A skincare routine for sensitive skin: which products, which not, and on two budgets

On sensitive skin the routine is defined by what it leaves out: no exfoliating acid, no retinol above the lowest step, and no vitamin C if there is also redness. What is left is a base that repairs — a cleanser for reactive skin, a repairing moisturiser, a sunscreen — and, only if the skin allows it, a treatment at the minimum dose. This page is the routine our tool builds for that profile, with the shop’s products in two budgets.

Sensitive skin is not a skin type: it is a syndrome, defined by consensus, that can accompany any skin. That is why the tool asks about it separately and why this page starts with the barrier and not with the actives.

This page is one of the eight outputs of the skincare routine tool, which builds it from your answers in your browser. It sits inside the dermocosmetics guide, where the legal framework of what a cream can do is set out, and the general rule of order — lightest to densest, sunscreen last — is in what order to apply your skincare.

How this routine was built

The routine on this page was not written by a copywriter: it was calculated by the same engine the skincare routine tool uses, and it has been reviewed product by product by the two plastic surgeons who sign it. It works in four layers, in order of authority:

1. What the signatories set for each product — for which skin, in which range, at which step — with their wording on record.
2. The safety rules, read off the ingredients list (INCI), never off the advertising: whether a product contains a retinoid or an exfoliating acid is decided by its composition.
3. Each manufacturer’s official literature — the AllSkin Med brochure, the ZO Skin Health portfolio, the SkinCeuticals and mesoestetic data sheets — which sets the skin type, the timing and the method of use, and the current scientific evidence: published trials and reviews that say what each active really does, how long it takes to show and who it was measured in. When a product’s advertising and the literature disagree, the literature governs.
4. A heuristic that only makes a suggestion where none of the above applies, and it is shown as a suggestion.

The two ranges are set by price within each step, mixing brands: a €52 cleanser is expensive and a €52 serum is cheap. Neither range is made to look cheaper by leaving a step empty: if a product is missing for your skin, one is taken from the other range and we say so.

The routine step by step: mid range and high end

For sensitive skin with wrinkles and texture as the priority, not pregnant, no surgery planned and for someone starting out with actives. Each product links to its page in the shop.

The essentials — cleansing, moisturising and sun protection, plus the treatment if your priority calls for it — come to €299 in the mid range and €462 in the high end; with every optional item, €412 and €758. The optional ones genuinely are: the routine works without them.

The engine’s notes on this routine:

• Antioxidant, mid range: It goes on before the moisturiser.
• Antioxidant, high end: Your moisturiser already contains antioxidants: this vitamin C is not essential, especially on oily skin. It goes on before the moisturiser.
• Treatment, mid range: In the morning, after the vitamin C and before whatever comes next; at night, on its own or before the moisturiser. It comes free with the SkinCeuticals vitamin C sets.
• Treatment, high end: A good anti-ageing option to round the routine off by adding peptides.
• Sun protection, mid range: If you want it to even out your tone, Mineral Colour SPF50+ Beige (€48) gives coverage and more protection against visible light. There are two shades: Beige for a light skin tone and Bronze for darker skin.
• Sun protection, high end: If you want it to even out your tone, Smart Tone SPF 50 (€79) gives coverage and more protection against visible light.

What the tool flags for this profile:

• Sensitive skin: no exfoliating acids (if there is exfoliation, enzymatic); if a retinoid goes in, only the lowest step and two nights a week.

If what worries you is something else

The skin type sets the base — cleanser, moisturiser, sunscreen; the priority changes the night treatment. This is how it works out for your skin:

With pigmentation, the sunscreen also becomes a tinted one, and with redness the exfoliants and retinoids disappear. Each priority has its own page, with both ranges in full: wrinkles and texture, pigmentation, spots and pores and redness. And if your skin is not sensitive, the routine changes its base: dry, combination and oily.

What you do not need (and why)

• An exfoliant. Neither grainy nor acid. Sensitive skin renews on its own; what it needs is not to be assaulted.
• A toner. And least of all one with glycolic acid: the tool does not offer sensitive skin a toner.
• Trying three new products in the same week. You introduce one at a time, and if something disagrees with you, you know what it was.

When the routine is not enough

A broken barrier repairs within weeks with less, not with more. If with a gentle cleanser, a repairing moisturiser and a sunscreen the skin is still stinging or reddening after two or three weeks, it needs looking at: it may be a dermatitis, rosacea or a contact allergy, and none of the three is treated with skincare. How the barrier is repaired is in the skin barrier and sensitive skin.

