Ingredients Navigator for Sensitive Skin

Choose What Calms. Avoid What Disrupts.

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Sensitive Skin Is a Communicator, Not a Problem

If you have sensitive skin, ingredient compatibility isn’t a bonus—it’s the foundation of care. Some ingredients can soothe and strengthen your barrier. Others can ignite flare-ups even when they’re used in trace amounts. For you, skincare isn’t just about what a product promises. It’s about how each component interacts with your barrier, your nerve endings, and your skin’s emotional memory.

This page will help you identify:

• The ingredients most likely to support calm, balanced skin
• The ingredients to approach with care
• The ingredients to avoid during flare-ups or long-term if they’re incompatible
• How to build gentle, flexible ingredient strategies that evolve with your skin

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What Sensitive Skin Needs

Your skin needs:

• Hydration without evaporation
• Protection without occlusion
• Repair without irritation
• Prevention without pressure

And that means choosing ingredients that serve your skin quietly, without stirring up a response.

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Key Allies for Sensitive Skin

These ingredients hydrate, reinforce, soothe, or protect—with a low risk of reactivity. They form the backbone of a calm skin routine and can often be used daily.

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Barrier Builders

Reinforce and repair the lipid structure of your skin, essential for reducing long-term sensitivity.

• Ceramides (especially NP, AP, EOP)
• Cholesterol
• Phytosphingosine
• Fatty acids (linoleic, oleic, stearic)
• Squalane (stable, non-comedogenic emollient)

Tip: Use in moisturizers or multi-functional serums, especially after cleansing and in colder weather.

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Soothing Agents

Target visible inflammation and help calm the nerve endings often overstimulated in sensitive skin.

• Panthenol (pro-vitamin B5)
• Allantoin
• Beta-glucan
• Colloidal oatmeal
• Green tea extract (EGCG)
• Licorice root extract (glabridin)
• Centella asiatica + madecassoside
• Zinc PCA (low-dose)

Tip: Pair these with barrier repair ingredients for amplified effect. Especially useful in times of flare.

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Hydrating Humectants

Draw moisture into the skin while minimizing risk of trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL).

• Glycerin
• Sodium PCA
• Hyaluronic acid (low to mid molecular weight)
• Trehalose
• Betaine
• Saccharide isomerate

Tip: Use in water-based serums or moisturizers layered under a light occlusive like squalane or a balm.

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Antioxidants for Protection

Shield against environmental triggers without overstimulating your skin.

• Niacinamide (2–3%)
• Vitamin E (tocopherol)
• Green tea polyphenols
• Ubiquinone (CoQ10)
• Resveratrol (low concentration)
• Licochalcone A (a soothing antioxidant from licorice root)

Tip: Use in the morning under SPF or in night creams. Avoid overly complex antioxidant blends with added fragrance or acids.

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Barrier-Friendly Peptides

Support healing, collagen production, and skin firmness without exfoliation or inflammation.

• Palmitoyl tripeptide-1
• Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 (Matrixyl 3000)
• Acetyl hexapeptide-8
• Oligopeptides for sensitivity reduction

Tip: Best used in hydrating or barrier serums and creams during skin recovery or stress.

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Ingredients That Require Caution

These ingredients aren’t always wrong—but they require a strategy. Sensitive skin may tolerate them if introduced slowly, buffered properly, and used in the right context.

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Retinoids (Start Low and Slow)

• Start with: Retinyl palmitate, retinaldehyde, encapsulated retinol
• Avoid at first: Pure retinoic acid (prescription-level) or unbuffered high-strength over-the-counter retinol

How to use:

• Introduce no more than 1x/week
• Apply after moisturizer
• Always follow with barrier cream if skin feels dry— ideally one with ceramides.

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Vitamin C (Derivatives Only)

• Use: Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl glucoside, THD ascorbate
• Avoid: Pure L-ascorbic acid, especially in water-based or low pH formulas

How to use:

• Choose a cream or lotion base
• Start at 1–3% concentration
• Use in the morning 2–3x/week

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Niacinamide (Use Below 5%)

Though usually beneficial, high-percentage niacinamide (10% and above) can cause redness, stinging, or dryness.

