Skin colour, for example, is inherited from one's ancestors. The genetic disposition also determines if you are sensitive for getting some skin diseases, e. g. (atopic) eczema.

If you get acne and then how strongly you may be affected by it is also often determined genetically.

Hormones are chemical messengers that are produced within the body and are sent through the body to initiate changes and metabolic processes. The sexual hormones are a good example: during puberty or the female menstrual cycle they increase the production of sebum in the sebaceous glands. The skin becomes oily, and comedones and spots appear.

In medicine, one distinguishes between weakly irritating and strongly irritating substances.

If the skin is exposed to strongly irritating substances, the skin will react immediately at the first contact, e. g. in the case of strong acids, bases or solvents (chemical irritants) or inflammable substances (physical irritants).

In the case of weak irritants the skin reacts only after repeated and regular contact. Good examples for this are water, soap, detergents, oil and grease, weak solvents etc.

There are even substances in cosmetic products that can evoke skin irritation. For this reason we recommend that you read thoroughly through the list of ingredients before you use or buy cosmetic products. Please find below a list of substances that can irritate the skin.

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If the skin gets exposed to an allergen, it will react to it. This is called “contact allergy”. To develop an allergy (to become „sensitized“), you usually must have had repeated contact with the allergen. This is the reason why many people with allergies have contact to the allergen some time before they actually react allergic to it.

Well-known allergies are for example allergies to nickel (in buttons or costume jewellery) or to fragrances in cosmetics, perfumes or detergents.

Climate has a strong impact on skin health as well: wind, cold, heat and sunlight have an effect on the skin.

The climate can be good or bad for our skin. In winter, the constant change between cold outside and warm and dry heated air inside may dry out our skin. And sunlight, especially UV radiation, has a strong effect on our skin.

The skin reacts to diet, for example. So it is a good idea to follow a balanced diet. And its condition will improve if you give up smoking and enjoy alcohol only moderately, as caffeine and nicotine accelerate the skin aging process.
Skin wants to be cared for and conditioned.

It makes a difference to the skin if we feel relaxed and rested or completely stressed out. Skin reacts to our emotional condition.
In healthy skin, this difference may not catch one’s eye. But if you are already affected by skin problems, your emotional condition may determine whether you will have another episode of your illness or not. The skin is more sensitive in that situation and reacts rather intensive to your emotional condition.

Skin cleaning is important to keep the skin healthy or to support its healing. Skin cleansers help to remove dirt, sweat and sebum from the skin. They also clear away old skin cells (scales) and support the continuous renewal of the skin.

The use of skin cleansers, however, can also lead to dry skin, reddening, irritation and itching. These undesired effects depend on the applied cleansing products and on how the skin cleaning is done.

The following aspects are important when you choose a skin cleaning product:

Synthetic detergents are especially convenient for skin cleaning. In contrast to alkaline products like soap, synthetic detergents cause less irritating reactions and itching on the skin. The reason is that their pH value of 5.5 corresponds to the pH value of the skin, while soap often has a pH value of 9-12.

If your skin is already irritated, please always take into account your skin condition. Dry skin, for example, requires the use of moisturizing products. These replace some of the fatty acids that are removed during cleaning. Sensitive skin needs mild and fragrance-free detergents. For oily or greasy skin and in the T-zone in the case of combination skin, pH neutral synthetic detergents are recommended.

Always use cleansing products sparingly and always wash them off thoroughly afterwards! And if you use moisturizing detergents, please be aware still to use a conditioning cream or ointment after washing.

Appropriate skin care contributes significantly to skin health.

When you choose skin care products, please take into account your skin condition (dry / greasy skin) and the body location (scalp, hands).

Skin differs widely, depending on the skin condition, individual skin type and body location and needs adapted cleaning and care measures. Skin on the eyelids, e.g. or in the face is completely different in thickness and consistency from the skin on arms or foot soles.

If you use the wrong skin care products, you can cause problems on skin that has originally been healthy.

Clean your face in the morning and in the evening with cleaning milk or
a synthetic detergent, and wash it off carefully afterwards.
For the body, soaps or synthetic detergents are recommendable. Day
conditioning should be done with a moisturizing cream. In very cold
weather or dry air it is good to use preparations that contain more
fat. At night, fatty emulsions should be given the preference. Apply
the cream not only to the face, but also to the rest of your body! The
skin should be protected against long water exposure as well as against
too hot water, chemical and mechanical irritations and sunlight.

This applies to the so-called sensitive skin. For facial cleaning, one
should use cleaning milk with a high percentage in fats. For the
cleaning of the rest of the body moisturizing substances are highly
recommendable. Expose your body to water as little as possible: don’t
shower or bathe too often, and if you have to bathe, better use oil
baths. Afterwards please apply a fat lotion. Also for the face, fatty
emulsions containing moisturizing substances should be used. Skin
protection is very important.

The hyperactivity of the sebaceous glands, increasing the supply of
fats on the skin, enhances the development of comedones. Therefore
cleaning and conditioning should aim at the reduction of the sebum
production, the inhibition of the growth of germs and a removal of
comedones. Face peeling can be recommended. Oil baths must be
completely discouraged. Watery and only slightly lubricating lotions
are recommended for conditioning. Do not apply too much cream, this
might cause spots and inflammations of the hair follicles. Human skin
is very resistant, but please never forget to protect yourself against
the sun!

Combination skin is, as the word suggests, a combination of different
skin conditions: the pores with the sebaceous glands produce large
amounts of sebum, but the skin between the pores is dry, and, as a
third factor, the pores are distributed on the skin in an irregular
pattern. Combination skins requires special care and often makes
necessary to use two different products. The dry skin areas need fatty
lotions (containing more grease/oil than water), while the fatty areas
need to be treated with more watery lotions (containing more water than
oil/grease) to prevent a blocking of the pores and the development of
comedones. There are even special skin conditioners for combination
skin. Further skin protection is not required.

For example, it is important to protect skin against the UV radiation of the sun.

Another important field is the protection of skin against substances that you may come up against at work (e. g. as a hairdresser), against aggressive substances in the household, and against water. The most important protective measure in these cases is to wear protective gloves.

We also shouldn’t forget to protect our skin in our leisure time. For example, who loves to do wind surfing needs to protect him- or herself not only against the sun but also against the water (especially in the beginning - then even more against the water than against the sun, except if you should be an absolute natural!) If you go skiing, please don’t forget to protect yourself, next to the protection against cold, wind and weather, also against the strong sunlight.

Dry skin and the skin of children and older persons are especially sensitive. But all skin, also healthy and normal skin, needs to be protected, not just damaged or sensitive skin. You finally want to keep your skin in its healthy state.