My 5-Step Skincare Routine for Sensitive Skin (Easy & Affordable)

Throughout my 26 years, I’ve dealt with a lot of skin issues. From acne to rosacea to oily skin to dry skin, and everything in between. After years of experimentation with my skincare, I’ve finally found the best skincare routine for sensitive skin. It’s simple, affordable, and won’t irritate your skin. If you want healthy, glowing skin – but don’t want to break the bank – this skincare routine is for you, girl!

My Simple Skincare Routine for Sensitive Skin

I’m going to break this down into a morning and nighttime skincare routine. They’re very similar, but with slightly different end goals. Since I’ve dealt with oily skin for a good portion of my life, I hate the feeling of oily & greasy skin throughout the day. So I save the real deep moisturizing & repair for nighttime. That way, I don’t have to deal with greasy skin throughout the day, but I still get the benefits of added moisture.

Let’s dive into my morning skincare routine…

Disclaimer: I am not a dermatologist or skin professional of any sort… This is just the skincare routine that has worked for my sensitive skin after years of trying out different products. I am not a doctor and can not guarantee anything that works for me will work for your skin. For a diagnosis/treatment curated to your individual needs, see a medical professional. 🙂

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My 5-Step Morning Skincare Routine for Sensitive Skin

1. Skip Cleansing – Just Use Water

Since my skin is so sensitive, I avoid using any harsh cleansers at all costs. In the mornings, I don’t use any cleanser at all. I simply soak a washcloth in cold water and dab it on my face.

The cold water helps to: 1. wake me up & 2. reduce any redness or sensitivity from the night.

If you need a cleanser in the morning, go for it girl! Simply using water works for me, but if you struggle with acne, etc., you may want to use cleanser in the morning instead.

2. Toner

I didn’t use toner for the longest time because, honestly, I didn’t know what the heck it did. After doing some research, I learned that the main purposes of toner are to:

1. Remove impurities
2. Protect your skin
3. Improve the efficacy of other products (1)

Another thing that held me back was not being able to find a toner that worked well with my sensitive skin. I was so freaking excited when I found this Burts Bees Sensitive Skin Toner.

This toner has aloe vera, which is incredible for my redness-prone skin. It also has witch hazel, which “sweeps away excess oil and impurities, tones and nourishes skin, and balances pH levels.” (2)

Personally, I love this toner because it leaves my skin feeling soothed & doesn’t dry it out at all. It’s also great for reducing redness, which is a big win for me.

3. Moisturize

We all know how important moisturizer is in our skincare routines. For a long time, this was the only step I took in my skincare (besides cleansing.) Having dry skin just feels terrible and makes it incredibly challenging to apply any other products/makeup.

Living in Florida, my skin doesn’t get quite as dry as it used to in Illinois. However, it still desperately needs moisture. I can tell the difference in my skin’s texture if I skip one day of moisturizing. It feels dry, dull, and no foundation or makeup seems to look good on top.

Due to my sensitive skin, I also struggled to find a moisturizer that didn’t irritate my skin, break me out, and/or cause redness/itchiness. I went through a bunch of different moisturizers that would cause a rash on my chin and jawline.

What the heck?! Ain’t nobody got time for that…

Finally, I found the… drum roll, please… Burts Bees sensitive skin daily moisturizer! Honestly, this post isn’t even sponsored by Burts Bees and we have no working relationship with them. Their sensitive skin products are just really dang good.

This moisturizer is so lightweight and feels airy on my skin, while giving it that boost of hydration it needs in the morning.

4. SPF

Can’t forget about everyone’s current skincare *obsession* (and for good reason) – SPF! I can’t believe how many years I spent not putting SPF on my face and thinking “the SPF 15 in my foundation will be enough!” …Hell nah.

My face used to burn all the time and I would seriously wonder why/ get so frustrated. I would think “my foundation has SPF in it – why the heck isn’t it doing its job?!?” I’m sure there are girls who can relate out there…

I have very pale skin and it burns after being outside for 15 minutes – especially when it comes to my face. So SPF is definitely a step that I NEVER skip these days.

Similar to moisturizer, it took a while to find a face sunscreen that didn’t irritate/ break out my face. The one I finally landed on that I’ve been using for years is the CeraVe SPF 30 Moisturizing Lotion.

It still goes on a little greasy, not going to lie, but much less so than others I had used in the past. & it actually works great for my sensitive skin & doesn’t cause breakouts or any sort of rash. Underneath foundation, you can’t even tell that it’s on, which is a huge plus.

5. Use Light Makeup That Won’t Irritate Your Face

This isn’t necessarily a full step in itself, but it’s so important that I decided to make it one! (& I just wanted 5 steps for both morning & night ;).)

If you can’t already tell, a lot of products irritate my face… When it comes to makeup, that’s no different.

It took years of trying different makeup products to find ones that wouldn’t irritate my skin or make me break out. I’m happy to say I finally found them, and they’re incredibly affordable & realistic.

I hate that every article like this out there seems to have you spending $100+ on makeup products if you want to get high quality. I’m sure that’s great if you have the money in your budget to spend that much on makeup, but I for one, definitely don’t. I try to keep my makeup products to under $15/piece (preferably less than that.)

