Sensitive skin: an epidemiological study

Background There is a growing awareness that some individuals exhibit heigh tened skin sensitivity, particularly on the face, and have a high incidence of adverse reactions to cosmetics and toiletries. Objectives To carry out an epidemiological study to assess the prevalence o f sensitive skin and cosmetic-related adverse events in a U.K. population, and to examine possible factors that may be associated with sensitive skin. Methods Self-assessment questionnaires were sent out to 3300 women and 500 men, randomly selected. who were over the age of IS years and lived within a 10-mile radius of High Wycombe (Bucks.). Fifty non-responder women were a lso questioned by telephone to ensure that the postal responders were repre sentative of the population as a whole. Results The response rates were 62% for women and 52% for men, with the inc idence of self-reported skin sensitivity being 51.4% and 38.2%. respectivel y. Ten per cent of women and 5.8% of men described themselves as having ver y sensitive skin. Fifty-seven per cent of women and 31.4% of men had experi enced an adverse reaction to a personal product at some stage in their live s, with 23% of women and 13.8% of men having had a problem in the last 12 m onths. Among the women, symptoms of cosmetic-induced subjective sensory ski n discomfort (burning. stinging, itching etc.) occurred more commonly in th e sensitive skin cohort (53%) than in those who regarded themselves as non- sensitive (17%). An atopic diathesis in women did not appear to be a predic tive factor for sensitive skin, the incidence of self-perceived sensitive s kin being equivalent for atopics (49%) and non-atopics (51%). Furthermore, some 34% of atopic women described themselves as being nonsensitive. Nevert heless, the incidence of atopy was higher among the women in the sensitive skin group (49%) than among those in the non-sensitive group (27%). Dry ski n and a predilection for blushing/flushing were associated factors for sens itive skin. Conclusions Our survey indicates that sensitive facial skin is a common pro blem for women and men in the U.K. and points to the need for the developme nt of personal products designed for this skin phenotype.