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Hands Down, These Are The Best New Products For Sensitive Skin

No redness or irritation in sight.

by Parizaad Khan Sethi

Updated: Feb. 20, 2024

Originally Published: November 28, 2023

Tower 28

sensitive skin products

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What’s the opposite of the lottery, because sensitive-skinned people feel like they’ve won it. Reactive complexions have become so common that it’s often thought of as just another skin type, but having a perma-irritated visage (or body) is no joke. Basic beauty tasks like sun protection and exfoliation are tricky, and even the most banal of cleansers and moisturizers can set off a chain reaction of redness and irritation. It’s also difficult to figure out how to approach products that use active ingredients to tackle a certain concern, like reducing pigmentation, balancing uneven texture, or diminishing lines and wrinkles. You’re forced to tread gently in the world of beauty, always wary of something that could set your complexion off. Instead of putting your barrier on the line, I’ve compiled the best sensitive skin products of 2023.

These new launches are categorized into two groups: the products for treatment are rich with actives and are meant to achieve a specific goal, while those for soothing have skin care heroes that do basic functions like cleanse, moisturize, and protect without causing irritation. Hopefully, these products help your compromised skin make a soft landing – just like they have for my complexion.

Treatment Products For Sensitive Skin

Mandelic Clearing Serum

Sofie Pavitt Face

Mandelic Clearing Serum

Exfoliation is hard for sensitives since the acids that do that job, like glycolic, lactic, and salicylic, can be punishing on delicate or compromised skin. But those with acne really need to slough off those dead cells lest they start clogging pores. New York-based aesthetician Sofie Pavitt who specializes in acneic skin formulated a mandelic acid-based serum that her clients can use on a daily basis. I’ve heard brands say this before, but this time I’m excited to report it holds up! I’ve been using it daily for weeks without triggering any irritation, and feel optimally exfoliated.

C+ Brightening Eye Complex

Revision Skincare

C+ Brightening Eye Complex

Even though it packs a punch with 10% THD ascorbate, the most potent and stable form of vitamin C, I don’t find this eye cream irritating on the delicate orbital area. Instead, my dark circles and under eye bags both seem diminished and the skin is hydrated and plumper. And cooling metal applicators are always better than any other, so instant points for that too.

Molecular Hero Serum

Molecular Hero Serum

This is an origin story for the ages: the brand was conceived when co-founder Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger developed a harmless condition that lightened patches of skin, and wondered if the same molecule could be harnessed to reduce the hyperpigmentation on her face? After six years of research, a team of scientists, chemists and dermatologists discovered malassezin, an ingredient 10x more powerful than vitamin C and clinically proven to reduce hyperpigmentation. It’s also said to help the moisture barrier, and that’s probably why I feel no sensitivity to it, and have a clearer complexion as a result.

Miracle LED Patch

RIKI LOVES RIKI

Miracle LED Patch

It’s a long distance ride on the struggle bus if you’re acne-prone as a sensitive-skinned person, as blemish-fighting actives aren’t known for being gentle. This LED-emitting patch eliminates the need to use products to target zits, and works well even on painful cystic acne. A gentle adhesive strip helps the reusable silicone piece stick to the skin around the zit, zapping it with a combination of red and blue lights that have been clinically proven to reduce acne-causing bacteria and inflammation.

Isdinceutics Retinal Advanced Serum

Isdinceutics Retinal Advanced Serum

Retinol products have been known to sensitize the hardiest of skins, so what hope can a reactive complexion-possessor have? This dual-phase serum was formulated to solve these weighty problems. Even though it contains retinal, the stronger cousin to retinol, it buffers that with soothing and barrier-building ingredients like niacinamide. Other helpful actives are bakuchiol and melatonin, which have rejuvenation and antioxidant activity, respectively. I’m building up to recommended usage very slowly, but with no adverse effects so far, it seems like a promising alternative to prescription tretinoin.

UNSPOTTED 4X Acid Jelly Night Serum

UNSPOTTED 4X Acid Jelly Night Serum

The name made me wonder if this product would take my skin on an acid trip from which it would never recover, but that turned out not to be the case. Four resurfacing acids and the brightening antioxidant glutathione are packed into this serum specially formulated to be safe for skins of color and us sensitives. The brand purposefully includes melanated skin tones in their formal clinical trials to ensure the product’s safety and efficacy on that cohort. I buffer it with one of the hydrating moisturizers on this list just to be safe, but I’ve had no sensitivity after use, and see a reduction in dark spots.

Soothing Products For Sensitive Skin

Air Angel Gel Cream

Air Angel Gel Cream

There are hundreds of basic moisturizers that promise to quench sensitized skin, but somehow, they’re all just “OK.” Does the platonic ideal exist in this category, is the existential beauty question I ask daily. Air Angel, a gel-cream by buzzy brand Dieux, that’s rooted in serious skin care science gets as close to perfect as possible. It’s got enough heft to give drier complexions some benefits, but still elegant enough to deliver non-sticky hydration to oilier skin types. It’s a unicorn in this category, the type of product you stock in multiples.

