Reactive Skin

4 Skin Quizzes for You

2 MINUTE READ

How to Check for Allergies ::
for Sensitive Skin

Who doesn’t love a good skin quiz, or 4?

When you have reactive, ultra-sensitive, or allergic skin like me, you’ve already scoured countless blogs and forums trying to determine what you could possibly do next?

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You’ve likely taken multiple skin quizzes, only to yield a product that is “customized” based on the parameters you set through the answers of the quiz. That product is going to do one of three things:

Make it better
Do nothing
Make it worse

No one else is more of an expert on your skin than you are. You know the nuances and the way your skin reacts. You’ve worked with it your entire life and you have the most in-depth knowledge of your skin’s history.

Sensitive Skin vs. Allergic Skin

Sensitive skin is the result of increased sensitivity. This increased sensitivity may be due to natural hormones, age, diet, environmental factors, or health conditions. When someone has sensitive skin, they are about twice as likely to suffer from atopic dermatitis. The most common type of atopic dermatitis is eczema which then often impacts other body organs and make it difficult for sufferers to live a normal life.

Even when you don't have sensitive skin your body can still feel things in certain places that make you feel discomfort or pain in different areas of your body.

Allergic skin is similar, however, in allergic skin when you think you might be allergic to something the body will send the immune system into overdrive and it will start producing all kinds of chemicals and enzymes that cause your skin to react and often become toxic and irritated.

Sometimes sensitive skin can be so bad it can cause a person simply to give up on life and go through a sad process called "pick-at-yourself" syndrome where they constantly pick at there own skin, sometimes in such a way that bleeds or gets infected. This is also an area that medicine is struggling with making all kinds of medications for this problem, however only about 5% of people affected suffer from this situation.

Allergies and the skin are closely related. When you have an allergy, your immune system is out of balance, and the result is often some kind of rash or severe irritation on the skin. Allergies can cause a rash called urticaria, which looks like a big red bubble on the surface of the skin. In extreme cases it may even look like hives (urticaria pigmentosa). The welts are caused by hives (or hives-like lesions), which are swollen blood vessels, and they can be very itchy. They also may break open and become infected easily if scratched to much or exposed to bacteria in urine or stool (for example, due to diaper contact).

Skin sensitivity on the other hand is not caused by an overactive immune system, but is usually caused by a lack of collagen and elastin, which help keep the skin firm and strong with minimal contraction. Very fine lines and wrinkles will also cause sensitivity and marks which can also be irritating to certain people.

"Pick-at-yourself" is a term used when sensitive skin has reached such a severe state that it has caused another person to become allergic themselves due to constant exposure for example with picking at the skin causing infection or even causing pain.
If you think you may have an allergy or sensitivity to something in your life there are ways in which you can easily test this for yourself.

Skincare Engineered

Engineers can create not only research-based solutions but actual solutions for skin care, engineers are the most effective at producing great products.

We believe these 4 quizzes are a great place to start to understand your own skin. Especially if you suspect an allergic, ultra-sensitive, or even an allergic skin type.

The 4 Quizzes

These 4 quizzes are through the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and no products are recommended, only a great understanding of skin, allergies, contact dermatitis, eczema, and even hives.