Have sensitive or sensitised skin? Here are our do’s (and don’ts!) to help keep it calm and balanced:
- Identify your triggers so you know what to avoid.
- Don’t OVER cleanse. A single cleanse in the morning and a double cleanse at night, if you’re wearing makeup and SPF, is plenty.
- Opt for gentle cleansers rather than overly foaming textures. Cream cleansers are great for sensitive skin.
- Don’t over-exfoliate and stop exfoliation temporarily if your skin is inflamed.
- Outside of using a face cloth, try and avoid manual exfoliation. Opt for gentle chemical exfoliants such as PHAs (polyhydroxy acids).
- Add new products to your routine, slowly. Especially when it comes to retinoids and exfoliating acids.
- Avoid excess sun exposure and wear SPF daily, all year round. Mineral-based sunscreens using zinc or titanium dioxide are better tolerated by sensitive skin.
- Keep it hydrated with serums, mists and moisturisers. Brilliant hydrating ingredients include hyaluronic acid (always apply on damp skin with a moisturiser on top), urea, glycerin and squalane.
- If your skin is feeling particularly sore, use cleansers that can easily be washed away with water rather than a flannel which may cause further irritation due to friction.
- Incorporate hyaluronic acid. Apply to damp skin and always make sure to use a moisturiser on top.
- Avoid long, hot showers and use lukewarm water to cleanse your skin at the sink.
- Avoid harsh soaps and astringent toners.
- Strengthen your skin’s barrier with gentle ingredients such as ceramides, centella asiatica, cholesterol, beta-glucan and sodium PCA.
- If your skin is very sore, use an occlusive balm on affected areas, over the top of your moisturiser. This is also a great way to reduce friction from mask-wearing.
- Opt for fragrance-free and essential oil-free products wherever possible. Unless your skin can tolerate them. There will always be exceptions to this rule as products can be formulated to be gentler on the skin.
- Avoid products with a high concentration of simple alcohols (in the first 7 ingredients of the INCI list). For ease, these will be listed as: alcohol denat/denatured alcohol and isopropyl alcohol. The caveat being chemical exfoliants, as alcohol is often used to stabilise the formula.
- Avoid drying clay masks. Choose cream textures instead.
- Keep your routine simple until your skin can tolerate higher strength actives.
- Be gentle with your skin. Think of it like a delicate piece of ribbon, rather than a brick wall.
Example routine for sensitive/sensitised skin:
- Gentle cleanser
- Hydrating/Soothing mist
- Eye cream – if using
- Hydrating/Soothing serum
- Moisturiser
- Facial Oil – if using
- SPF (AM only, of course!)
Product recommendations for sensitive/sensitised skin:
- Avène Skin Recovery Cream
- Pestle & Mortar Pure Hyaluronic Serum
- Clinique Super City Block SP40
- Curél – the entire range is suitable for sensitivity
- Darphin Intral Daily Rescue Serum
- DeliKate® Recovery Cream
- Dermalogica UltraCalming™ Cleanser
- Jordan Samuel Skin The Aftershow Treatment Cleanser for Sensitive Skin
- Sunday Riley Juno Antioxidant + Superfood Face Oil
- Pai British Summer Time SPF30
- Ren Evercalm™ Overnight Recovery Balm
- Zelens Power D Treatment Drops
Looking for a full routine? Check out The Sensitive Face Box for a curated kit of products designed to soothe and hydrate sensitive skin.