How To Be Beautiful: Do calm down!

Rhiannon Harries

You know you're in a bad place when even your skin is angry with you. Maybe you've been running around flirting with all sorts of unsuitable products. Or maybe you didn't notice that while you were happily knocking back margaritas and tearing through cheap fiction poolside, your skin was growing quietly livid.

Eventually, it will respond with a flare-up of sensitivity, usually involving unsightly dry, red patches – its own way of standing up and shouting, "Oi! I'm still here you know!"

If you're ordinarily blessed with a fairly tolerant complexion, this comes as a shock. Unlike a break-out of spots, covering it with make-up only irritates further. Those with perennial sensitivity will know that finding things that work is an epic personal quest involving a lengthy process of trial and error. For temporarily stressed-out skin, however, simple products free from active ingredients are the route to dermal forgiveness.