Collection: Natural Skincare Routine for Dry & Sensitive Skin

Whether dry and sensitive is simply how your skin has always been, or your barrier is currently compromised, from over-cleansing, harsh products, or something else, the underlying principle for your skincare routine is the same: fewer ingredients, less stripping, and time to let your skin's own barrier and microbiome do their job. See our How Your Skin Works page for the full science behind why. Here's a simple skincare routine for dry and sensitive skin, covering morning and evening.

Morning Routine

1. Rinse – A splash of cool water is usually enough. Avoid anything foaming or stripping first thing.
2. Moisturise – Apply Unfragranced Beauty Balm over your whole face. It's 100% natural, free from preservatives and emulsifiers, and does triple duty as cleanser, moisturiser and primer, covering nearly everything a healing or sensitive barrier needs in one product.
3. If skin feels irritated, layer Calendula and Marshmallow Balm on top or in place of the Beauty Balm on affected areas. It's a gentle, soothing, unfragranced option for calming reactive-feeling skin. If you prefer a lighter, whipped texture and don't mind fragrance, our vegan Calendula Cream Natural Emollient is a good alternative, just be aware its essential oils mean very sensitive skin may react, so it's worth patch testing first.
4. Sun protection – If you'll be in direct sun, apply a mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) before makeup.
5. Makeup (optional) – Our mineral make-up range is free from antimicrobial preservatives and harsh ingredients, so it won't work against everything else you're doing.

Evening Routine

1. Cleanse – Massage a pea-sized amount of Unfragranced Beauty Balm over dry skin to dissolve makeup, sunscreen and the day's build-up. Remove gently with a warm, damp flannel. See our Oil Cleansing Method page for the technique and why it works.
2. Moisturise – Apply Unfragranced Marshmallow Facial Oil over your whole face. It's rich in linoleic acid, exactly the kind of repair-focused ingredient best used at night rather than during UV exposure (see our Free Radicals page for why), and it's vegan, if that matters to you.
3. Target irritation – If any areas are red, sore, or reactive, layer Calendula and Marshmallow Balm over those specific spots, or Calendula Cream if you prefer its lighter, fragranced formula (see note above on patch testing first). There's no need to use either over your whole face unless your whole face genuinely needs it.

For more stubborn or more visibly irritated patches, Zinc and Calendula Cream has a stronger calming effect, thanks to the added zinc oxide, but it's also more drying. Start with Calendula and Marshmallow Balm, and reach for Zinc and Calendula Cream when that alone isn't quite enough. On dry or sensitive skin, use it with the sandwich technique rather than applying it directly, as explained in Using Zinc and Calendula Cream with Dry Skin. For an individual spot, see our Spot and Blemish Treatment page.

How Long Does Recovery Take?

There's no single timeline, it depends on what caused the sensitivity and how significant it is. Mild irritation often settles within days once the trigger is removed. More significant barrier damage, built up over weeks or months, tends to need several weeks or longer. The constant that matters: stop repeatedly irritating the skin, and give it the time and the simple conditions it needs to do what it already knows how to do.

If your skin also runs oily or blemish-prone alongside these symptoms, our Oily, Combination & Blemish-Prone routine is a good next step once your barrier feels more settled.