Whenever you add a new product to your skincare or beauty routine, it’s important to test it first. Everyone’s skin is different, that product that makes one person on Instagram look amazing might trigger an irritation or allergy on your skin.  

It’s not just with advanced products that you run a risk, it can happen with natural ingredients and the most basic products. You can experience irritant or allergic contact dermatitis from something as simple as a cleanser or toner but that doesn’t make the product bad. 

There are two types of contact dermatitis

1) Irritant contact dermatitis, which happens quickly—within minutes to hours of exposure. 

2) Allergic contact dermatitis, which takes repeated exposure to the product and days to develop—at least 4 days. 
These reactions come with redness, dryness, itchiness, rashes, peeling, burning, blistering, swelling, cracked, and/or scaly skin.

Steps for patch testing:

• Wash your skin and dry it before you apply the product to a quarter-sized patch of your skin.
• Apply products on a small area such as the side of the neck, underside of jaw or inner arm. 
• If you’re testing something that you’re to leave on, like moisturizer, just apply it to the spot and leave it.
• If you’re testing a cleanser that you’d normally wash off, wait 5 minutes before you rinse or follow manufacturer’s instructions.
• Do this twice a day and for at least 4 days to determine if a delayed hypersensitivity reaction develops. If there’s none, you are good to go.
• Repeated exposure can rule out allergic contact dermatitis. 

If you react quickly to something in a product, you have irritant contact dermatitis. If you develop a reaction over several days, you have allergic contact dermatitis. Keep in mind that some ingredients like retinol and glycolic acid will irritate your skin with consistent exposure. It takes at least 4 days to determine if you’ve allergic contact dermatitis, which is why repeated applications are important.

Wash off the product if you have a reaction.

Apply a cold compress and fragrance-free, soothing moisturizer to your skin afterward to help calm skin.

If your skin is still itchy, you can use a thin layer of hydrocortisone cream on the area.

Read the ingredient list on the product and compare it with other products that bother your skin.

Try to identify and avoid what caused the irritation.

Watch a video on how to patch test here and how to layer your skincare products here