Top Calming Ingredients for Sensitive Skin

With my skin type of acne-prone, dry and sensitive, soothing and calming ingredients have made a world of difference and rescued my skin countless times regardless of how bad it is. My hero ingredients have been oat, heartleaf (houttuynia cordata), centella asiatica, mugwort, panthenol (vitamin B5).

Today, we're diving into six holy grail products for me that contain those hero ingredients: Aveeno Calm + Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser, Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad, I'm From Mugwort Essence, Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule, and La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5.

These products all have the same focus on hydration, barrier repair, wound healing and calming/soothing properties, making them must-haves for anyone like myself that are dealing with sensitivity, irritation, redness, breakouts, or dryness or all of the above. Let’s dive in!

1. Aveeno Calm + Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser

Featured Ingredients:

• Formulated with colloidal oat to reduce inflammation, relieving itchy and moisturizing skin. Oats also contain beta-glucans for hydrating and soothing irritation.

• Feverfew extract in this formula adds an extra layer of calming benefits, reducing redness and protecting the skin against environmental stressors

The Aveeno Calm + Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser has a gel consistency with no-foaming action that gently cleanses without stripping the skin. It is perfect for anyone that want to minimize irritation and protect the skin barrier from cleansing. This is also a fragrance-free cleanser and suitable for sensitive skin

I have been using this cleanser for 3 years and it always does wonder for my skin every time I go through a breakout or irritation period. It feels like you cleanse your skin with a moisturizer that protects your skin barrier during the cleansing. Since this is a super gentle cleanser, if you use sunscreen and makeup, you will most likely have to go in with an oil cleanser or balm to remove those first.

2. Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad

Featured Ingredients:

• 77% Heartleaf (Houttuynia Cordata) extract - a powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial ingredient. Heartleaf is also well-known in traditional Asian medicine for its ability to reduce redness, control excess oil, and calm irritated skin.

• The patented anti-sebum P with 4 plant-based ingredients to control excess sebum

• PHA - a gentle exfoliant that gently remove your dead skin cell with minimal irritation.

Heartleaf is a relatively newer ingredient compared to the other calming ingredients. But it doesn’t mean that it is lacking in soothing effect. The Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pads is made for sensitive and acne-prone skin with the featured ingredients that aims to gently exfoliate but sooth and hydrate the skin at the same time. Exfoliating while maintaining a healthy skin barrier can be tricky but Anua did it with this toner pads. And that’s why I usually opt for PHA instead of AHA due to its gently nature on the skin. It is also great at refining my skin texture while keeping the skin barrier intact.

I’ve been using these toner pads as DIY sheet masks every time I feel like my skin needs a pick-me-up. Leaving it on for 15 minutes can instantly calm down any redness that I have. Then next morning, my skin will be silky smooth and well-hydrated with any pimples minimized as well. I gotta say these toner pads do leave a little sticky/tacky feeling behind after using them but just following up with the rest of your skincare routine will take care of that tackiness. You won’t feel it after :)

3. I'm From Mugwort Essence

Featured Ingredient:

• 100% Mugwort extract

Mugwort is a powerhouse ingredient in Korean skincare that has been used for centuries for its soothing, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. I’m From Mugwort Essence with 100% Mugwort extract makes it extremely beneficial for calming acne, redness, and irritated skin. Mugwort is also rich in antioxidants that can protect the skin from environmental damage, while its natural healing properties aid in calming breakouts and strengthening our skin barrier.

This essence has a lightweight, watery texture with a little viscosity that absorbs relatively quickly into the skin. I usually use this essence in the toner step and layer multiple times whenever my skin feels dry and irritated. It literally revives my skin within couple of minutes. It plays relatively well with other products. However, I do experience some pilling when using it with heavier creams that contain silicone. That’s why I tend to use this at night where I don’t really care about cosmetic elegance.

I’ve been using the I’m From Mugwort Essence for over 5 years now and it is always present in my routine. I’d feel nervous without it to the point where I travel everywhere with this essence as well.

4. Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule

Featured Ingredient:

• Pure 100% Madagascar Centella Asiatica extract

• Strengthens the skin barrier

The Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule has taken the global skincare market by storm and has a huge cult following for a reason - it’s one of the purest and most effective centella asiatica-based products on the market.

