Sensitive skin can be a lifelong struggle; constantly reacting, itching and flaring to unknown ingredients that then must be sought out and eliminated. It was originally known as ‘cosmetic intolerance syndrome’ - thought to be an inability to use common moisturizers and skin treatments, but it’s now better known to be a complex, individual reaction to triggers, including weather, environment and high sensitivity to specific ingredients. 

It’s a complicated diagnosis. All of our skin is unique and will react differently to varied ingredients. Some people swear niacinamide to be their life savior, whereas others avoid it like plague. A reaction to a single ingredient does not automatically indicate sensitive skin, but if you are noticing a repeating pattern it might be time to consider it.

- I often break out in little red splotches due to new cosmetics and soaps 
- I don’t like using cheap cosmetics as my skin becomes terrible 
- I have to read the ingredient list dilligently 
- I struggle with redness, dry patches and itchiness 
- I can never use products with x, y or z.

If the above is starting to piece together, chances are your skin is sensitive. And this is not a bad thing! In fact, the quicker you realize that you are a sensitive skin type, the better! It helps eliminate products that are likely causing flares, irritation and compromising your skin barrier and will consolidate what products do work for you!  

If you have sensitive skin that is being well handled – no irritation, redness or itchiness, the kindest thing you can probably do is change nothing. Keep your products close, don’t fall for viral trends and don’t risk breaking your healthy, happy skin barrier. It can take months to recover and skin damage is a vicious cycle. 

But! If you are struggling still with redness, irritation and sensitive skin – Korean skincare can be perfect. It has a deep nature-focus, can be deeply soothing and has a holistic variety of skincare products that can suit your skin type, no matter how niche. The hardest part can be just finding the right routine. 

Online, people buy massive hauls of brand new, shiny products and it can be very exciting. But if you are at risk of irritation, only ever introduce one product at a time. It can be frustrating to wait, but lifelong skincare takes time. Start only one product each week and carefully watch how your skin reacts. Watch for redness, drying skin and any itching – as these are key signs your skin is not happy with the new addition. If these occur, its best to stop the product quickly and let your skin recover. It’s not likely to improve over time, especially if you’ve had a reaction in the past – don't try to push an incompatible product in (even if you really want to). 

Sensitivity is not limited to one thing and if you are allergic to one thing, chances are you’re at risk of other allergies. 

If you have a fish allergy, for example, avoid glucosamine, collagen (especially marine collagen) and snail mucin (there can be cross-over in reactivity!) Similarly, if you have a reaction to dust (which is super common), again snail mucin can cause a reaction, rash and itching. 

Similarly, if you are allergic to one fragrance – chances are you will be allergic to a massive variety of fragrances. It comes to a point that people will avoid fragrant products altogether, as the unnecessary addition is enough to lead to itching and irritation. 

Similarly, preservatives are a common cause of allergy in cosmetics – such as parabens, formaldehyde-based products and isothiazolinones, which makes fresher and more simple cosmetics a better choice for sensitive skin. 

This is where Korean cosmetics shine. There are a ton of popular products that work hard to contain only a small handful of ingredients – with the majority plant-based extracts that avoid complex chemical titles. Take the Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule, for example. Its ingredient list contains only 7 ingredients – with background water, plant cellulose, hydrating glycerin and 1x preservative (low-irritation ethylhexylglycerin) and 1x solvent (hexanediol). The leading ingredients include butylene glycol (moisturizing agent) and then soothing centella asciatica. 

This product specifically has been a holy grail for many with sensitive skin, due to its soothing ability – but more importantly, was a key way some people actually found out they are sensitive to butylene glycol (which can lead to itching, redness and even acne outbreaks. It also cross-reacts with propylene glycol) and can occur in up to 2% of populations. 

For sensitive skin, it’s important to scale back products to what is simple, what ingredient lists you can scrutinize and then eliminate what does not work for your skin. Buy out small tester kits or mini versions of products when trying something new – and note what could be the culprit causing irritation. 

Looking to restore and bring calm to your skin barrier? These were the top calming ingredients included in products designed to refresh and soothe sensitive skin: 

- Avena sativa (soothing oats) 
- Licorice extract 
- Allantoin (soothing plant-extract) 
- Sea kelp extract 
- Panthenol 
- Niacinamide 

You might notice niacinamide in this list and be immediately skeptical. But there’s a reason niacinamide specifically has been added to everything, and that’s because it holds great benefits and specifically reduces inflammation, improves skin barrier function and helps specifically with acne, rosacea and melasma. But the reason many try to avoid niacinamide is that high doses can become irritating to skin. 

Niacinamide only needs to be used in quite small doses (with 0.25% being enough to treat rosacea in trials). If niacinamide is irritating your skin, chances are you are using too much of it – as a little 2% here and there (2% in a toner, 5% in a serum and 2% in a moisturizer) adds up quickly and can lead to drying and redness, especially in sensitive skin. So, it's not a bad ingredient – but the current obsession with it has created some problems. 

As mentioned before, everyone has unique skin and if there’s something you know to avoid – keep true to that. But if you are looking for some product recommendations that avoid fragrance, alcohol-based products and irritating preservatives, there are tried and true loves from Seoul. 

The Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel and the entire Haruharu range is a longtime favourite for sensitive skin users. It is fragrance-free, alcohol-free and contains coconut-based cleansers to cleanse without stripping or drying skin. It also contains soothing rice and ginseng extract, along with some great hydrating agents (beta-glucan, trehalose) and some calming botanic extracts. It does contain butylene glycol (if you have a specific sensitivity) - but has been a top-quality cleanser for many sensitive types. 

Ideal skin type: dry, sensitive or normal. 

