I'm 59 years old, with very sensitive skin, fine lines, spots of hyperpigmentation, and seem prone to milia and enlarged oil glands if I use the wrong products. When I was tested by the allergist for environmental allergens, I tested "allergic" to all common environmental allergens.
I need a high SPF due to living in a sunny place, but I'm allergic to the harshest chemical sunscreens (I once needed steroids to fight the terrible case of hives I got from Neutrogena Shield Face 110 with Avobenzone (3%), Homosalate (15%), Octisalate (5%), Octocrylene (10%), Oxybenzone (6%)) and I don't want a white face, nor something too shiny nor something that moves around on my face all day.
What skincare routine would you recommend?
Hello @ljmom! Yeah, allergies are a challenge - many products contain frequent allergens unfortunately...
For sunscreen, I'd recommend to go for a mineral-based products from our sensitive skin section: https://whatsinmyjar.com/search/sensitivity?spf_filter_type=true&is_broad_spectrum=true&sort_by=overall_irritancy%3Aasc. Our users report that these particular ones do not leave a strong white cast: https://whatsinmyjar.com/search/sensitivity?spf_filter_type=true&is_broad_spectrum=true&review_white_cast=Not%20at%20all&sort_by=overall_irritancy%3Aasc
As for cleansing, I'd suggest you cleanse only once per day at night, with a gentle cleanser, for example, something like this: https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/bepanthen-derma-sensicontrol-protective-cleansing-gel
Moisturizer is important to help support your skin barrier, you can go for a product like these ones: https://whatsinmyjar.com/search/sensitivity?category=Moisturizers&ingredients=Ceramides%20%28group%29&sort_by=overall_irritancy%3Aasc
Because of the sensitivity, it's important to be careful with actives - but I totally understand you want to target pigmentation and pore appearance. I'd look into products with azelaic acid (for example, this one: https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/the-inkey-list-ca-azelaic-acid-serum), bakuchiol (https://whatsinmyjar.com/search/bakuchiol?category_body_part=Face&irritancy=1&sort_by=overall_irritancy%3Aasc) and niacinamide - but keeping niacinamide in the range of 2-6%, for example this product: https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/vichy-mineral-89-probiotic-fractions-recovery-serum-for-stressed-skin-with-4-niacinamide. When introducing actives, do so one product per 1 or 2 weeks so you can check how your skin reacts and stop it right away if there are any issues (if you introduce all at once, it's difficult to know which one causes the problem).
Also, our resource section for sensitive skin might be helpful (sorry for the navigation, you'd need to scroll down to see it - we hope to improve it soon 😊): https://whatsinmyjar.com/resources/