Sensitive Skin

"Sensitive skin" is not a diagnosis and it is not defined in cosmetics law. In practice it describes skin that reacts — stinging, flushing, tightness — to things other people's skin tolerates. What causes it varies, which is why no single product line solves it and why the useful approach is subtractive rather than additive.

The three things worth removing first

• Fragrance. The most common cause of contact allergy in cosmetics, and the one ingredient in most routines that exists purely for pleasure. On a label it appears as Parfum or Aroma, with individual allergens — Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Geraniol, Coumarin — named separately. Essential oils bring these with them, so "fragranced only with essential oils" is not the same as unfragranced.
• Too many actives at once. An acid, a retinoid alternative and a vitamin C in the same week is enough to make almost any skin behave like sensitive skin. Strip back to a cleanser and a moisturiser for two weeks and see what is left.
• Over-cleansing. Hot water, twice-daily scrubbing and a squeaky finish do more damage than most formulas. See cleansers for what the format actually changes.

What we have here

The SERAVIA™ Sensitive Skin Moisturiser and the NOCTURNIS™ Overnight Calming Cream are both fragrance free — no Parfum on the ingredient list and no declared allergens. The SERAVIA™ Sensitive Skin Body Cream is the body equivalent.

Not everything in this collection is fragrance free, and we do not pretend otherwise. The complete INCI list is printed on every page, in order, so you can check before you buy rather than after you react.

Patch testing, properly

Inner forearm, a small amount, twice a day for five days. One application on the back of the hand proves nothing — most reactions to cosmetic ingredients build over repeated exposure rather than appearing on contact.