If you have sensitive skin, you probably are dealing with a lot of pigmentation or an uneven skin tone as a result. I will go over how to treat pigmentation on sensitive skin as it can be tricky because the skin reacts to EVERYTHING.
Before we get into this topic, I want to distinguish between sensitive skin & sensitized skin because I’m talking about true sensitive skin in today’s post
Sensitive Skin vs Sensitized Skin
You are born with sensitive skin, which means as a baby you had eczema, psoriasis or some form of dermatitis regularly. This is something you would have been dealing with throughout your life, it wouldn't just rock up randomly. It's also common for some people with sensitive skin (not all) to struggle with allergies or be asthmatic
You cannot get rid of the sensitivity on this skin, you can only manage it & keep it at bay.
A sensitized skin on the other hand is caused by skincare products, fragrances, medication & environmental factors. This skin is not sensitive from birth, the sensitivity develops over time.
You can get rid of the sensitivity on this skin & get it back to normal
How sensitivity causes pigmentation
Eczema, psoriasis & dermatitis are inflammatory skin conditions, meaning there's usually a lot of inflammation when the conditions flare up.
This results in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so every time you have a flare-up of your eczema, for example, it will lead to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
Treating Pigmentation On Sensitive Skin
When treating pigmentation on sensitive skin it is best to address the sensitivity first, you have to calm the skin down before you can start dealing with the pigmentation. So focus on repairing the barrier & hydrating the skin.
If you know what triggers your flare-ups, avoid the triggers if possible. Treating pigmentation involves using active ingredients at high concentrations & resurfacing & while the skin is sensitive, it may not be able to tolerate these actives
If you have been prescribed a topical cortisone cream to treat the flare-up on your skin, avoid exfoliating for 3 months after having used the cream. Your doctor will not always tell you that it's a cortisone cream so please do your research
I do have another blog post where I go into detail about cortisone creams & exfoliation here.
Once the flare-up has passed & your skin has calmed down, always focus on hydration as sensitive skin is prone to dehydration because the barrier might be impaired at times. You will also notice that the pigmentation will start to lighten once you get the sensitivity in control as it's the reason why you have the pigmentation in the first place
Then you can start slowly introducing serums & treatments that target the pigmentation. Introduce these products one at a time so that if your skin reacts, you'll know what it's reacting to. If your skin is going to react to a product, it will do so within 48 hours of using it.
If your skin is not ready for an ingredient or a product, please don't use it, don't force your skin, you will just end up back at square one dealing with sensitive angry skin. Try again in a month or two & see if your skin is ready. Focus on hydration & reinforcing your barrier while you wait.
I have another post where I tell you what the skincare routine for pigmentation should look like. Click here to read that
In Conclusion
Treating pigmentation on sensitive skin requires a lot of patience as you can't use very active products/ingredients from the get-go. You might lose hope along the way but trust me when I say it's possible to have even toned skin as I have sensitive skin too.
I get eczema on my hands & face so I know the struggle!! The key is to understand your skin & what triggers the flare-ups/sensitivity, to be patient with your skin & listen to it as it won't like everything that you apply to it. If your skin doesn't like a product or ingredient, stop using it.
Understand that the sensitivity is a part of your skin & will probably never go away as compared to sensitized skin so having to stop using your products that are targeted at pigmentation when you have flare-ups is completely normal. It requires you to be very patient.
I have another post where I explain why you have to be very patient when treating pigmentation as you will only make things worse if you are aggressive in your approach. Click here to read