Struggling to find the best products for sensitive skin? You’re in the right place.
Skincare can be overwhelming at the best of times, but when you have sensitive skin it becomes ever harder. Sensitive skin is one of the hardest skin conditions to treat, check out my blog How to treat sensitive skin for a more comfortable complexion for more tips and expert advice.
Everyone's skin has the potential to have a melt down. It’s essential to implement the right routine to soothe sensitivity, reduce redness and strengthen the skin.
What Products Are Best For Sensitive Skin?
These are the three key products that should form the basis of your routine:
-
A gentle cleanser to carefully remove makeup and wash away the day without disrupting the skin barrier.
-
A soothing serum containing ingredients like hyaluronic acid to keep the skin hydrated, ceramides to restore the skin barrier and fatty acids to nourish. This could be a lightweight facial oil instead of a serum if you prefer.
-
A comforting moisturiser to lock in your serum’s benefits without feeling heavy or clogging the skin. Make sure this, and all the other products in your routine are fragrance-free as natural and synthetic fragrances are two of the biggest culprits of irritation.
Once you’ve nailed this routine and your skin is happy, you can start to look at adding more products and ingredients into your routine. Go slowly, incorporating one new product at a time and leave a gap of at least 48 hours between the initial application to test for reactions. Once you can see that your skin can tolerate it, then you can increase usage. Having sensitive skin doesn’t mean that active ingredients are off the menu, it’s just about choosing the right products and making sure the rest of your routine works with your skin and not against it.
Best Skincare Products For Sensitive Skin
Looking for recommendations? These are my top picks for sensitive skin.
Best Cream Cleanser For Sensitive Skin:
Kate Somerville Delikate Soothing Cleanser
This beautifully creamy formula glides effortlessly over the skin, allowing for a gentle massage that melts away the day. I’d recommend massaging for 60 seconds so that your skin benefits from all the wonderful ingredients that are packed into a cleanser.
The Delikate Soothing Cleanser is an absolutely gorgeous cleanser containing some powerhouse ingredients including peptides, ceramides, cucumber seed oil and pepperberry to calm, soothe and help strengthen the skin barrier over time. Your skin will feel comfortable, moisturised and clean after one use.
Use this product morning and/or evening and rinse off with just water. It’s a no-brainer for sensitive, sensitised, or rosacea-prone skin, plus it’s fragrance-free.
Best Foaming Cleanser For Sensitive Skin
Gallinee Foaming Facial Cleanser
This is an ultra-gentle facial wash with a foamy consistency that feels both gentle and soft on the skin. It transforms from a milky consistency to foam when dispensed and it melts into the skin like silk. Combining prebiotics (food for the good bacteria to flourish) and lactic acid, the skin is left feeling super soft and comfortable.The skin remains balanced and hydrated, with an optimal pH—essential for sensitive skin.
You could use this as a morning or evening cleanse and could be used with Delikate as a double cleanse.
Best Cleansing Milk For Sensitive Skin
La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser
This is a stunning lightweight, silky milk which is perfect when you’re experiencing sensitivity and cleansing can feel like the most challenging part of your skincare routine. Apply with your hands and let this gentle fragrance free cleansing milk do the hard work, plus Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser will remove your eye makeup too. Created for the most sensitive, reactive skins including those undergoing cancer treatment.
Best Toner For Compromised Skin Barrier
La Roche Posay Soothing Lotion
This ultra-gentle toner is specifically formulated for sensitive skin and pairs perfectly used after the La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser. Your skin feels instantly soft, soothed, fresh and hydrated thanks to La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water which is rich in minerals and treac element, essential for your skin. Fragrance free and non comedogenic, this soothing lotion balances the pH which is the first step to restoring skin equilibrium.
Best Toner and Mist for Sensitive Skin
Comfort Zone Remedy Toner
Comfort Zone Remedy Toner is a dual-action soothing toner and a refreshing hydrating spray designed to give you immediate relief. Thanks to the soothing, calming and hydrating properties of this product, it’s perfect for sensitive skin which would normally be aggravated by toners. The Comfort Zone Remedy Toner leaves the skin feeling beautiful, soothed and helps prevent rosacea flare ups. Fragrance-free and alcohol-free with prebiotics to restore the skin’s microflora, it’s perfect for sensitive skin to cope with day-to-day aggressions.
