The 5 Best In-Office Treatments For Sensitive Skin—And The Ones To Avoid

Do you have sensitive skin? It’s a question that might be more difficult to answer than you think. Even though it’s common, sensitive skin isn’t a medical diagnosis by itself. If you’re prone to rashes, sunburn easily, or notice your skin becomes itchy, flaky, and dry when exposed to perfumes or skincare products, you likely have sensitive skin. For patients considering treatments such as microneedling or laser skin resurfacing at our Guelph, ON, practice, we recommend alternative procedures.

The state-of-the-art skin rejuvenation treatments offered at deRMA Skin Institute include several that are appropriate for patients with sensitive skin. In this blog post, we’ll feature 5 of the best gentle in-office treatments that can still address your skin concerns.

1. Bela MD microdermabrasion—If you’re thinking about a salicylic acid peel, try Bela MD microdermabrasion instead. Bela MD’s diamond microdermabrasion exfoliates the skin, extracting dead skin cells that clog pores. It also primes the skin for an infusion of various serums that address multiple concerns without irritating the skin. Certain serums are formulated to soothe the skin and improve its texture and tone.
2. Pixel RF—One of the hottest trends in skin rejuvenation right now is microneedling combined with radiofrequency energy, such as the Morpheus8 treatment. Microneedling, as its name implies, creates micro-wounds in the skin to stimulate new collagen production. RF enhances the treatment by adding thermal energy. Microneedling, however, is often too irritating for sensitive skin. We recommend RF minus the microneedling, with Pixel RF’s fractional technology creating controlled injuries that prompt the healing process to produce new collagen and elastin with minimal downtime.
3. ClearLift™—There is little question that fractional C02 laser skin resurfacing is the gold standard for reversing signs of aging, minimizing scars, or improving sun-damaged skin. But it is an aggressive treatment that people with sensitive skin don’t tolerate well. A ClearLift provides some of the same benefits without the downtime, peeling, or flakiness of C02 lasers. ClearLift is suitable for a wide range of skin types, and whether it suits sensitive skin is assessed at a consultation.
4. DyeVL—Patients with sensitive skin who want to treat a range of complexion issues, such as overall redness, rosacea, and broken capillaries, are great candidates for pulsed dye lasers such as the DyeVL. It’s an excellent alternative to YAG laser treatments that are often used to treat these conditions. The DyeVL is an innovative technology that takes intense pulsed light treatments to another level.
5. Evolve Tite—If you want to tighten loose skin on the body with a non-invasive treatment, Evolve Tite uses radiofrequency energy to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. This produces smoother, tighter skin and when combined with other features of the Evolve body contouring system, improves the body’s contours.

What counts as sensitive skin?

Sensitive skin is a pattern of unpleasant sensations, such as stinging, burning, pain, itch or tingling, in response to triggers that normally should not cause them. That is the definition from an expert group of the International Forum for the Study of Itch. It can affect any part of the body, especially the face.

Under that definition, the sensations cannot be explained by visible lesions from a skin disease, and the skin can look normal or red. This is one reason sensitive skin is hard to pin down, and why an assessment by a dermatologist matters before you choose a treatment.

A 2020 meta-analysis of 26 studies covering 51,783 people in 18 countries found that 71% of adults reported some degree of sensitive skin, and 40% reported very or moderately sensitive skin. Its authors caution that questionnaire-based studies may over-estimate how common sensitive skin is, so these figures may overstate how common it is.

Which skin treatments suit sensitive skin?

The right treatment for sensitive skin depends on your history of reactions and your skin type, which a dermatologist reviews at a consultation before recommending anything. No procedure suits every patient, so the starting point is your own history, not a treatment name.

deRMA Skin Institute describes ClearLift as a non-ablative treatment designed to improve skin tone, texture and firmness without disrupting the surface of the skin. The clinic says most patients have little to no downtime and can return to normal activities right away.

The clinic describes the DyeVL photofacial as an intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment for vascular and pigment-related concerns. It evaluates each patient’s skin type and concerns carefully before recommending treatment.

If you have reacted to a product or treatment and an allergy is suspected, the American Academy of Dermatology notes that a dermatologist may recommend patch testing. The patches stay on the skin for 48 hours, and more than 15,000 substances can cause an allergic skin reaction.

Our skincare experts meet with patients in a one-on-one personal consultation to evaluate the tone and texture of their skin, including discussing their history of any reactions they’ve had to treatments that might indicate they have sensitive skin. Because we have such a wide range of treatment options, we can customize a treatment plan that’s ideal for your specific skin type. You can use the online form to request a consultation or call us at (519) 836-8558 to schedule an appointment.