“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.”
Basically, simplicity is the key here—and that’s good news, because it makes narrowing down your options and choosing a sensitive skin-friendly body wash a little easier. Look for short ingredient lists that are free of sulfates, fragrances, and dyes, and contain basic humectant ingredients like glycerin. You don’t have to steer totally clear of bars and gels, but you should use them wisely (and opt for a creamy cleanser if your skin is extra sensitive). We spoke with dermatologists and researched dozens of body washes. We paid attention to ingredient lists and cleanser types, as well as factored things like packaging and price into our recommendations.
Here are the best body washes for sensitive skin types.
“Vanicream Gentle Body Wash is extremely mild and ideal for very sensitive skin,” says Anar Mikailov, MD, of Barrington-Park Dermatological Associates, P.C. “It’s hydrating and gentle, and less likely to irritate the skin.”
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.
Price at time of publication: $11
We also like that many CeraVe products, including this body wash, are formulated with controlled-release hydrating technology, or MVE, allowing your skin to reap the moisturizing benefits all day long (not just for the two minutes you’re using the product).
Price at time of publication: $11
It’s also unscented and hypoallergenic, lathers up well, and is super cheap, making it easy to buy in bulk so you always have a reliable bar soap that won’t irritate your sensitive skin.
Price at time of publication: $27 for 10 bars
Meanwhile, Cetaphil cleanses with gentle surfactants designed not to disrupt your pH balance or skin barrier, preventing dryness, roughness and irritation. It works hard to promote long-lasting skin health with a nourishing blend of moisturizers—and it’s affordable, too.
Price at time of publication: $10
We also like that Puracy is safe for adults all the way down to babies, lasts a long time (up to 45 washes for a 12 fluid ounce bottle), and comes in a few mild scents made from natural ingredients. Keep in mind that these could be irritating if you’re sensitive to fragrances, but since these fragrances come from plant-based extracts and not perfumes or phthalates, there’s less of a chance they’ll cause a reaction.
Price at time of publication: $23
Oat and aloe extracts, known for their soothing and repairing benefits, are infused into this body wash, promoting the healing of your in-crisis skin while preventing future flare ups. And Aveeno is pretty confident this body wash can improve the condition of your skin; they tested it on adult oncology patients with “distressed” skin (a population that’s prone to skin problems during chemotherapy) and found improvement when used in combination with other Aveeno creams.
Price at time of publication: $11
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.
One small word of warning, though: it does have a mild fragrance, from the inclusion of a chemical fragrance. If you can’t handle any synthetic fragrance at all, this might not be the pick for you.
Price at time of publication: $29
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).
Price at time of publication: $16
Overall, the body wash is gentle enough for people with eczema and doesn’t skimp on the soothing side of things, either, with both oatmeal—a long-standing antidote to itchy skin—and ceramides protecting the skin barrier against future eczema flares.
Price at time of publication: $13
We searched for body washes in a variety of different formulations, across a wide range of budgets, so you can choose drugstore staples or luxury splurges to keep your sensitive skin in check.
What to Look For in Body Washes for Sensitive Skin
Key Ingredients
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.
All the dermatologists we spoke to recommended avoiding any kind of soap- or sulfate-based surfactant, since these are usually too harsh for people with sensitive skin. Coconut- or plant-based cleansers are usually milder.
“Consider body wash that’s full of plant-based oils and butters, like squalane, coconut oil, and jojoba oil as they mimic our skin’s natural oils,” says Dr. Mikailov.
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.
Humectants:
What it does: act like sponges to pull in hydration to the outer skin layerExample: glycerin, hyaluronic acid
Emollients:
What it does: soften cells in the outer skin layer and fill in cracks Example: natural oils (like jojoba, coconut, and almond oil)
Occlusives:
What it does: form a breathable seal over the surface of the skin to keep hydration in and environmental aggressors outExample: petrolatum, dimethicone
Ingredients to Avoid
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.
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.
Type
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.
Creamy cleansers. These are the most dermatologist-recommended cleansers for sensitive skin, because they’re made to leave your skin’s natural oils intact and offer additional hydrating ingredients. Our best overall pick, Vanicream Gentle Body Wash checks all of these boxes. Gel and foaming cleansers. These types of cleansers tend to be more drying than cream cleansers, says Dr. Mikailov, but that’s not a hard rule. If a gel or foaming cleanser is sulfate-free, doesn’t contain dyes or fragrances, and has a combination of moisturizing ingredients, you may still be able to use it. 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. Oil-based cleansers. Dr. Friedler is a fan of oil-based cleansers, as long as you’re not acne-prone. They can help restore and maintain the lipid balance of your skin, and are especially good at gently removing irritating dirt and makeup. If you’re looking for an oil-based cleanser, we recommend Bioderma Atoderm Cleansing Oil.
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“Shower gels tend to be more for people with oilier complexions, but can be fine for sensitive skin depending on the ingredients in it,” Dr. Friedler says, noting that certain alcohols often found in gels can be irritating to sensitive skin.
But Dr. Friedler says that many of the common brands with sensitive skin-specific products are dermatology-focused—in other words, they’re designed to be gentle enough for nearly everyone to use. This includes Eucerin, CeraVe, Aveeno, Dove, and Aquaphor, just to name a few (and, if you’ll notice, many of those brands made our list!).
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.