If you are struggling with oily-skin and acne as well as sensitivity, then the Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser was designed to help out! With a base of mung bean extract, this cleanse also contains green tea extract, heartleaf, soothing rice extracts and other soothing botanical extracts that are not likely to trigger a reaction and is ideal to balance oils and inflammation. It does also contain butylene glycol but otherwise is a much-beloved option for those battling sensitivities and acne. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, oily or acne-prone. 

Cosrx Water Alcohol-Free Toner 150ml, is a deeply loved and simple toner that is great for sensitive, acne-prone and irritated skin. With a deeply simple 9-ingredient list, it has a base of soothing mineral water, blended with centella asciatica extract, butylene glycol and hydrating panthenol, allantoin and sodium hyaluronate. If you need something that calms, prepares skin and hydrates – this toner has not left people’s routines since it came out in 2015. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, oily or acne-prone. 

Yes, Cosrx made this list twice. We can’t argue with the results – and sensitive skin needs a thoughtful, simple toner for the morning. Cosrx originally specialized in sensitive-skin products, as Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner 150ml is a deep favourite for those in need of extra moisture and calming through their day. Containing 72.6% black bee propolis as a base, this toner is lightweight and deeply soothing and feels a little decadent. It is alcohol-free, fragrance-free and has no irritating essential oils, making it a favourite for sensitive and irritated skin. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, dry or red. 

The Purito Seoul Hydro Wave Deep Sea Serum is a long-time favourite for dry, sensitive skin. It’s made of 66% ocean water pulled from the depths of Gangwongdo, for a mineral-rich base. This is blended with soothing agents as well as brightening snowcap mushroom extract and calming seaweed. It is more complicated on the ingredient side, but is a favourite if you are struggling with dryness and being fragrance and alcohol free, is a popular sensitive favourite. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, dry or fine lines. 

The popular Numbuzin No.1 Pantothenic B5 Active Soothing Serum 50ml is another soothing, favourite to hydrate, cool and refresh sensitive skin. With the starring agent of Vitamin B5 (panthenol), this serum is a popular way to cool and hydrate irritated skin. It does contain niacinamide, which is a boon to calm sensitive skin, but cannot be used in too many products at once. Apart from that, it contains deep hydration through hyaluronic acid, beta-glucan, trehalose and sodium hyaluronate which all promote water hydration and lasting cooling effect. Comes in a pleasant lightweight gel, which is fragrance, alcohol and essential oil free. 

Ideal skin type: dry, dehydrated and irritated. 

Struggling with acne, redness and need a little exfoliation? The Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum is a little green bottle of calm, with blended notes of green tea, aloe vera and centella asciatica extracts to support the exfoliating and cooling action of azelaic acid (10%). Azelaic acid is a great addition for calming sensitive skin and acne, but only use it on dry skin and start with a low dose and gently introduce it to your routine. 

Ideal skin type: acne-prone, sensitive and red. 

A fan, soothing and hydrating favourite for sensitive skin is the Purito Seoul Oat-In Calming Gel Cream 100ml. With soothing 77% oat seed extract, blended with hydrating glycerin, panthenol and beta-glucan to provide a lightweight and gentle moisturizer. If you just pick a single product to help cool and refresh your skin throughout the day, this is a perfect one and it’s a perfect place to start planning your routine. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, normal and dry. 

If you are looking to lift fine lines and plump skin without irritation, another common recommendation is the Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid 100 Moisture Cream 60ml. With salmon PDRN to restore and strengthen skin barrier, blended with plumping hyaluronic acid, this lightweight cream is a common favourite to vanish rough spots, irritation and dryness. It provides a 122% improvement of skin hydration (in Anua’s clinical trial) and is a great step for more even, calmer skin. 

Ideal skin type: sensitive, dry and fine lines. 

Looking for an all-round brand that is delightful for sensitive, dry skin? Aestura has taken over a variety of K-beauty fans, especially with their favourite ATOBarrier 365 Cream. It contains a healthy variety of ceramides to boost and re-enforce your natural skin barrier. The entire brand is designed for calm, moisturizing and to refresh sensitive and dry skin and any of their products are a great place to start to help calm and refresh your skin barrier.

Sensitive skin care is a lifelong journey. It’s important to be patient, start small and find safe products that you can rely on. Expand from there and don’t be afraid to experiment but just start small. Test out a mini for something you like the look of, only start one product at a time and avoid anything that triggers your skin. 

How can I care for sensitive skin? 
It’s important to choose skincare that is gentle, natural and soothing. Try to avoid common triggers; including alcohol-based products, essential oils, fragrance and irritating preservatives. It’s good to have a lightweight moisturizer that is not occlusive to help repair your skin barrier and create a light shield from environmental irritants. 

What ingredients are good for sensitive skin? 
Try soothing, calming and skin-barrier building ingredients. Top ones include avena sativa (oat extract), licorice extract, allantoin, kelp, panthenol and niacinamide. It’s important, however, to use niacinamide in moderation with sensitive skin. It stimulates skin barrier repair in low doses (2-5%) but higher than that can actually dry out and aggravate skin.  

Using a calming herbal remedy can be great (think centella asciatica, mugwort, heartleaf or green tea), but the effectiveness can vary from person to person. It’s good to trial out different things in small amounts and see if it suits your skin. 

What is the perfect skincare routine for sensitive skin? 
For sensitive skin, it’s important to remember that less is better. Jumping into a 10-step routine means, at the end of the day, that there are 10 potential irritants that can lead to a flare or irritation. Similarly, it means there’s more likely to be combined actives (i.e. PHA or niacinamide that is present in more than one product of your routine) which overall increase the dose and risk of irritation. 

A great routine for sensitive skin should involve a gentle cleanser, light toner, soothing serum and a moisturizer for you to layer morning or night. Don’t forget to put on a good sunscreen for when you venture out in the sun – as sunburn can deeply irritate.