SENSITIVE SKIN

WHEN A CREAM HAS THIRTY-FOUR OF THEM AND YOUR SKIN REACTS, YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHICH ONE DID IT. YOU STOP EVERYTHING, YOU WAIT, YOU START AGAIN SOMEWHERE ELSE. FEWER INGREDIENTS MEANS FEWER POSSIBLE CULPRITS.

WITH ONE BEAD PER ACTIVE, YOU ADD ONE, THEN ANOTHER. IF SOMETHING REACTS, YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS, AND YOU DROP THAT BEAD. IT IS THE SAME ELIMINATION PROTOCOL A DERMATOLOGIST USES TO FIND A CULPRIT — EXCEPT HERE IT IS BUILT INTO THE PRODUCT.

IN ORDER OF FREQUENCY: FRAGRANCE, PRESERVATIVES, ESSENTIAL OILS — OFTEN SOLD AS PROOF OF BEING NATURAL WHILE RANKING AMONG THE MOST COMMON ALLERGENS — AND OVER-EXFOLIATION. ALL FOUR DAMAGE THE SAME THING: THE SKIN BARRIER, THE LAYER OF LIPIDS THAT HOLDS WATER IN AND EVERYTHING ELSE OUT. ONCE IT IS DAMAGED, EVERYTHING STINGS — INCLUDING PRODUCTS THAT CAUSED NO TROUBLE THE MONTH BEFORE.

TWO WEEKS WITH THE BARE MINIMUM: CLEANSE, MOISTURISE, PROTECT FROM THE SUN. NOTHING ELSE. THEN ONE SINGLE ACTIVE, AND A WEEK'S WAIT BEFORE ADDING ANOTHER. IT IS SLOW, AND IT IS THE ONLY METHOD THAT NAMES A CULPRIT INSTEAD OF GUESSING ONE. WITH A JAR HOLDING THIRTY-FOUR INGREDIENTS, THIS PROTOCOL CANNOT BE RUN AT ALL.