The Best Skincare for Sensitive Skin

The sea, other than our own blood plasma, is the only place we can find all 104 trace minerals that our body (mind, skin, organs, all of it) needs to function at its optimal capacity.

Part of Phytomer’s mission statement states that “the skin has the ability to easily recognize and assimilate the sea and the ingredients found within it. This ensures optimal tolerance and effectiveness of the active ingredients derived from the sea.” These minerals from the sea act as a catalyst for cell function, this means all your skincare products from Phytomer will absorb and utilize all of the nutrients in the products and cause other brands products to work more efficiently. Over time, your skin will be healthier as a result.

It is important to receive these nutrients via skincare, for the skin, for two reasons:

1. It is nearly impossible to receive all of the nutrients and minerals through food or vitamins alone.
2. When food and vitamins are taken internally, they are delivered to the skin last.

Your body is designed to protect and support itself. Overtime, these natural support systems wear down (for example, collagen or bone density), and will need external support to continue healthy functioning. Your body uses reserves in the skin to support many internal organs, and will use the skin's supply of water if your organs demand it for example. This means that the skin is the first place to express dehydration, irritation, and/or redness when your body or skin is unbalanced.

Soothe and Support

Who Are These Collections For?

Both the Accept and Douceur products are part of Phytomer’s soothing line for sensitive skin prone to redness and irritation, as well as reactive skin. These lines also helps with inflammation and rosacea.

What Does Sensitive Skin Look Like?

• Dry
• Consistently pink
• Somewhat irritated
• Sunburnt
• Rashes

People with reactive skin often think that they have sensitive skin because their skin is reacting to a product. Reactive skin tends to look rashy and burnt, like from a sunburn, as a result of being out of balance.

How Can I Help my Sensitive Skin?

Sensitive skin comes from an imbalance of the bacteria on the skin, an imbalanced microbiota. The skins microbiota, also known as microflora, is a unique ecosystem made up of the bacteria (good and bad) living on our skin's surface. It plays a crucial role in the development and function of the skin’s immune system. A diverse microbiota helps maintain skin’s balance and keeps it “healthy,” it also protects the skin against environmental aggressors. If the microbiota is out of balance, then the skin is no longer effectively protected from intrinsic or extrinsic aggressors. 

Phytomer addresses a variety of skin sensitivity issues through their skincare line. While we at Bellini's carry a variety of brands that use different sciences to address similar concerns, such as sensitivity, this post is specifically about how Phytomer addresses skin sensitivity.

Over the last several years Phytomer has worked to create an ingredient that they call Marine Prebiotic Complex. It's perfectly calibrated to naturally support the skin and its health. The extracts act as a dietary supplement, delivering a wide variety of nutrients that support the microbiota and is a blend of:

• Laminaria Brown Algae extract, a soothing ingredient from the sea, it is also anti-inflammatory and inhibits redness and stinging
• Chlorella Green Micro algae extract is high in peptides and amino acids naturally present in the dermis and helps to regenerate the skin and its cells
• Planktonic marine sugars provide the cells with energy and are renowned for intercellular communication and its ability to protect against environmental damage
• Marine Spring Water

The Star Ingredients That Will Change Your Routine

Lovingly termed "the fountain of youth" by Phytomer, Marine Spring Water is seawater that is resubmerged into a spring. It takes about 10 years to emerge, over which the water collects minerals from the earth along the way. After a decade, the water is able to stimulate microbiota diversity due to the diversity and concentration of minerals and trace elements. Marine Spring Water also contains pro-inflammatory mediators and instantly reduces inflammation by up to 33%.

Pro-inflammatory mediators are compounds that increase vascular blood flow, thus allowing blood vessels to relax and reduce inflammation. Inflammation creates stress on blood vessels, thus causing constriction and redness. It may sound counterintuitive to know that more blood flow will decrease the redness from inflammation, but that's how it works! Phytomer's Marine Prebitoic Complex is in Prebioforce, and the somewhat recently reformulated Douceur Marine.