My affordable finds (that actually work wonders) include:

• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation (under $10!)
• Sephora Collection brow pencil (in taupe)
• Vaseline Pink Bubbly lip balm (your lips need hydration too!)
• Maybelline Falsies Mascara (so inexpensive but SO good!)
• E.l.f. lip laquer (so glossy)

One splurge I’ve made is with the Tarte Pro Glow palette. I just can’t seem to find a more natural & gorgeous-looking highlighter/contour palette. I love it so much & it’s worth the splurge for me.

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My 5-Step Nighttime Skincare Routine for Sensitive Skin

1. Remove Makeup

The most sustainable and surprisingly effective way I’ve found to remove makeup is with a Makeup Eraser. A couple of huge benefits of this product are:

1. You buy it once & you’re good to go (hellooo savings!) Just throw it in the washer once a week with your towels.
2. It has no harsh chemicals/alcohols (or chemicals at all for that matter) to dry out or irritate your sensitive skin.
3. All you need is water & this eraser to easily remove your makeup.
4. It’s much more sustainable than buying makeup wipes or makeup remover every few weeks.

You just soak the makeup eraser in warm water and rub your makeup off. It even removes tough eye makeup, which shocked me to my core. You honestly just have to try it to believe it. I wasn’t a believer until my friend bought me one for Christmas & I tried it out for myself!

2. Cleanse

To cleanse, I use a super fancy/boujee cleanser – the Dove sensitive skin bar! If I’m being honest, I regret ever spending more than a couple of bucks on face wash, because this is the best thing I’ve tried so far…

Like I said above, if you struggle with acne, I would check with your doctor about getting a cleanser with benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, etc. But if you’re just trying to cleanse your skin without drying it out or irritating it – the Dove bar is perfect (& extremely affordable.)

I just pat my skin down with a washcloth and warm water, rub a bit of the Dove bar onto my skin, and wash it off with the washcloth.

Simple is often better, even if we usually tend to overcomplicate things.

3. Toner (Optional)

I don’t always use toner at night, but if it needs a little pick-me-up, I’ll pat some on. To apply toner, I just use a cotton pad & a quarter-size amount of toner and dab it all over my face.

If my skin is feeling dried out, or I was in the sun all day and it’s a little red, I’ll use my Burts Bees sensitive skin toner. If my skin already feels good to go, I skip this step for the night.

4. Serum

Serum was a step that I completely skipped over for the longest time. I just didn’t understand the point. If I’m already putting cleanser, eye cream, moisturizer, etc. on my skin – why do I need a serum?! But, boy, was I wrong.

I will never go back to the pre-serum days now that I’ve experienced the luxurious softness of a serum-ed (is that a word?) face. Also, the serum I’ve been using is a firming serum, so it helps to prevent wrinkles. Which, as I get older, I realllllly love.

I haven’t dealt with a lot in terms of wrinkles yet, but I definitely have noticed the “11” in between my eyebrows getting more & more prominent over the past few years. I have blue eyes and squint 24/7 in the sun. & for God knows what reason, I’ve neglected to wear sunglasses for most of my life, so the eyebrow squinting has gotten bad… Leading to the beloved “11” wrinkle.

I’ve been using the Burts Bees Renewal Intensive Firming Serum for the past few months and I’m not even kidding when I say it is life-changing. It helps to firm my skin, reduce wrinkles, and more fully absorb the night cream that I put on in the next step – leading to soft, wrinkle-free, amazing feeling skin. This is the step of my skincare routine that I look forward to the most. It’s what makes me so excited to do my skincare routine every night.

If you haven’t tried out a serum before, I would highly recommend this one. It’s affordable, easy to use, and has been great/non-irritating for my sensitive skin.

5. Night Cream + Under Eye Cream

What’s a good skincare routine without moisturizer & under-eye cream?! A bad skincare routine, if you ask me.

This (drum roll, please…) BURTS BEES night cream is the bee’s knees. *See what I did there?? ;)* It’s the best night cream/moisturizer I’ve ever used and leaves my skin feeling silky smooth. Dry skin? …I don’t even know who she is anymore.

Add in a good eye cream and you have a moisturizing match made in heaven! The under-eye cream I’ve been using for the past year or so is the Farmacy Dew It All Eye Cream. I only have this because it came in a FabFitFun box a while back, otherwise, honestly, I would have never spent that much on eye cream.

But it is luxurious and absolutely lovely so if you’re looking to splurge, I would highly recommend.

As soon as I run out of that eye cream, I’m going to buy the (take a guess…) Burts Bees Sensitive Eye Cream. I haven’t tried it before, but if you’ve read the rest of my glowing reviews about these Burts Bees products, I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to love it.

If I try it and it’s not all that, for whatever reason, I’ll hop on here and give you guys an update! I would never lead you astray. 🙂

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My Simple Skincare Routine for Sensitive Skin (SUMMED UP)

Overall, this skincare routine is incredibly easy to implement, budget-friendly, and will seriously change your skin for the better. Even if you only try out a step or two, I truly believe you’ll feel a difference in your skin.

I decided to write out a quick play-by-play version of the full skincare routine, for anyone who doesn’t want to re-read through the whole post again. Let’s get to the good stuff!

Morning:

1. Wash your face with only water
2. Toner
3. Moisturizer
4. SPF
5. Use light non-irritating makeup

Night:

1. Remove makeup
2. Cleanse
3. Toner (optional)
4. Serum
5. Night cream + under-eye cream

If you guys have any questions about my sensitive skincare routine, drop them in the comments below! I love chatting with y’all in the comments and would be happy to answer any questions you have.

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