How to use:

• Stick to 2–3%
• Monitor for tingling, heat, or tightness
• Avoid stacking niacinamide across multiple products

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Lactic Acid or PHAs

These exfoliants can be helpful in small doses but should never be used daily on sensitive skin.

• Use: Lactic acid (under 5%), gluconolactone, lactobionic acid
• Avoid: Glycolic acid, salicylic acid, or any “acid toners” with strong astringents

How to use:

• Once every 10–14 days
• Only in creamy or serum formats with added hydration
• Never combine with retinoids or vitamin C

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Azelaic Acid (Low Dose, Buffered)

Azelaic acid has benefits for redness and rosacea—but even in low strengths, it can be drying and irritating.

• Use below 10%, ideally in cream or suspension format
• Introduce once weekly
• Avoid using during flare-ups or after exfoliation

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Ingredients to Avoid—Especially During Reactive Phases

These ingredients are common triggers and are best avoided entirely during a flare and minimized even when skin is stable.

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Fragrance and Essential Oils

• Geraniol
• Limonene
• Linalool
• Eucalyptus
• Menthol
• Lavender
• Citrus oils
• Rose oil

Even “natural” fragrances can be deeply irritating to the skin’s sensory nerves and immune cells.

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Alcohol Denat + SD Alcohol

Often added to improve texture or dry-down, these are major culprits in invisible barrier damage.

Found in:

• Gel moisturizers
• Spray toners
• Oil-control serums
• Sunscreens

Tip: Look for “Alcohol-Free” or ensure these alcohols are not in the top 5 ingredients.

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Harsh Preservatives or Surfactants

• Methylisothiazolinone (MI)
• Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (e.g., DMDM hydantoin)
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
• Cocamidopropyl betaine

Tip: Choose gentle surfactant systems in your cleansers, and preservative systems like phenoxyethanol in small amounts.

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Ingredient Strategy: Calm Phase vs Flare Phase

Sensitive skin has two operating modes—calm and flare—and your ingredient approach should shift depending on which you’re in.

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Calm Phase

You can:

• Use gentle actives like niacinamide and vitamin C derivatives
• Slowly introduce low-strength retinoids or exfoliants
• Layer hydrating serums with emollient moisturizers
• Experiment (lightly) with peptides and antioxidants

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Flare Phase

You must:

• Stop all actives immediately
• Use only basic barrier formulas
• Limit total products to 2–3
• Apply products only with clean hands, using a pressing motion
• Protect with a fragrance-free mineral SPF

Tip: During flare-ups, less is more becomes a rule—not a preference.

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Ingredient Combinations to Try

For Daily Use (Calm Phase):

• AM: Niacinamide 2% + Panthenol + Zinc-based SPF
• PM: Beta-glucan serum + Ceramide moisturizer + Squalane

For Recovery:

• Centella + Beta-glucan + Fatty acid-rich cream
• Barrier repair balm + Hydrating mist + Green tea toner (alcohol-free)

For Once-a-Week Support:

• PHA serum + Oat cream + Sleeping pack
• Retinal night serum (encapsulated) + Panthenol + Occlusive balm

Tip: Not templates—just possibilities. Adjust to what your skin tolerates.

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Final Notes on Ingredient Intelligence

You don’t need a long list of actives to get great skin. You need clarity, spacing, and consistency. The right ingredient at the wrong time can be a setback. The right ingredient in the right dose, with the right support, can change everything.

Sensitive skin doesn’t need perfection. It needs protection. It doesn’t need to be over-managed—it needs to be understood.

Start simple. Stay curious. Your skin will thank you.

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What Comes Next?

If this sounds like your skin, you’re not alone—and you’re not helpless. These next pages will help you restore comfort, protect your barrier, and build long-term resilience into your routine—not reactively, but with strategy.

Use the buttons below to explore each area.

The Full Story of Sensitive Skin Type

Want to understand sensitive skin type more deeply—beyond the traits? The book walks you through the full care logic, product decisions, and ingredient choices for this skin type, step by step.

Sensitive skin type is explored in depth in Part 9 of Skin Types Decoded. The full care logic appears across Chapters 60 to 67, where traits, focus, formats, and strategies are explored in detail.