The Truth About Sensitive Skin

Cases of irritable skin and unexplained red blotches are on the rise. Rochelle Pinto discovered the triggers that were causing her flare-ups and how she was making them worse.

- Rochelle Pinto

I grew up in a home where looks were never part of the conversation. Other than ensuring we didn’t leave the house with visible dirt marks or ratty hair, my parents didn’t encourage preening. To them, there was nothing two hot showers and a gentle dusting of Pond’s talcum powder couldn’t solve.

This laissez-faire approach worked until I hit my mid-twenties—at which point, my skin betrayed me. It’s like that best friend you’ve known since the second grade who, overnight, turns into a total stranger and goes all Mean Girls on you. From sailing through puberty pimple-free, I am now generously providing refuge to a colony of comedones that’s invaded my forehead and chin. In my early twenties, I actually said the words, “Why do I need sunscreen? I’m Indian, I was born with natural sunscreen,” and karma was like, “Hold my beer.”