Some chemicals used in cosmetics can cause irritations and allergies. Even though they are two different things, they can have similar symptoms. It is important to tell the difference between them because once you know if you’re allergic or irritated, it will be easier for your doctor to determine the right treatment for you. Here’s how to do that:
Irritation
Irritation is caused by harsh chemicals or strong detergents. Skin becomes red, chapped and scaled and you can feel itchiness, burning, stinging and pain. These symptoms are limited to the part of the skin that was in contact with the chemical and develop within a few minutes (sometimes hours) after a single exposure.
Allergy
An allergy occurs when your immune system becomes hypersensitive after exposure to a substance that can be harmful to the body that therefore produces antibodies to fight it. The symptoms can develop anywhere on your body and are similar to those of irritation (redness, burning, swelling, blisters, rashes, hives), but the itchiness is worse.
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Thanks for the differences
I think I have both 
But I mostly suffer from Skin Irritations 
Hi Nikki,
I’m sorry to hear that you have skin sensitivities and allergies. I don’t know how much use this will be for you depending on your locale, but I work for THRIVE Allergy Expo here in Chicago. We are producing a large scale business to consumer expo dedicated to providing the best and most effective products for people with skin allergies, sensitivities, and conditions as well as for people with food, respiratory, eye and latex alleriges at McCormick Place on April 18-19th, 2009.
If you are able to attend, you will have the opportunity to find skin allergy relief, learn more about skin allergy triggers from medical physicians and professional and non-profit organizations whose missions are related to skin.
Actually, please visit our website at http://www.thriveallergyexpo.com and you will see all the non-profit skin organizations we are affiliated with. They are a wonderful resource for product recommendations.
Good luck!
oh wow! i usually refer to them as the same. haha! thanks gio!
yeah same as nikki, i suffer alot of skin irritation =/ and thts really annoying!
NIkki: I’m sorry to hear that. Different ingredients can cause different reactions but as long as you know what ingredients are causing the problems you can avoid them and be fine
taraseason: thanks for sharing. It is a very nice initiative.
sab: you’re welcome. Lots of people do, hope this helps to clear the confusion!
prettybeautiful: I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately there are a lot of ingredients that can cause iritation, esp if you have sensitive skin. It must be very frustrating.