Why Plant Based Skincare is Best For Sensitive and Allergic Skin

Do you have sensitive skin? Do you find some products trigger allergies or sensitivity?

STOP everything! This blog is for you!

We have really exciting news… We want to introduce you to an amazing woman, who herself was struggling with the same kinds of skin issues all of us with skin sensitivity have experienced.

What was her solution?

To create a skincare brand that was actually designed with her skin in mind. And that is how Myroo was born. All of the products are made from 100% plant based ingredients. We love this story so much we wanted to devote a whole blog to telling you all about it. And more importantly, what it means for your skin!

Before we get started… let’s talk about sensitive skin and allergic reactions

A lot of us have some skin sensitivity and can have sensitised skin. Not all of us have truly sensitive skin - which would be a skin concern that you always have, and may lead to eczema, psoriasis or other skin conditions. Whether you have sensitive skin or just experience sensitivity your skin is likely to react differently to some products.

What causes sensitivity?

Sensitivity is because of an impaired skin barrier. The lipid barrier, as it’s often called, is the barrier on top of your skin to protect its deeper layers from the environment, pollutants, irritants and chemicals. It also acts as a barrier to lock in moisture and goodness. The lipid barrier is made up of loose skin cells joined together with lipids (oil). When the skin’s barrier is impaired or damaged, this is normally because there isn’t enough lipids in the barrier, which affects the barrier function. It leaves gaps for those irritants to get in, and for water to seep out of the skin.

What is an allergic skin reaction?

When your skin reacts to allergens, this can cause an allergic skin reaction. If the barrier function is impaired, the allergens are able to get deeper into the skin’s layers and can cause skin reactions. Symptoms of an allergic skin reaction can be your skin becoming flaky and dry, with eczema symptoms, hives, which are bumps on the skin or contact dermatitis, which can lead to blisters and a burning sensation.

How is it different to sensitive skin?

Allergic skin reactions and sensitive skin have some similarities. In both cases the impaired barrier allows irritants onto the deeper layers of the skin, which causes a reaction. Allergic reactions are often to specific ingredients, whereas sensitive skin is more of a general reaction to irritants. Hypersensitivity can sometimes be confused for an allergic skin reaction but actually the two are very different.

How do you treat an skin allergic skin reaction?

The first and really important thing to say is - allergic reactions can be very serious. We are talking about mild reactions. If you think you have had a serious reaction to an allergen, you will need to see your GP. Allergies aren’t always just a result of sensitive skin - some of us are naturally allergic to certain products. In the worst cases this can be life threatening like anaphylactic reactions. Luckily most cases aren’t that extreme - many of us have allergic rhinitis for example, more commonly known as hay fever. It is also possible to develop allergies later in life.

To treat mild allergic skin reactions, you will need to do three things:

Try to avoid products with perfume and ingredients that are allergens to your skin - if you can work out what the ingredients are that your skin reacts to, great. If not, try to start switching your skincare products to more gentle products designed for sensitive skin
Use skincare products with anti-inflammatory ingredients - don’t make too many changes to your skincare routine all at once, as this can cause additional reactions, but adding or switching cleansers for one with anti-inflammatory goodness is a great start.

Rebuild and repair the skin barrier - as well as dealing with the reaction in the short term, you should look to start rebuilding and repairing your lipid barrier in the long term. Choose skincare products that do this without bringing in additional allergens.

Now let’s meet this amazing woman who has created a skincare brand for sensitive skin and allergic skin.

Meet Rachael Dunseath - skincare expert

Rachael Dunseath set about creating Myroo in response to her own skincare needs. Having lived with sensitive skin and allergies, Rachael knew just what it was like to struggle to find the right skincare products for her skin. Myroo is the UK’s first ever totally Free-From skincare range.

A Free-From Skincare brand - ‘Free-From’ What?

Myroo doesn’t have any of the 14 food allergens in any of their products.

Myroo are also made using only natural, organic and vegan ingredients. The products are all gluten free, dairy free and nut free. They also don’t use any synthetic allergens - so no parabens.

That makes Myroo a great choice if you have any food allergies or have sensitivity to certain skincare ingredients.

If Myroo has none of those ingredients, what does it have?

Myroo is designed to be kind to your skin. It is made from 100% plant based ingredients so is totally natural. It has naturally fragranced products but also has fragrance free options for each of the range as well. Plant based ingredients are less likely to irritate your skin and have plenty of great benefits to help soothe and protect your skin.

Let’s take a closer look at the Myroo skincare brand - our pick of their products

Myroo Gentle Cleanser and Cloth is a firm favourite already at the Jersey HQ for sensitive and allergic skin. This gentle but effective cleanser is specially designed for sensitive skin. It has three amazing natural oils:

Starflower oil is a great natural ingredient that is full of Omega 6. This helps sensitive skin by repairing the lipid barrier. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory so as well as helping with long term skin health, it also soothes inflamed skin.
Apricot kernel oil is rich in Vitamin E and Vitamin K. This makes it another great ingredient for soothing and nourishing sensitive and allergic skin.
Safflower oil is rich in linoleic acid. This is great for deep but gentle cleansing and also helps to encourage cell renewal.

You can get Myroo Gentle Cleanser either fragranced with orange blossom:

Myroo Organic Gentle Cleanser Cloth Orange Blossom Myroo Products 34

Gentle Cleanser + Cloth Orange BlossomGentle facial cleanserSkincare43g: £10.00

Or Fragrance free:

Myroo Organic Gentle Cleanser Cloth Fragrance Free Apricot Starflower Myroo Products 44

Gentle Cleanser + Cloth Fragrance FreeCleanser for sensitive or allergy-prone skinSkincare43g: £10.00

What about the cleansing cloth?

One of the reasons that Myroo is quite so popular at Jersey HQ is because it comes with an amazing cleansing cloth. You can also buy these separately. When your skin is sensitive, it can be hard to know what to use to cleanse your skin. This great cloth is a muslin one side, for gentle exfoliation, and a super soft texture on the other side for gentler cleansing. It’s also 100% organic and machine washable so better for the environment than lots of cotton pads!

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Myroo Skin Boost Serum is another favourite product with everyone at Jersey HQ

This is a great addition to your skincare routine, if you are looking to treat the inflammation of an allergic skin reaction and also to rebuild the skin barrier function. This serum has:

Starflower oil - which we have already seen is great for repairing the lipid barrier, with Omega 6 and also has anti-inflammatory properties
Rosehip oil - this is an amazing oil with Vitamins A,C and E, lots of minerals and Omega 3. This is a great ingredient to build back moisture, skin health and to repair the barrier but is easily absorbed and light on the skin.

This serum can be used before your normal moisturiser for added goodness.

Myroo Organic Skin Boost Facial Serum Fragrance Free Myroo Products 27

Skin Boost Facial Serum Fragrance FreeConcentrated facial serumSkincare26g: £10.00

Myroo isn’t just for your face, it’s great for allergic and sensitive skin all over the body.

One final thing, we know that sensitive skin and allergic skin reactions don’t just happen on your face. That’s why we also love these products from Myroo.

Myroo Superfood Balm has Raspberry Seed Oil which is rich in linoleic acids and is packed full of vitamins, making it a great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory for dry skin on the elbows and knees. It is a gentle, easy to apply balm that is soothing on the skin.

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Shop for Myroo at Jersey Beauty Company.

For all of our favourites, and all of the other amazing Myroo range of organic, plant based skincare, shop now:

SHOP MYROO NOW