SKIN TIPS

A Redditor Is Reminding People to Patch Test After Suffering an Allergic Reaction From a Face Mask

This simple step could save you from an allergic reaction. 
a model putting cream on her hand
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When it comes to trying new skin-care products, it's so important to patch test first. For those who don't know what patch testing is, it's simply the act of applying a small amount of product to a localized area, like your jaw or the inside of your arm or wrist, in order to see if you have an adverse reaction to it. This way, you can tell if the formula is safe to use on your whole face or not. While some folks tend to forget about this preventative measure altogether, one Redditor is sharing her personal experience in hopes that it will remind people how much it matters.

The Redditor in question, who goes by Ifoundfivedollars on the discussion platform, experienced serious facial redness after using a citrus-infused sheet mask (no need to name names here) for the first time. To warn her fellow r/SkinAddiction users, she shared a selfie of her inflamed skin with the caption, "Just a friendly reminder to always patch test."

Courtesy of Reddit/@ifoundfivedollars

People immediately chimed in with supportive messages and similar horror stories, to which she responded: "The redness is calming down already, but it was totally scary when I first took the mask off. I’m glad I don’t have anywhere important to be today."

What's more, she revealed that it only took ten minutes for the mask to do its damage. "I was really surprised because I only felt a very mild tingling for maybe the last four or five minutes," she explained. "It wasn’t like a fierce burning whatsoever [but] it feels like a sunburn right now," she added.

Needless to say, let this serve as a lesson to all of us to be more careful before blindly using new skin-care products. And, if you're someone with especially sensitive or reactive skin, definitely considering seeing a dermatologist first before trying anything new.


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