Best Home Products for Sensitive Skin

I’ve always had sensitive skin – I think it just comes with the territory of being a redhead (still saying that, even though my hairdresser recently told me my hair is brown…). Every so often I’ll use a hotel towel and have a reaction to whatever detergent they use (true story: I was definitely allergic to whatever the hotel used on our linens when we were in London, and I was miserable for two weeks until I could get home to my dermatologist!). Because of that, I am careful about what I wash our stuff in – clearly, my skin is still as sensitive as it was when I was little, even at 30!

How to avoid skin problems when you have sensitive skin

While it can be kind of annoying to have such sensitive skin, I’ve figured out what I need to do to avoid having to worry about any skin problems at home.

Step 1: Making sure I buy a detergent that has no dyes, perfumes, certain chemicals, and irritating residues (but still does a great job cleaning our clothes) is just one thing I can do to prevent any skin issues. Years ago my mom turned to all® free clear detergent. It’s the #1 detergent recommended by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians for sensitive skin. I used the same detergent throughout college and still buy it now.

Step 2: Always, always, always spot test any new products! Whether it’s a shampoo, face wash, or even a lipstick, I always spot test new products on my wrist to make sure I don’t have a reaction before using them on my face. That way if you see that your wrist isn’t doing so well with something new, you’ll know not to slather it all over your body!

Step 3: …And only use one new product at a time, so you can always tell what it is that has bothered your skin if you do have a reaction. Sensitive skin is no joke, and if you try 3 new face cleansers in a weekend and then have a reaction to one of them, you’ll never know which one it is! I got so excited about some new products that I completely forgot about spot testing (aka was too impatient to wait the 24 hours) and used 2 new face cleansers, a new lipstick, and a peeling mask in one weekend, and I had a reaction to something. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what it was, so after the little rash had cleared, I went back to Step 2 and spot tested everything – and found out it was the peeling mask that was just too harsh for me.

Step 4: Keeping the air clean from allergens. T doesn’t have sensitive skin like I do, but he gets allergies in the summertime when all of the trees are in bloom, so we invested in an air purifier for the living room. (Kind of funny the things you get excited about as an adult… air purifiers!) And even though Sprout doesn’t shed, having a dog means you’re constantly bringing who-knows-what into the house, so it’s nice to know that we can run the filter and keep the air in our home as clean as possible. With the air purifier and our detergent (which removes 99% of everyday and seasonal allergens, including cat and dog dander, dust mite matter, ragweed, grass, and tree pollen), T’s allergies are so much better!

(FYI, neither the detergent nor the air purifier are meant to treat or prevent allergies – they are just things that work for us! And spot testing everything and only using one new product at a time are things I’ve just learned to do over the years to save myself a headache later.)

Total side note – If you are getting married soon, you need to know that one of the best gifts we got from our wedding was our new towels! T and I originally moved into our house with a mishmash of towels from our apartments – mine were yellow, and his were green, so the colors didn’t exactly match the blue and white bathroom in our new house. I was so thrilled when I received a box of brand new, fluffy, white towels as a gift from one of my girlfriends for our wedding. Fluffy white towels fresh out of the dryer… so good!