include stinging and burning. But for this case, it doesn’t mean that its bad for the skin. It should be thrown away if and only if the stinging lasts longer and worsen through time. if its just a brief moment, it should be safe.
Product’s pH is lower than skin’s natural pH
If you notice, stinging often occur in between cleanser and toner/serum. This is because, after your face is cleansed, the pH tend to be higher than usually while the next product has a balanced pH value. When you apply a product of different pH values, stinging starts to occur. This phenomenon can be avoided easily by having a waiting time between products, to let your skin’s pH go back to normal.
Skin is too dry/dehydrated
This case is closely related to broken skin barrier. When your skin lacks moisture, its easier to become irritated. Stinging could lead to worse skin condition like flaking or cracking of the skin. Hence, its important to always keep your skin well hydrated to avoid stinging.
Skin is allergic to certain ingredients in the product
Allergic reactions towards a certain ingredient can also be the cause of stinging or irritation. If this is the case, you just have to observe carefully, what ingredients make your skin sting. So it’s easier to avoid when buying a new product.