The next step in the clinic for this priority, which the tool also names: Morpheus8 package · 3 sessions, Sculptra biostimulation package · 3 sessions, INDIBA facial package · 6 sessions of 45 min. It is prescribed in the consulting room, with the skin in front of us.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether my skin is sensitive or my barrier is broken?

They look alike, and the second is mistaken for the first almost every time. A broken barrier is recent and has a cause: over-exfoliating, a retinol built up too fast, a harsh cleanser. Genuinely sensitive skin is a syndrome that stays with the person. In both cases the first step is the same: take away the actives and repair.

Can I use retinol if my skin is sensitive?

Sometimes. Starting on the lowest step, two nights a week, with a repairing moisturiser, and stopping if stinging appears. The tool only offers you that step, and never if you also tick redness.

And vitamin C?

With a tendency to sensitivity, a mild vitamin C — the tool chooses between two — can go in in the morning. With marked sensitivity, none: the antioxidant role is played by the niacinamide in the moisturiser.

Which sunscreen does sensitive skin tolerate best?

Mineral filters are the standard recommendation for reactive skin and after procedures, and the tool prioritises them. It is in how to choose a facial sunscreen.

Can I exfoliate in any way at all?

Today, in this tool, no: the catalogue’s only enzymatic exfoliation is no longer sold and everything else contains acid. It is better not to exfoliate than to exfoliate badly.

When should I come in?

If there is persistent redness, papules, stinging that does not settle or flaking that does not improve within two or three weeks on the base routine. And whenever you are unsure: the tool ends with that door open.

Sources

• Misery L, Ständer S, Szepietowski JC, et al. Definition of Sensitive Skin: An Expert Position Paper from the Special Interest Group on Sensitive Skin of the International Forum for the Study of Itch. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 2017;97(1):4-6. PMID 26939643. — Sensitive skin is defined as a syndrome: unpleasant sensations (stinging, burning, pain, itching, tingling) in response to stimuli that do not normally provoke them. It is neither a skin type nor a diagnosis: it is a picture that can accompany any skin, and that is why it is asked about separately here.
• Bissett DL, Oblong JE, Berge CA. Niacinamide: A B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance. Dermatologic Surgery, 2005;31(7 Pt 2):860-865. PMID 16029679. — Half-face trials with 5% niacinamide for 12 weeks: a reduction in fine lines, hyperpigmented marks, uneven redness and yellowing. ⚠️ Industry-run studies, with a set population and photographic measures: it is cited in support of the active, not of a product.
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/996 amending Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 as regards the use of vitamin A, alpha-arbutin, arbutin and certain substances with potential endocrine-disrupting properties. EUR-Lex. — Annex III, entry 376: a cap of 0.05% retinol equivalent in body lotion and 0.3% in other products, with a compulsory warning; applicable to placing on the market from 1-11-2025 and to making available from 1-05-2027. Verified against the EUR-Lex text on 08-09-2026 (and previously by the team on 27-08-2026); the detail is on the page about the European retinol cap.
• Hughes MCB, Williams GM, Baker P, Green AC. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013;158(11):781-790. PMID 23732711. — A 4.5-year randomised trial in 903 adults: skin ageing measured by microtopography was 24% lower in the daily sunscreen group than in the discretionary-use group. It is the only long-term randomised trial supporting a cosmetic against ageing, and that is why sun protection is the step no routine from this tool leaves out.
• Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products. Consolidated text on EUR-Lex. — Article 2.1(a): a cosmetic is for “cleaning, perfuming, changing the appearance, protecting, keeping in good condition or correcting body odours”. No therapeutic action: that is why, when what you describe is a disease, the tool says so and refers you to a doctor — with severe acne it also stays on the safe base. Article 19.1(g): the ingredients list runs in decreasing order of weight above 1%, which is what makes an INCI readable.
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products. EUR-Lex. — Six criteria: legal compliance, truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness and informed decision-making. It is the yardstick this tool measures what it says about each product against: what the manufacturer declares, with its source, and nothing more.

Book your consultation

If your skin or your situation does not quite fit this page — you have surgery planned, a recent scar, more than one thing worrying you — the skincare routine tool builds the routine from your answers in a minute, in your browser, without asking you for any details. And if you have questions or want to fine-tune it, write to us: the medical team will go through it with you, free and with no obligation.

Clinical confirmation by the surgeon

Dr Enrique Salmerón González

Specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery
Registration no. 46/4624077

Dr Elena García Vilariño

Specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery
Registration no. 46/4624503