Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate An ingredient which helps to clean or remove dirt and oil and can create foam when used with water. What exactly won’t you find in this body wash? Fragrances, dyes, parabens, sulfates, formaldehyde releasers, and more. It’s an unscented, soap-free cleanser that uses mild surfactants to remove dirt and glycerin to draw more water to the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. It’s a lightweight cream, so it lathers without stripping and drying out the skin; combined with its affordable price point and the fact that it can be used for kids and babies, too, Vanicream is an all-around reliable cleanser for sensitive skin.

From there, be mindful of the other ingredients in products you use and make note of ones that seem to be personally irritating to you. This might include parabens, lanolins, and formaldehyde releasers. Finally, Dr. Zeichner recommends avoiding harsh exfoliators, both chemical and physical, because of their tendency to cause reactions. As far as moisturizing ingredients go, Dr. Zeichner says you should look for a combination of the three types of moisturizers: humectants, emollients, and occlusives. He breaks down what each one does, and how you might see them pop up in your skincare products.Normally, you have to keep your face wash and your body wash separate when you have sensitive skin, but if you’re interested in taking a minimalist, all-in-one approach to your skin care, the La Roche-Posay Lipikar Wash might be what you need. It’s sulfate-free and non-comedogenic, so it won’t cleanse too harshly or clog your pores. It has both glycerin and shea butter to hydrate your skin, and it's made with La Roche-Posay’s patented Prebiotic Thermal Water, which can give your skin an extra boost of antioxidants. Prebiotics can also support your skin's natural microbiome. Similar to how ceramides increase the lipids naturally found in your skin barrier, the Atoderm Cleansing oil also promotes the strength and health of your skin barrier, infusing it with coconut and sunflower esters to make it feel silky and smooth, not parched and rough. It’s also soap-free, non-comedogenic, and safe for the whole family to use.

You need two at least two components in a body wash for sensitive skin: a gentle cleanser, or surfactant, and some kind of moisturizing ingredient. Honestly, there’s no one “mildest” soap, since even the gentlest, most free-of-everything body wash can still inflame someone’s skin while working perfectly well for other people. Butyloctanol helps to make your skin feel soft and smooth with smart biotic effect / support skin microbiome When looking for a body wash when you have sensitive skin, make sure to choose a product that is soap-free—true soaps have an alkaline pH and can disrupt the skin barrier, leading to irritation,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. “Fragrances often make using your product more enjoyable, but [you should avoid them, too, as they] can be associated with skin allergies in people who are sensitive.” Cocamidopropyl Betaine An ingredient which helps to clean or remove dirt and oil and can create foam when used with water.

Best Dermatologist Recommended Skin Care Products for Your Body and Scalp

Butyloctanol helps to make your skin feel soft and smooth with smart biotic effect / support skin microbiome. Bar soap cleansers. Your dad’s old bar soap is probably too harsh, but Dr. Zeichner says the latest generation of bar soaps are designed to be pH-balanced to the outer skin layer, and many are safe and gentle enough to use on a daily basis. The Dove bar soap we featured here, for example, contains no actual soap and only minimal ingredients. Maybe you’ve never thought of using an oil-based cleanser as a body wash for your sensitive skin, but these products can give you an extra dose of much-needed barrier lipids while effectively removing irritating dirt, grime, and pollutants from your skin. The Bioderma Atoderm Cleansing Oil is a fan-favorite in the oil-based cleanser department, and though it’s more expensive than other options, it might be worth it for your dry, irritated, sensitive skin. They emphasized the importance of selecting body washes made without sulfates or irritating fragrances and dyes, as well as washes with common moisturizing ingredients, like glycerin and plant-based oils. Creamy and oil-based cleansers are best—but bar soaps and gels aren’t off the table, as long as they’re chosen with this same hypoallergenic criteria in mind. While people with sensitive skin have different needs and may benefit from different types of moisturizers in their products, everyone with sensitive skin should generally avoid fragrances, dyes, and sulfates, at the very least. Sulfates, which help cleansing products create a lather, are too drying for most sensitive skin types, while fragrances and dyes are often irritating to reaction-prone skin.

In general, if a soap is free of sulfates, synthetic fragrances, harsh exfoliants, and irritating chemicals, it can probably be categorized as “mild” enough for sensitive skin. There are many types of formulations of body washes and cleansers, and while none of them are automatically bad for people with sensitive skin, there are a few that should be used with caution.

Kind to people

Give your skin the care it deserves and discover Dove Sensitive Care Derma Hypoallergenic Body Wash. Dermatologically tested, this shower gel doesn't strip skin of moisture, but replenishes it from within* – instantly relieving dryness with gentle cleansers to care for dry reactive skin in just one shower. Dove Sensitive Care Derma Hypoallergenic Body Wash features a fragrance-free, ultra-moisturising formula with three unique skin conditioners to protect your microbiome. With 100% natural, mild cleansers and no sulfate SLES, it leaves your skin feeling soft, smooth and cared for, while helping your skin maintain its natural balance and deliver skin nourishment simultaneously. What we really love about this wash is that it also contains niacinamide, a common ingredient in facial moisturizers, helping it pull double-duty as a body and face cleanser. Niacinamide is a topical form of the vitamin B3, which may reduce inflammation in people with acne and protect your skin against sun damage (though those results have been seen more with oral B3, not topical). Vanicream Gentle Body Wash is extremely mild and ideal for very sensitive skin,” says Anar Mikailov, MD, of Barrington-Park Dermatological Associates, PC. “It’s hydrating and gentle, and less likely to irritate the skin.” Many of the products on this list are designed to prevent irritation during body cleansing, but not all of them can provide the skin healing benefits of the Aveeno Restorative Skin Therapy wash when your skin is already damaged, irritated, or inflamed. With the usual “good skin” ingredients like glycerin and coconut-based cleansers—and none of the “bad skin” ingredients like sulfates, parabens, or dyes—this body wash stands up to its competitors and even offers a little more. Sodium Benzoate Helps maintain the shelf-life of the product, protecting it from bacteria, yeasts and molds.