SENSITIVE VS SENSITIZED VS REACTIVE
The other day, it was brought to my attention that there are professionals promoting that there is no such thing as Sensitive Skin, only Reactive Skin. This is an awesome topic and I was going to let it just pass but the more I thought about what was said, the more I felt like I had to say something.
I am a little bit confused hearing the claim that there was no such thing as” sensitive skin” and that all skin is “reactive.” Since I am not just a waxer and my business is a solid split of 50% waxing and 50% facial skin therapy, it really made me wonder how this claim could have been made.
Why is the wax market so vast and the competition so high, if the wax you use does not matter if everyone is reactive? If that was the case, we only need one wax to do the job. So, in making this claim, then what is the reasoning behind the different types of waxes and what purpose do they even serve – am I right?
I understand, trying to decipher the differences is difficult to do just by a glance, and not everyone is aware that there are different types of skin to look for when we are combining waxing with facial skin therapy. This difficulty was apparent when I threw a poll up on my Instagram asking if you knew the difference. Those of you who do more than just waxing, like myself, understand the differences and know that there is Sensitive Skin vs Sensitized Skin vs Reactive Skin and then there are those who really do not know about these three skin types and are not sure how to decipher and deal with each one accordingly.
I am going to sum this up in the simplest way for you to understand the differences, what to take away, and how all this info relates to waxing in this video:
Key points to remember from my video:
- Sensitive Skin is a skin type that is generally associated along with a skin condition (psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, local/contact dermatitis) and needs to be treated with extra care and caution.
- Sensitized Skin is fixable once the compromised skin barrier is repaired. This usually happens when a client repeatedly damages their skin with harsh treatments or does not stick to a set skincare routine and constantly introduces new products and treatments to the skin.
- Reactive Skin is the skins’ natural response to stimulus and/or trauma. This is a temporary skin condition resulting in some histamine reactions such as skin redness, irritation, and hives. These histamine reactions generally do not linger and will go away their own.
THE VERDICT
There are clear distinctions of different skin types and the fact that we have different options when it comes to wax. Which means each type of wax created does serve a purpose. I always mention how we take skincare and cosmetics ingredients into account but we also consider other factors such as “is this the right product for my client’s skin/skin type?” Why do we not do this when we are also picking the right wax? Waxing is still considered a treatment so why treat it any less than a facial?
Thanks to those who brought the post to my attention and wanted to pick my brain on the matter. This is my take on that comment and I hope this clarifies and helps you learn something new today. I hope this helps you know what kind of waxes and products you should be using for your clientele and not just relying heavily on “whatever is cheapest” and “whatever will get the job done” because there is so much more to waxing than just simply ripping out the hairs.
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