My skin has permanently been damaged by chemotherapy. I have developed rosacea, a chronic skin inflammatory condition. I have also worked in healthcare for a little over two years as of this post and got my minor in biology for my undergraduate degree, just so readers are aware of my own background going into this article.
For those unaware, the FDA (federal drug administration) within the USA is the agency responsible for deciding what is safe to be prescribed and given over the counter. This includes all things relating to medicine, beauty products (like makeup and lipsticks) as well as skin related products (like moisturizers and sunscreen). However, when it comes to beauty products and skin related products, they are laxer with what gets approved as opposed to medicine (over the counter or prescription). Because of this relaxed approach, there is a lot of fraud and scamming for beauty and skin products.
For those of us with sensitive skin (regardless of the reason — genetics, medication, health conditions, etc.) we are forced to become advocates for ourselves whenever it comes to looking at the ingredients list for beauty and skin products. We are forced to suddenly become skin scientists, with the burden completely on us to figure out what is safe to put on our skin and what is not safe. A lot of it is trial and error (which can be EXTREMELY expensive, depending…