Soothing & Barrier Support Serum

Soothing & Barrier Support Serum

A multi-active serum targeting the many causes of sensitivity is a first from this brand that has so far focused on one active ingredient per product. It promises to reinforce the skin barrier and prevent future flareups instead of just putting a Band-Aid on the problem. The formula is loaded with soothing and strengthening ingredients that are familiar (centella asiatica, vitamin B12, niacinamide, bisabolol, and ceramides) and newer (gallic acid, an anti-inflammatory that’s a constituent of tannins). It’s lightweight and hydrating, making it a perfect serum for all occasions, but especially useful to sandwich with retinol to buffer the latter’s irritating effects. The naturally pink hue is a joyful bonus.

SOS Daily Skin Barrier Redness Recovery Moisturizer

SOS Daily Skin Barrier Redness Recovery Moisturizer

Tower 28 is a safe space for sensitive skin thanks to founder Amy Liu’s own struggles with the issue. This latest extension to the bestselling SOS line is a nourishing, calming moisturizer that gives heavy duty benefits with a light touch. At first contact, the cream feels like a rich, comforting duvet, but dissipates quickly on the skin, leaving a non-greasy yet plush finish.

Stabilizing Repair Cream

Stabilizing Repair Cream

This balmy cream is on a mission to aid the skin barrier by getting it to do its job. By delivering a blend of actives, phytosterols, and molecules that help the skin produce its own ceramides, this hydrating hero is playing the long game. It helped reduce redness and itchiness in my own skin and I can’t wait to slather myself in its coddling embrace all winter long.

Eye Illuminations Makeup Remover & Cleanser

Eye Illuminations Makeup Remover & Cleanser

If conventional makeup removers make your eyes sting and irritate the area around them, try this gentle yet hard working micellar water. It helps mobilize heavy eye makeup without any tugging or stinging, and is safe for lash extensions and contact lenses. Since it’s enriched with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, squalane, and glycerin, it has a slightly oilier feel than similar products, but it leaves skin plump and hydrated.

Adaptogen Spray Moisturizer

Adaptogen Spray Moisturizer

This unique sprayable milky moisturizer is like being cocooned in your personal protective bubble. It’s built with a base of ingredients that are adaptogenic (breton seaweed and reishi mushroom) and antioxidant (horehound extract). The spray offers a hit of hydration without any stickiness, making it the perfect midday pick-me-up for the winter months when it’s necessary to combat the lack of humidity from indoor heating.

Lightweight Hydrate Moisturizing Lotion

Lightweight Hydrate Moisturizing Lotion

This brand was born when an allergist kept seeing his reactive-skinned patients using skin care with sensitizing ingredients that made their issues worse. Each product is built from scratch with a minimal formula that excludes common irritants and allergens, which is quite uncommon even among brands catering to delicate complexions. The whole product line is solid, but if you’re on the hunt for a great basic moisturizer that ticks all the boxes, you can’t do better than this one. It’s lightweight but hefty, delivering comfort and relief without the slick.

Brightening Serum Skin Tint Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Brightening Serum Skin Tint Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30

A minimal routine is ideal for compromised skin, just so there are less chances of product reactions. This skin tint is a true makeup and skin care hybrid, with sun protection and serum-like benefits. Hydrating and fortifying ingredients like ceramides, niacinamide, pre- and probiotics all fortify the barrier, and in terms of finish it’s giving dewy, lightweight foundation with blurring action. It comes in 30 flexible shades to match a wide range of skin tones and undertones.

Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm

Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm

Fragranced skin care is one of the beauty pleasures reactive complexions can’t access, so imagine my surprise when this delightfully buttery balm didn’t cause any flareups. It contains barrier-building ingredients like camellia japonica and safflower oils, omegas, and ceramides, as well as a hypoallergenic fragrance, and is suitable for eczema-prone skin. I used it on some psoriatic patches on my elbows and instead of getting red and itchy, my skin felt soothed.

Activated Mineral  Sunscreen SPF 33

Activated Mineral  Sunscreen SPF 33

Are you the type of person who can’t wait to get home at the end of the day and wash your sunscreen off? So am I, except when I wear this tinted mineral SPF created by New York City dermatologist Dr. David Kim. It’s ultra lightweight and doesn’t cause irritation even after all-day wear, so I almost always forget it’s on my face. The blurring filter-like finish is an amazing bonus.

Barrier Pro 1-Step Cleanser

Barrier Pro 1-Step Cleanser

Removing sunscreen is a task many cleansers are not up to, and the ones that are can be too drying, causing unwanted irritation. This one from Colorescience, a brand committed to proper sunscreen habits, does the job without being abrasive. What’s more, there’s no need to double cleanse as it promises one-step removal. It’s also surprisingly high on do-good ingredients like antioxidant-rich prickly pear cactus, probiotic bacteria to encourage healthy flora, and pink pomelo extract for a mild exfoliation.

This article was originally published on November 28, 2023