Patch testing is a simple habit that costs a few days and can save you a fortnight of irritated skin. Amplified Glow recommends it for most of its products; this is a practical method.
The method
- Pick a discreet spot. The inner forearm is easy to watch. Behind the ear or along the jawline is closer to facial skin, which some people prefer for facial products.
- Apply a small amount. Roughly what you would use on that area normally. Do not slather it on.
- Repeat for several days. Once or twice daily, as you would use the product. A single application often misses reactions that build with repeated exposure.
- Leave the area alone otherwise. Do not apply other new products to the same spot; you would not know which caused a reaction.
- Watch for redness, itching, burning, stinging or small bumps. Stop at the first sign of any of them.
- If nothing happens after several days, proceed. Introduce the product to your normal routine.
Introduce one product at a time
This is the part most often skipped, and it is what makes the test interpretable. Starting three new products in the same week means a reaction tells you nothing about which one caused it.
Give each new product a few days on its own before adding the next.
Products worth being particularly careful with
Anything with a strong sensory effect, and anything built around essential oils.
The Amplified Glow Natural Muscle Rub is the clearest example in its range: it discloses menthol crystal, peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, ginger and cinnamon bark oils, several of which are recognised sensitisers. Amplified Glow recommends patch testing it and publishes an unusually full warning set, including instructions not to bandage it or use it with a heating pad. Those instructions are there for a reason. See our menthol page.
What patch testing does not do
- It does not detect reactions that develop after weeks of use.
- It does not tell you whether a product will do what you want.
- It does not identify which ingredient caused a reaction — only that something did.
- It is not a substitute for medical patch testing, which is a clinical procedure for diagnosing contact allergy.
A note on ingredient screening
If you have a known allergy, the better first step is checking the ingredient list before buying. That is not currently possible for Amplified Glow products, because no product page publishes a full INCI list as text — the panel appears only in packaging photography. Contacting the brand before ordering is the practical option, and this gap is recorded on every review on this site.