#BeautyTipTuesday: Nose Peeling - Prevent and Heal

I suffer from hay fever, sinusitis, a handful of other allergies and I currently have a cold. Sniff. On a great day, I don't touch my nose at all except when I'm doing my usual beauty routine. On a bad day, I go through and entire box of tissues and/or a toilet roll and my *sneeze* sentences *sneeze* go something *sneeze* like *sneeze* this.*sneeze* *tears* Damn, I knew I shouldn't have thrown away all those rolled up tissues before I took a picture for you guys. If I put it all into a pillow case, I'm sure my Cocker Spaniel would have a comfortable pillow-bed.

This fading cold doesn't help much. Because of all the nose-blowing and nose-rubbing, my skin goes through a lot of friction and irritation. And boy does she express herself and let me have it. The skin around my nose dries out and peels, I breakout in the perioral area, my lips become dry and sometimes, my skin even starts flaking from my nose to my chin. This makes any skin care product application uncomfortable and makeup can emphasize all that is wrong, and sometimes burns.

There is a simple solution, really: Apply a layer of balmy moisturizer onto the skin around your nose BEFORE blowing it. This way, there's a layer between the tissue/toilet paper and your skin, and there's less friction and direct irritation and rubbing of your skin. You can use any petroleum jelly-based product, or a rich, emollient cream. Here's the deal, though, it can't contain alcohol and/or fragrance. These are two known skin irritants (and we should cut it out of our routines, completely, in my opinion). It doesn't matter how little of it there is in the product. Your skin's already going through a lot, why put it under additional stress and prolong the healing process, especially if the skin's already dry and peeling?

I use (and LOVE):
1) Eucerin's Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm

source: longevitylive.com

It smells like nothing, and feels pretty much like petroleum-jelly. It enhances your skin's natural healing process and forms a protective barrier. It contains 41% petrolatum (active ingredient), mineral oil, panthenol, glycerin and a few other ingredients. Nothing "special", right? Back to basics, yo. I bought this specifically for my nose, but now use it on my lips, cuticles, hands and feet. And have gladly shared it with The Man, for his feet. I remember to use this before blowing most of the time, but when I forget and my skin's already peeling, I apply it to the dry skin anyway, and I've seen a great improvement in the healing time and appearance of my skin. It also makes a big difference when applied to peeling skin before makeup application, but remember to rub it (or press it) in gently before makeup application.

2) Balm Balm Face Balm, fragrance-free

source: balmbalm.com Currently available on rubybox for R149,95*

Balm Balm's Fragrance-free Face Balm contains shea butter, sunflower oil, beeswax, calendula oil and jojoba oil. It's super moisturizing. I only use this when my nose is blocked and I can't smell a thing. I don't know what it is, but I really battle with the smell. It reminds me of the smell of old, used oil that my grandmother used to pour into a bottle from the pot because she didn't want to throw it down the kitchen sink drain. I just can't deal. I feel like I'm Jim Carrey in Liar Liar doing "The Claw" on myself when I apply this when my nose is not blocked. Other than that, it's good, and a great option for those who don't like that "vaseline" texture. Although this is a balm, it melts onto your skin, and feels pretty much like an oil-based serum. This kind of texture is better for pre-makeup-application use once the skin is already peeling. It melts onto the skin and "glues" down the dry flaky bits so it looks like nothing was ever wrong. Remember to conceal the redness, though. And like Eucerin's Aquaphor, this balm can be used a multitude of ways. I actually prefer this one for my cuticles.

You could also use petroleum jelly if you want. PLEASE DO NOT USE Vicks VapoRub, or any other other menthol-y products (incl. Zambuk and Cuticura). It will burn, and all that camphor, menthol and eucalyptus is not great for your skin: known skin irritants. Camphor can cause dermatitis with long-term use. All these irritants are counter-irritants, producing one kind of inflammation to replace another and impairs your skin's healing response, which is what you want at it's best when your skin's peeling, or recovering from any other injury. Remember that just because you're not feeling or seeing the irritation, doesn't mean it isn't happening and damaging your skin over time. By all means, get some eucalyptus/peppermint oil and use it for aromatherapy purposes and to help clear a stuffy nose, just don't apply it directly to the skin.

What do you use when the skin around your nose is peeling and sensitive?

Miss B
*At the time of publishing