Sensitive skin is a skin type that reacts more strongly and more visibly to external triggers, such as a scent, warmth or a new cream, most often with redness, a burning sensation or tightness. If you are looking for cosmetics for sensitive skin, take a look at the P-Biotic protective cream or the Cleansing balm SENSITIVE, or let our Advisor guide you.
What sensitive skin is and why it reacts so easily
Sensitive skin is neither a diagnosis nor a label, more a description of how your skin behaves. In most women it comes down to a weakened surface barrier, that is, the thin protective layer that is meant to keep moisture inside and tiny irritants outside. When the barrier is less cohesive, triggers reach the sensitive nerve endings more easily and the skin lets you know at once. That is why sensitive skin often seems drier at the same time, slightly flushed and warmer to the touch. A tendency to react can be influenced by genetics, age, hormonal changes and previous care, for example peels that were too frequent. The way the skin barrier works is also described by studies on sensitive skin and the skin barrier (source: the PubMed database). The good news is that you can support the barrier with gentle, regular care, not with complicated interventions.
Sensitive skin or just temporary irritation?
This question can save you a lot of needless spending, because the two are often confused. Sensitive skin is a long-term trait that repeats and reacts to several triggers at once, for example scent, wind and a new cream. Temporary irritation, on the other hand, is a response to a specific event: a strong peel, hot water, a new ingredient or a lot of sun. Afterwards the skin usually calms down if you give it peace and simple care. If it happened once, your skin has probably just been overstretched. If the reactions keep returning, you more likely have sensitive skin, and a more careful choice of products will help, which is what this article is about. You can tell the difference by noticing for a few weeks what repeats, and writing down the date, the product and the weather. Such a small diary will tell you more than any guess and will spare you needless switching between creams. Sensitive skin most often announces itself with these signs:
- it feels tight after washing your face, even when a cream is within reach,
- it flushes easily in warmth or wind, or after a new product,
- it reacts to certain scents or ingredients with burning or itching,
- any scrubbing or hot water makes it worse,
- fewer products suit it than more.
If the redness is strong, the burning persists or it appears on your face repeatedly without an obvious cause, consult a doctor or dermatologist. Cosmetics do not replace an examination.
What puts a strain on sensitive skin on an ordinary day
Sensitive skin often does not react to one big trigger but to the sum of small things. A hot shower in the morning, a sharp wind on the way to work, the dry air of heated rooms, thorough scrubbing with a flannel and a new cream in the evening can together be more than the skin can bear. That is why it makes sense to adjust the whole day, not just one product. Sensitive skin appreciates lukewarm water, a soft towel that you press on the skin rather than rub, and a calm evening without peels. It also helps to keep only a few steps in the routine, ones you know well. When the skin no longer has to react to ten new things at once, the barrier has room to recover, and the skin looks calmer, softer and more radiant. It is a slowing down that cannot be ticked off with a single miracle product.
What to read in the ingredients of cosmetics for sensitive skin
When choosing, the point is not to find a miracle ingredient but to avoid what needlessly burdens the skin and to prefer simpler compositions. INCI ingredients are ordered from the highest content to the lowest, so it pays to look mainly at the first 5 to 10 items (ingredients below 1% may be in any order). European rules also require selected fragrance allergens, such as Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol or Citronellol, to be listed, which is a practical aid for sensitive skin: if you find them in the composition and know you react to scents, choose another product. That does not mean they are banned, only that it is good to know about them. Always try a new product first on a small area of skin according to the instructions on the label.
| Suits sensitive skin | Better with caution |
|---|---|
| A short composition with clear ingredients | A long list of fragrances, essential oils and colourants |
| Squalane, plant oils, glycerin, hyaluronic acid | Alcohol high in the ingredient list |
| Oat extract, rose water | Coarse scrubs and rubbing |
| Cleansing with an oil or balm and lukewarm water | Hot water and strongly foaming gels |
A gentle routine for sensitive skin, step by step
What works best is a routine that is short and always the same. In the evening you can remove make-up with the Cleansing balm SENSITIVE, which melts on the skin into a gentle oil and, once mixed with water, rinses off with lukewarm water. Its composition is built on hemp oil, moringa and sunflower oil, but it also contains essential oils, for example grapefruit and Roman chamomile, and limonene, so if you react to scents in particular, check the INCI. As a cream you can try the P-Biotic protective cream with rose water, squalane, marula oil, oat and hyaluronic acid. It also contains the fragrance ingredients Citronellol, Geraniol and Eugenol, which are listed in the composition. If you are trying them for the first time, introduce them gradually, one after another, and watch how your skin takes them.
- In the morning rinse your skin with lukewarm water or cleanse it gently, without rubbing.
- Apply a thin layer of cream and let it absorb.
- In the evening remove make-up and impurities with a balm or oil and rinse with lukewarm water.
- Before bed apply cream again and leave nothing extra on your face.
Did you know…
Did you know that fragrance allergens, such as Limonene, Linalool or Geraniol, must be listed separately in the INCI composition by the manufacturer if their content exceeds the legal limit?