Sensitive skin: classification and diagnostic methods
The phenomenon of sensitive skin
Increased skin sensitivity has long ceased to be an exceptional phenomenon. Statistical analysis of recent years shows that the prevalence of such a diagnosis is very high. However, in each specific case, this phenomenon remains unique and requires, like any other phenomenon, careful study and adequate individual correction.
Attempts by some specialists to separate sensitive skin into a separate type are, in the opinion of morphologists, fundamentally wrong. Sensitivity is just a condition, a temporary or permanent problem that can occur with dry, oily and combination skin types. In the scientific environment, the main criteria for today remain the symptoms characteristic of a state of increased sensitivity:
- objective - erythema (redness), desquamation (flaking), pastiness (swelling), rash;
- subjective - itching, a feeling of tightening and tingling of the skin.
One or more of the above symptoms, which occur as an inadequate response to external stimuli and/or internal (neurohumoral) imbalance against the background of reduced barrier functions, and are the main diagnostic criteria. In cosmetology, it is customary to distinguish three types of sensitivity.
Skin sensitivity is, as a rule, a subjective feeling. However, it can be assessed using objective tests. The "stinging test" is most often used, which consists in applying a diluted acid solution that irritates the skin to the wings of the nose, and then recording the sensations. By measuring the intensity and duration of tingling, we get a result in points, which can be used to quantitatively assess the sensitivity of the skin.
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