Editor's note

Sensitive skin is a constitution, not a diagnosis. It means your skin reacts — to fragrance, heat, new products, friction, sometimes nothing you can identify — faster and more visibly than average. The work is mostly reduction: fewer steps, shorter ingredient lists, slower introductions. There's a difference between reactive skin and sensitised skin, and that distinction matters before you start adding actives. Below is everything we've published — Trending now, Editor's picks, the Beginner's path, and the full how-to library.

Other skin types

• Oily
• Dry
• Combination
• Sensitive
• Normal

What 'sensitive skin' actually means

Sensitive skin reacts to things other skin types tolerate without incident — fragrance, alcohol, certain actives, temperature change, new products. It's not the same as a skin condition, and it's not a failure of the barrier, though a compromised barrier often makes sensitivity worse. The distinction that matters most is reactive skin (a constitution you were born with) versus sensitised skin (a state the skin has been pushed into).

Myth, meet fact

• Myth: Fragrance-free always means safe for sensitive skin. Fact: Fragrance is one common irritant, but not the only one. Ingredient count and patch testing matter more than the label.
• Myth: You need a special 'sensitive skin' product line. Fact: Short ingredient lists with well-understood components do more than branded 'calming' lines that still contain several actives.
• Myth: Sensitive skin can't use any actives. Fact: Most sensitive skin can use actives — slowly, one at a time, at the right concentration. The barrier-rebuild week before introducing anything new is the step most people skip.

The beginner's path

Five pieces, in order. Around twenty minutes of reading. Enough to understand the difference between reactive and sensitised — and what to do about both.

1. Reactive vs sensitised skin — the distinction that changes everything (4 min)
2. Patch testing — the one habit sensitive skin can't skip (3 min)
3. The barrier-rebuild week — before you introduce anything new (5 min)
4. Reading an ingredient list for sensitive skin (4 min)
5. SPF for sensitive skin — mineral vs chemical, settled (3 min)

Format, by use case

What to reach for, and when. For sensitive skin, fewest ingredients first. Gel-cream is the default for most days — if the formula is clean. Lotion as an AM option under mineral SPF. Cream for dry patches in the evening. Balm for barrier repair after a reaction. Squalane oil as the most universally accepted sealing step. Avoid essential-oil blends and citrus-derived oils entirely.

Everything we've published on sensitive skin

• The barrier-rebuild week — seven days without actives
• Reactive vs sensitised — the distinction that matters
• Patch testing — a proper how-to
• Cleansing sensitive skin — the low-surfactant argument
• Mineral SPF for sensitive skin — how to make it work
• Reading an ingredient list — what sensitive skin should avoid
• How to introduce retinol to sensitive skin (slowly)
• Fragrance-free isn't always safe — the other irritants
• The short routine — three products for sensitive skin
• Niacinamide for sensitive skin — what the evidence says