May 12, 2025

Skincare for Sensitive Skin: How to Build a Barrier-Friendly Routine

Because your face deserves better than daily inflammation and skincare roulette.

If your skin ever feels like it’s having a constant identity crisis—tight one day, red the next, flaky by Friday—you might be dealing with sensitive skin.

But here’s the tea: sensitive skin isn’t just a skin type. It’s often a damaged or weakened skin barrier screaming for help.

Let’s talk about what that actually means—and how to give your skin the calm, glowy routine it deserves.

🧱 First Things First: What Is Your Skin Barrier?

Your skin barrier is your body’s first line of defense.
It’s a thin, protective layer made of lipids (fats), ceramides, and skin cells.

Its job? To:

Keep moisture in
Keep irritants, pollutants, and allergens out
Protect you from inflammation, bacteria, and environmental stressors

When it’s happy, your skin feels soft, balanced, and chill.
When it’s damaged? Cue the chaos:

Redness
Dryness
Burning or itching
Breakouts or irritation from everything

⚠️ How We Accidentally Break It

Even if you have naturally resilient skin, modern life doesn’t always play nice.

Common barrier busters include:

Over-cleansing or using harsh foaming washes
Over-exfoliating (looking at you, 7-acids-a-week routines 😬)
Fragrance-heavy or alcohol-packed products
Sudden weather changes, stress, and lack of sleep
UV exposure without protection

Sound familiar?

💛 The Sensitive Skin Glow-Up Strategy

Let’s rebuild that barrier, babe. Here's your guide to a gentle, glow-boosting routine:

1. Cleanse, Don’t Strip

Use a non-foaming, pH-balanced balm or cream cleanser. No squeaky-clean feeling. Just soft, supple skin.

🧴 Try: Our Intensive Care Skin Balm—a deeply nourishing, calming formula made to soothe irritation and support your skin barrier. And because it’s a bit of an overachiever, you can also use it as a gentle cleansing balm—just massage in and wipe away with a warm, damp cloth.

Avoid petroleum based balms as they can seal but will not do much more than that.

Why I’ll Always Choose Plant-Based Balms Over Petroleum-Based Ones

2. Skip the Toner—Go Gentle Instead

Toning can be a bit much for sensitive skin, especially when it’s alcohol-based or full of actives.

Instead? Try a gentle prep step with calming benefits.

💦 Look for: Hydrating mists or botanical waters with aloe vera, rose water, or glycerin—or skip straight to your serum if your skin prefers fewer layers. A cotton pad soaked in freshly brewed chamomile tea works beautifully too (just let it cool first)

3. Treat Gently, But Effectively

This is where the magic happens—but without the drama.

🌿 Sea buckthorn, rosehip, calendula, chamomile... the skin-healing dream team.

Our botanical serums and face oils are formulated to:

Deliver omega 3, 6, 7, and 9
Brighten and support collagen with vitamin C and beta-carotene
Calm inflammation and soothe irritation
Rebuild the barrier and restore glow—without triggering sensitivity

💛 Try: Radiance Booster Serum or 7 Times Luxurious Rose Oil, depending on your skin’s mood. Either way, you’re giving your face the love letter it’s been waiting for.

4. Moisturise Like You Mean It

Now’s the time to seal it all in.

💧 Look for ceramide-rich, gentle moisturisers with:

Squalane
Hyaluronic acid
Shea butter
Plant oils like sea buckthorn and rosehip

You’ll find all of these in our lush botanical blends, designed to comfort your skin without smothering it.

5. SPF Is Still a Must (When You’re Outside)

Okay, we’re not here to fearmonger about window glare—but if you're heading outdoors or spending time near bright sunlight, SPF is your friend.

🌤️ Choose: fragrance-free mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide for calm, non-reactive protection.

🎧 Psst—want to hear me chat more about sensitive skin and how to love it properly?
I recorded a whole episode on this in Botanical Skincare Secrets.
Listen here
I get into the juicy details of barrier repair, ingredient picks, and why your skin doesn’t need a 12-step routine to thrive.

🌿 Less Is More, Darling

When your barrier is compromised, simplicity is your secret weapon.

Stick to:

Fewer steps
Calming ingredients
Consistency over chaos

Think of your routine like a skin rehab program—not a five-act drama.
And don’t forget to give your skin time—true healing takes weeks, not hours.

💛 The Very Good Goo Way

At The Very Good Goo, we don’t believe in chasing trends or attacking your skin into submission.

We believe in nourishing, soothing, and restoring.

That’s why our serums and skin balm are:

Barrier-friendly
Synthetic fragrance-free
Packed with skin-repairing botanicals

✨ Our Radiance Booster Serum is your skin’s gentle reset button—ideal for sensitive types, barrier repair babes, and anyone in need of a skincare soft landing it is packed with sea buckthorn oil which is perfect for sensitive skin.

The Top 5 Benefits of Sea Buckthorn Oil for Sensitive Skin