A client's skin got way worse after she started using a 'gentle' cleanser from a grocery store

She came in for a routine facial and her barrier was wrecked, red and tight. Turns out the cleanser had a high pH and she was using it twice a day for three weeks. I explained that 'gentle' on the label doesn't mean it's right for her specific, sensitive skin type. Has anyone else had to fix damage from a product that was totally mismatched?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy8202mo ago

Ugh, is there anything worse than a product that calls itself gentle while secretly being a skin saboteur? I swear, some of those drugstore cleansers are basically dish soap in a fancy bottle. I had a client once who used a "calming" toner that smelled like a meadow but left her looking like a tomato. It took a month of the most boring, basic routine to get her back to normal. Labels lie!

marydavis2mo ago

That "calming" toner sounds more like a chemical weapon in a pretty bottle.

caseythompson2mo ago

My cousin in Phoenix had the same thing happen with a sunscreen labeled for sensitive skin. It had a bunch of botanical extracts that just set her face on fire. The real problem is that "gentle" often just means no active acids or retinols, but they pack it with fragrance or essential oils that cause just as much trouble. People forget that simple ingredients lists are usually safer for reactive skin. It takes forever to calm that kind of reaction down.

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