Sometimes your skin is irritated or may it is an allergy and you want to know if it could possibly be from your own skin care products. One reliable trick is the ROAT test.
It stands for Repeated open Application Test (ROAT), it is used to investigate whether you have an allergy to a certain (skin care) product. The advantage of the ROAT is that you can easily perform it at home, without having to visit a dermatologist. However, if a skin reaction develops, make an appointment with a doctor or your dermatologist.
Apply a thin layer of one product in one elbow fold twice a day for 14 consecutive days.
No skin reaction = no allergy
Redness, itching and/or scaling = allergy
Wash your hands to prevent any spread of the product to other skin areas e.g. the face. You can test a second or more products at the same time in the same way in the other elbow folds, back of the knees or the skin area behind the ears. This test can only be used for products that may remain on the skin and therefore do not need to be rinsed off. So no shower gel, shampoos, soap, toothpaste or aggressive substances. When in doubt, contact your dermatologist first.
If itching, redness, or eczema develops, stop and report the reaction to your dermatologist. Or take pictures to show to your dermatologist later.
When an allergy to the product has been demonstrated with the ROAT, it is not yet known which raw material of that product is responsible for the allergy. To find out, an additional adhesive test must be carried out with the individual ingredients of the product. Once the ingredient is known, you can use the cosmetic packaging test to find an alternative.
Read more about: the sensitive skin
Apart from the aforementioned possible skin reactions, the ROAT has no unpleasant side effects.
Yes, you can, during the test period you can just take a shower.
There are so many different skin care products and which product is suitable for my skin! We also get these questions and to help you with that, we have made an IP infographic. Read more: Which Iconic Elements products fit me?
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