Another star ingredient from Phytomer that helps with redness, sensitivity and irritation is Glycosea. Glycosea is comprised of a marine sugar that is stabilized in Marine Spring Water. It is capable of stopping chronic inflammation and keeping the extra cellular matrix intact. Glycosea acts as a dummy cell receptor to be attacked instead of the actual cell receptor. This stops the actual cell from getting damaged, which reduces inflammation or stops it from happening all together. It strengthens the physical and chemical skin barrier over time, with repeated use. Glycosea is in Douceur Intemporalle, which is both an anti-aging cream and a sensitivity cream. 

Who Should Use Which Products?

Using professional skincare products can be daunting, because there are often dozens of similar seeming lotions and potions that can leave you feeling overwhelmed. I have taken the liberty of breaking down every product from the Accept and Douceur lines to help guide you with picking up the perfect products.

Concern: Sensitivity, Irritation, or Redness

• Douceur Intemporalle – for those who are 40-55 with aging skin that experiences sensitivity, irritation or redness.
• Night Recharge – (Age 25 to 60) and have skin that needs regeneration and renewing overnight. For those who are stressed and have a hectic lifestyle. Can be used in tandem with any of the Phytomer serums or creams at night.
• Douceur Marine Cream – for those 12-40 with skin that experiences sensitivity, irritation or redness.
• Douceur Marine Mask – for those 12 and older with sensitive skin that experiences redness and irritation often.
• Oligoforce Soothing Serum – for those 12 and older, when used in tandem with Douceur Marine or Douceur Intemporalle for very sensitive skin, or used in tandem with other Phytomer products for skin that can be sensitive.

Concern: Lacking Firmness / Slackening of Skin

• 
  Structuriste Cream – for those who are 40-55 and experience a lack of firmness or slackening of the skin.
• Structuriste Serum - for those who are 40-55 and experiencing a lack of firmness or slackening of the skin. More concentrated with the cream, can be used in tandem with the cream or any other Phytomer anti-aging cream for multiple benefits.

Concern: Wrinkles

• Expert Youth – for those who are 40-55 and have established wrinkles that they would like to smooth out.
• Décolleté Parfait – for those who are over 40, have wrinkles, slackening, pigment, uneven skin tone or any combination of the four on their neck and décolleté.

Concern: Post Menopausal Skin

• Resubstance – for post-menopausal skin (age 55+) that lacks density and moisture. For skin that has lost its volume.

Concern: Dry Skin

• 
  Oligoforce Advanced – for those 20 and older with dry skin, pigmented skin, aging skin or any combination of the 3.
• Doux Visage – for any age with dry skin, or heavy makeup users.

Concern: Reactive or Weakened Skin

• Accept Cream – for any age with skin currently experiencing a reaction or that is reactive in general.
• Accept Mask – for those 12 and older with irritated reactive skin that is currently having a reaction.
• Accept Cleansing Milk – for any age with sensitive and reactive skin, to keep it at bay.
• Prebioforce – for those 12 and older with over extended/over exhausted skin, those who have had any kind of cosmetic treatments that have weakened the skin.

Specialty Products

• Marine Mist – for any age, friendly for all skin types that need a little refresh throughout the day.
• Perfect Visage – for any age, friendly to all skin types, but best for those with balanced skin who don’t wear a lot of makeup. 

What Makes Phytomer Special?

Not only does Phytomer create skincare that drastically supports the skin, they also do so in a manner sustainable for the earth. They are able to harvest a single plant or resource and essentially replicate the material in the lab. This is a term they call "bioth-ecology," and is a combination of the words “biotechnology” and “ecology." Phytomer uses biotechnology to harvest plant cells and produce new resources. From just one fragment of a plant, flower, algae, seaweed, etc., the scientists are able to dissect the fragment into different cell spools with different compounds and induce the de-differentiation of the cells and then their multiplication and then have enough cells to go onto the extraction process.

From a single harvest in nature, they store the fragment in a biobank and every time they need to produce a new batch, they just take a sample from the biobank instead of taking it from the planet. They also embrace a concept called “up-cycling” which is the act of taking raw material that has already been processed and reusing it for a new transformation process. Bioth-Ecology is an important practice because the Earth only has so much to give to us, so sustainable and ethical sourcing of ingredients is essential.

Not many brands utilize this new technology, Phytomer cares about our planet a lot, and has since the brand started in 1972.

This article was written by Aesthetician, Abby Durey.