Anti-Inflammatories and Anti-Irritants for Your Skin

It's important to avoid irritants and inflammatory chemicals in your skin care products, and to avoid extremes of hot and cold to protect your skin from wrinkling and the appearance of tiny veins, but there are also some things you can do stop inflammation and irritation from ever becoming a problem in the first place. Here is a quick overview of key ingredients to look for to keep your skin in glowing good health.

Free radicals damage healthy skin. Most antioxidants nourish the skin and perform as anti-irritants. Alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, and vitamin C are among the key antioxidant nutrients for healthy skin. You can get a broader range of free radical fighters from products containing allantoin, bisabolol, borage, chamomile, dogwood, comfrey, fireweed, gingko, black tea, green tea, grape seed extract, licorice, and rose hip seed oil.

Also, in protecting your skin from the effects of hot water, "organic" ingredients tend to be more protective than synthetic. About 80 per cent of hand creams contain variations of silicone. There's no doubt that silicone protects against what was once called "dishpan hands." A team of research dermatologists at the Rigshospitalet Research Center in Denmark found that hands protected by silicone suffered 20 per cent less damage from hot water.

When the researchers tested a combination of shea butter and silicone, however, the combination blocked over 75 per cent of hot water damage. Silicone works. Silicone plus an organic ingredient works even better.

Everyone has sensitive skin. The skin can flake, wrinkle, chafe, burn, or crack. it can itch, redden, blotch, and break out, even under the best conditions. Give your skin a healing boost by choosing skin care products with these active anti-inflammatory ingredients.