This ampoule doesn’t just contain Centella Asiatica, also known as Cica, but Centella Asiatica from Madagascar that is known to contain 7 times more Asiaticoside - the soothing and calming active ingredient in Centella Asiatica.

This particular and famous ingredient is a well-known wound-healing, barrier repair and anti-inflammatory plant extract. This ampoule has a very watery texture, almost like a toner with a little viscosity (very similar to the mugwort essence) that absorbs quickly, leaving the skin refreshed, hydrated and plump without any sticky residue, making it perfect for acne-prone and sensitive skin.

I’ve just discovered this ampoule for about 6 months but haven’t stopped using it since. The first time I used it is when I was in Vietnam. At the time, my skin was freaking out due to the environmental changes and jetlag. I bought this ampoule on a whim to use it for my irritated skin since I had just run out of my favorite I’m From Mugwort Essence. To my surprise, it works extremely well to sooth my skin as well. It’s not a fast reaction like I can tell with the mugwort one but over couple week period, I can tell my skin has slowly improved and revitalized. I also use this as a toner not as a serum due to its watery texture. Since it is super affordable, I am very generous with the amount of product for each use (about 1 vial every time). And the payoff is hugely rewarding on the skin. Only now I can understand why this product has gotten so much hype and I am 1000% in agreement.

5. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

Featured Ingredients:

• Contains Panthenol (Vitamin B5) for deep skin repair and hydration while reducing irritation

• Madecassoside - an active compound found in centella asiatica, aids in skin recovery, barrier repair, wound healing, calming irritation and hydration

• Shea Butter & Glycerin provide deep nourishment and long-lasting hydration.

• Zinc Gluconate & Manganese Glucpnate have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help to protect compromised skin.

The Cicaplast Baume B5 is a multi-purpose repair balm that can even be used by babies 6-12 months, children and adults. It is an excellent solution if you're dealing with a damaged skin barrier, excessive dryness, or irritation.

It’s also perfect for healing post-procedure skin, soothing eczema, or simply using as a daily repair balm when your skin needs that extra care. The thick, creamy texture locks in moisture without feeling too greasy, it is a great night-time treatment or spot treatment for dry patches. Since it does leave a little white cast on my skin when applying a thicker layer, if I need to use it during the day especially in the winter time, I would apply a lighter layer. It will keep my skin feeling hydrated all day long. This is the true holy grail product that I have used for years and years. I truly can’t live without this balm at all and can’t recommend enough.

Final Thoughts: The Perfect Soothing Routine

I didn’t even realize that I have picked out a whole routine for easily sensitized skin (Yay meee!! ) So if you're looking to build a super gentle yet effective skincare routine focused on calming and restoring the skin, my 5 holy grail products will work beautifully together for you:

1. Cleanse – Use the Aveeno Calm + Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser to gently cleanse without stripping the skin. Remember to add a first cleanse of an oil cleanser or balm or micellar water to remove sunscreen and make-up first before going in with this cleanser as your second cleanse.

2. Prep & Exfoliate – Use Anua Heartleaf 77 Clear Pad to remove excess serum and dead skin cell and prep the skin. I do think it is gentle enough for you to use daily but you don’t have to exfoliate everyday. I usually do 3 times/week only. Other days you can skip this step and go straight for the toner/essence.

3. Hydrate & Soothe – Apply I'm From Mugwort Essence for deep hydration and anti-inflammatory benefits. You can apply multiple layers until you feel satisfied to move on to next step. I usually do 2-3 layers and that would leave my skin bouncy.

4. Strengthen & Repair – Follow up with Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule to boost skin recovery and barrier health.

5. Protect & Heal – Finish with La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 to seal everything in and protect the skin from further irritation. You can do a thicker layer at night if your skin is extremely dry and irritated. Small tip: during the day, you can mix a little bit of this balm into your moisturizer to better lock in that hydration (which I do very often in the winter time).

This lineup is a dream for me and hopefully for anyone struggling with redness, breakouts, or sensitivity. You won’t regret trying these products. Let me know in the comments what you think if you have used them before or will try them out :)