Skin care for dry, sensitive skin
Chemo and radiation cause dryness, sensitivity and irritation of your skin in most cases. It is therefore important to take extra care of your skin during your treatment to keep it in good condition. Extra lubrication with coordinated products can prevent worse.
Bear in mind that the sensitivity and irritation can cause you to no longer tolerate your normal face and skin care.
As the perfume can contain parabens, preservatives or alcohol it is not recommended to keep using these products. The care products from the Beauty & Care range are as much as possible free from these ingredients, unless stated otherwise.
Apply consciously
Your treating doctor, radiotherapist or nurse can advise you to avoid certain substances in your skin care because they can disrupt your treatment or damage your skin.
Products without alcohol, perfume or preservatives are often advised not to stimulate the increased sensitivity of your skin.
Preservatives are included in all creams, including yours! Creams are spreads based on water and fat / oil. Auxiliaries (emulsifiers) are needed to bind the water with the fat so that a cream is created that does not scrape.
Preservatives must be added to prevent mold and bacteria in the cream. If you switch to a balm or oil, the chance that there is no preservative in it is already a lot bigger.
Phyto estrogen facts
If you want to use (temporarily) natural products for your skin, there is something else you might want to pay attention to. Skin care products often contain phyto (vegetable) estrogen that mimic the effect of estrogen in your body.
The chemotherapy for hormone-related (breast) cancer (such as Tamoxifen and related) is precisely anti-estrogen-oriented. It counteracts the action of the female hormone estrogen to prevent further tumor growth.
There are women who therefore want to consciously choose skin care without phyto estrogen. They do not want to use hormone-disrupting substances that are at odds with the purpose of the treatment.
Phyto estrogen can be found in soy, aloe vera (!), Hops, evening primrose and avocado oil, for example. Natural ingredients that you will find in many skin care products for women.
In addition, there are also chemicals that mimic natural estrogen, such as BPA; a component of many plastic packaging. It is known that BPA can "leak" into the product that it packs.
Glass jars and dispensers do not contain BPA.
Radiotherapy, is it safe to apply care products then?
Your skin has a hard time during and after irradiation and requires gentle care, especially in the irradiated area. However, your radiotherapist will ask you not to use any ointment or cream containing metals in the period of radiation. This can damage the radiation effect. And creams and ointment that contain oil can cause extra burning of the skin. Always ask your radiotherapist for permission first if you want to use one of the following articles!
PH-neutral and perfume-free 100% talcum powder can also provide relief against flaking damaged skin. It cools immediately, which is pleasant in itching, has an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effect and can be used on both dry and wet skin.
Trust your products and enjoy appling them
There are known natural care products available in the Netherlands, such as Weleda. But none of these brands avoids all of the above components in every product. (And the packaging unfortunately looks so responsible).
It is therefore up to you to check every article for ingredients that you do not want to use during chemotherapy or radiation. That does not create trust, you just want to know for sure that it is a natural product that is good for "chemo skin".
The Defiant Beauty care line from Jennifer Young offers that certainty. That is why Mooihoofd / MyHeadwear.shop offers these products online. 100% natural and organic, entirely tailored to use during chemotherapy and radiation *. You can trust that the articles of Defiant Beauty do not contain any components that you can now better avoid, so also no phyto estrogen. Feel comfortable!
And you don't have to give up your fine pots of pampering products in the bathroom; Defiant Beauty skincare comes in beautiful glass dispensers and jars (you now know why).
Not only responsible, but also nice!
Treat yourself or give it as a gift!
* Made entirely on the basis of the requirements and wishes of English oncology nurses, radiotherapists and women who have been treated with chemotherapy or radiation.