With so many beauty products on the market, the only way for you to know if they’ll be suitable for your skin condition is by testing them out. If you have sensitive skin, it’s essential to be careful in testing out cosmetic products because it may trigger your skin irritation. One of the easiest ways to know if you can safely use a skincare product is through a patch test.
A patch test protects you from having allergic reactions if in case the product isn’t compatible with your skin. Skincare products usually respond differently to different skin types. It may work for others, but it may have an adverse reaction on you.
To avoid harming the skin, it’s important to carefully choose the products that you’ll be using. The first step is to know how to safely test it out. Here are the ways on how you can do it:
Table of Contents
#1 Check For Possible Allergic Reactions
Allergic reactions can be fatal. In testing out a product to see that it won’t have allergic reactions on you, it must be applied in an area that’s hidden so if there are chemical reactions, it won’t make do obvious marks.
To have accurate testing, if you’re using a face lotion, do the patch test at the side of your neck. If it’s a body location, you can test it out in your belly, knees, or upper arms. Before applying the product to the skin, make sure that it’s clean, and there shouldn’t be other products applied within the area.
It may take hours for you to see a skin reaction. If you instantly feel a tingling sensation or if the area is itchy, it can be a sign that it’s not compatible with your skin type. If you’re testing out an eye cream, choose the one with natural ingredients. You can find an eye cream here that’s tested for its safety and efficacy or from reputable stores or markets that have safety claims about their products.
#2 Observe For Breakouts
If you don’t have an allergy, the next thing that you should take into consideration is if it’ll cause breakouts, especially if the one you’re testing is a facial product. Apply a small amount of product to your cheeks or chin because these are the areas prone to blemishes. Since breakouts don’t come out immediately, apply the product daily for a week for any skin reaction.
If you know you have sensitive skin, choose low-risk products. Products with synthetic fragrances, sulfates, metals, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and other aluminum compounds tend to cause breakouts. You should be able to distinguish this if the skin reaction is just normal.
If you normally have breakouts that don’t last every time you try out a new product, there’s a possibility that it’s just an adjusting phase for the face, but if you suddenly have itchy and painful skin with redness, stop using the product immediately.
#3 Shift Into Using The Product Gradually
If you’ve already tried the patch test and it turns out that you don’t have allergic reactions to it or you didn’t have breakouts, dermatologists suggest not to shift to a new product immediately. Even though you’ve tried out the patch test and it turned out well, you may still encounter irritabilities if you would suddenly shift into a new skincare routine.
If the ingredients of the current and new product you’re using are all-natural, you can try using them both for a couple of days before completely putting in the new product alone. Another way to gradually introduce the product to your skin is to use it on alternate days. Since you’re still allowing your face to get used to it, you may start applying small amounts and increasing the amount as days pass by.
It may be practical to buy the skincare product in bulk, but during the first week of usage, it would be advisable to buy in sachet versions first, and if the results in your skin are good, that’s the time that you can buy the full-sized packaging.
Final Thoughts
You can safely test a new skincare product into your regimen by wisely checking the product’s ingredients, reading reviews from previous users, and trying out samples. No matter how promising their advertisements are and how good the feedback they receive, remember that its results vary from one skin to another. It’s still important to test it out personally. That’s only when you can say if that product works for you or not.
