Sensitive & Reactive Skin

A 2023 review in Frontiers in Public Health describes sensitive skin as multifactorial: a combination of a compromised skin barrier, heightened nerve reactivity, and dysregulated immune signalling, all of which lower the threshold at which ordinary triggers (temperature change, friction, certain ingredients) produce a noticeable reaction.

Because barrier weakness is part of the mechanism, sensitive skin tends to respond best to formulas that support and calm rather than exfoliate or resurface aggressively: soothing actives alongside barrier-supporting ones, introduced gradually rather than all at once.

This mechanism also helps explain why sensitive skin can develop later in life even in people who never previously reacted to products. Repeated barrier stress from environmental exposure, over-exfoliation, or a shifting immune response can lower that reaction threshold over time, rather than sensitivity being something a person is necessarily just born with.

Fragrance, high concentrations of active ingredients, and alcohol-based formulas are among the most commonly reported triggers, though the specific trigger varies significantly between individuals, which is part of why patch-testing any new product on a small area first is particularly worthwhile for reactive skin, rather than relying on a product's own "gentle" marketing claim.

Because the same review links barrier weakness to heightened nerve reactivity, supporting the barrier with ceramides and fatty acids may, over time, help skin feel less reactive. This works not by numbing skin's response, but by helping support the physical barrier that normally limits how much of a trigger reaches reactive nerve endings in the first place.

In practice, that means favouring shorter ingredient lists with clearly barrier-supportive actives, introducing anything new one product at a time, and seeing a slower, more cautious routine as the more effective approach for this skin type rather than a compromise. Weather changes and central heating can also lower that reaction threshold further during certain seasons, which is why a routine that works well for reactive skin in summer sometimes needs to be simplified further in winter.