Fragrance-Free Cleansers Tested on Sensitive Skin

For sensitive skin, the cleanser is the product most likely to make things worse or better, because it touches the skin every day and can strip the barrier if it is harsh. Fragrance-free cleansers remove a major irritant while doing the job gently, and testing them on reactive skin shows which ones actually calm rather than just avoid making things worse.The criteria for a good sensitive-skin cleanser are specific: it should be low-foaming or non-foaming, because the surfactants that create rich lather tend to strip more, and it should sit at a pH near the skin’s own. It must remove the day without leaving the skin feeling tight, and it should be free of fragrance and essential oils, which are the most common triggers for reactive skin and the reason this category is fragrance-free by definition.In practice the gentlest options are cream, milk, or gel cleansers that rinse clean without squeaking, and they leave the barrier intact where foaming cleansers would leave it dry. On sensitive skin the tell is how the skin feels ten minutes after washing, because a good cleanser leaves no tightness