Hi, I'm Mila, co-founder of Irritated!
For years, my skin was my biggest insecurity. My eczema and dermatitis were so unpredictable that I hated putting on makeup because it would cling to dry patches or make the redness even more obvious. There were days I avoided leaving the house altogether because I was so embarrassed by how my skin looked.
I constantly heard things like, "You just have sensitive skin," or, "Some people can never use certain skincare products." After a while, I started to believe it. I thought having skin that burned, stung, or flared up was just normal.
At some point, I stopped getting excited to try new skincare. Every launch, every viral product, every glowing review came with the same question in the back of my mind: Is this going to make my skin worse? If you've ever found yourself searching "why is my skin so sensitive" or "why does my skin react to everything," you probably know that feeling too.
The phrase "sensitive skin" has become so common that we rarely stop to question it. For some people, the reason is eczema or dermatitis. For others, it could be allergies, overusing active ingredients, environmental stress, or even changes to the skin's microbiome. Researchers are continuing to explore how an imbalanced microbiome, known as microbiome dysbiosis, may contribute to inflammation and skin sensitization. Whatever the cause, your skin is responding to something. It isn't simply deciding to be difficult.
I think that's an important distinction because it changes how we approach skincare. Instead of accepting that products keep irritating my skin as normal, we can start asking better questions. Has my routine become too harsh? Am I trying too many new products at once? Is my skin asking for less instead of more?
It isn't about finding the strongest product or chasing every new skincare trend. It's about understanding what your skin is trying to communicate and choosing products that support it instead of constantly challenging it.
That philosophy became one of the foundations of Irritated. Lucy and I didn't start this brand because we thought the world needed another skincare product. We started it because we believed people with reactive skin deserved better answers than, "You just have sensitive skin." We wanted to create products, and conversations, that help people understand their skin instead of simply accepting discomfort as normal.
Looking back, I don't think my skin was ever working against me. It was trying to protect me.
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