Best Eye Makeup Remover for Sensitive Skin
Optase Life Sensitive Eye Makeup Remover
Optase Life Sensitive Eye Makeup Remover is brilliant for sensitive skin. After trying many eye removers, this is a clear winner when dealing with sore or irritated skin. Additionally, it makes the perfect eye compress and gently removes all the makeup up away whilst respecting the delicate eye area. Featuring ionized water to help break down makeup as well as hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5 to hydrate and comfort the eye area, it’s an ideal option for those experiencing sensitivity.
Best Micellar Water for Sensitive Skin
Garnier Micellar Water Facial Cleanser
Garnier Micellar Water Facial Cleanser and Makeup Remover for sensitive skin is a dream! Often, micellar waters can irritate rosacea or the eye area yet this product is the only micellar water on the market recognised by the British Skin Foundation and Allergy UK due to its proven gentle, soothing formula suitable for all sensitive skin types. It effortlessly breaks down and removes makeup whilst soothing and hydrating the skin.
Best Eye Cream For Sensitive Skin
SVR Palpebral Irritated Eyelids Anti Itching Soothing Cream
Just like eye makeup remover, it’s hard to find an eye cream that doesn’t either sting, make your eyes water or cause more dehydration and lines. Created for allergy-prone, eczema-prone and flaky skin under and around the eyes, this product delivers immediate comfort and hydration around the delicate eye area. Packed with omegas for moisture, hyaluronic acid for hydration, and a unique anti-itching complex for the most hypersensitive skins.
Best Serum and Intense Moisturiser Duo For Sensitive Skin
Kate Somerville Delikate Recovery Serum and Cream
This gorgeous combination is best described as a comforting blanket for the skin. Together they provide immediate and long-lasting comfort, a saviour for stressed parched skin. The recovery cream immediately cocoons the skin whilst the serum brings instant hydration and reduces redness. Together, it’s perfect to calm irritation or stressed skin with peptides, ceramides, cucumber seed oil and omegas. Your skin feels instantly soothed bringing long-lasting relief for dry, tight, irritated skin.
Best Lightweight Moisturiser For Sensitive Skin
Galinee Universal Face Cream
is a clever combination of probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics to support the skin’s microbiome and repair the skin barrier. Cold pressed yacon extract, a root extract from the same family as Jerusalem Artichokes, contains one of the largest amounts of prebiotics found in natural plants. This nourishes the skin with beneficial bacteria while targeting harmful bacteria, helping to prevent breakouts and irritation. The hydrating, gentle AHAs of lactic acid help refine the skin’s surface & keep the skin at the optimal pH level. Even though there is an aroma from the natural prebiotics, it is fragrance-free. If you experience breakouts and skin sensitivity, this lightweight, hydrating formula helps prevent future breakouts while soothing and calming existing flare-ups.
Best Night Cream For Sensitive Skin
Comfort Zone Remedy Defense Cream
This is a rich, cocooning moisturiser which feels amazing at night-time. It’s comforting from the first application and works so well that your skin still feels soft, supple and happy when you wake up. It can also be the perfect day moisturiser for winter if you’re seeking a rich, comforting moisturiser.
Best Retinol and Azelaic Acid Serum For Sensitive Skin
Dr Sam’s Flawless Nightly Serum
This product holds a sophisticated blend of retinoids, azelaic acid, bakuchiol and niacinamide. If you suffer from sensitive skin, I recommend this product as the step up from your first retinoid serum. With that said, it was tested on rosacea and the skin had never looked better. Your skin texture feels refined, pores appear reduced, and skin appears smoother, clearer and firmer. Thanks to the clever combination of azelaic acid and retinol, this is perfect if you’re struggling with congestion, uneven skin tone and redness.
USE FIONA10 FOR 10% OFF
Thank You For Reading
I hope you found this review helpful! As a small independent business, using these links helps me keep my website running and continue to provide these blogs for you. I’m often asked how you can thank me for my skincare advice - using these links is very much appreciated.
Thank you for being part of this amazing journey with me!
Fiona X