If you’re living with dry, sensitive skin - especially following cancer treatment - you’ll know how delicate and reactive your skin can feel.
Whether you’ve battled through rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and/or other medications, your skin will be compromised, sore, and in need of extra care.
The good news is that a calming, nourishing skincare routine can help, and there are a wide range of products available, such as those from Peruda Skincare, that are specially formulated to support dry, sensitive, and post-treatment skin - without completely overwhelming it.
Whether you're in recovery or supporting your skin through a tough patch, this guide is here to help you build a routine that protects, soothes, and supports healing.
But before we go any further, we thought we’d start with just a few important tips to keeping your sensitive skin happy and healthy.
Our Top Skin Care Tips for Sensitive Skin
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Keep it simple - When it comes to sensitive, recovering skin, less is always more! Putting too much on your skin can do more harm than good, so we recommend only sticking to a few nourishing, fragrance-free essentials rather than layering a number of different products.
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Always patch test new products - When introducing new products to your routine, patch testing is so important because even gentle products can cause a reaction if your skin is extra sensitive. To do this, simply put a small amount behind the ear or on your inner arm and see if you get a reaction.
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Stay away from really hot water - Not many people know this but hot baths and showers can strip away natural oils and aggravate dry, reactive skin. This is why we always say to only use lukewarm water instead and pat, don’t rub, your skin dry with a towel.
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Never skip moisturising - This is the most important part of your skincare routine, as your skin needs moisture in order to stay comfortable and resilient.
Make sure to choose a rich, soothing moisturiser that’s designed for sensitive skin, like Peruda’s Revival Genesis Body Balm.
At Peruda Skincare, we pride ourselves on creating gentle, effective products that support sensitive and post-treatment skin with only the highest quality natural ingredients. Shop our range of skincare formulations for each stage of your daily routine, here.
Your Simple Skincare Routine for Dry Sensitive Skin
1. Start With a Gentle Cleanser
Always start (and end) your day with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser that will remove dirty build-up without stripping away moisture and damaging the skin barrier.
When shopping around for the right one, look for a creamy or milky texture, nothing too foaming or harsh.
As we touched on in the tips above, when rinsing, only use lukewarm water - or better yet, cool water if you can handle it!
2. Soothing Toner or Mist (This One is Optional)
Many people like to follow a cleanser with a toner or mist, but it’s not an essential step.
These products can offer a refreshing boost of hydration after cleansing, helping to prep the skin for your serum or moisturiser.
The key with this step is to choose a product that’s alcohol-free and of course, free from harsh additives. Many traditional toners you’ll see on the market will contain drying alcohols or strong astringents, which can further irritate dry, sensitive, or post-treatment skin, so you need to stay away from these at all costs.
What works really well on sensitive skin is just pure water or pure hydrosols. In a clean spray bottle just fill it with tap water or your chosen hydrosol and mist the face and body with it. Then follow with your care.
3. Hydrating Serum
Once your skin is clean and slightly damp, a hydrating serum can offer an extra layer of comfort, especially if your skin is feeling tight, dry, or just slightly fragile. We think of this step as a gentle drink of water for your skin.
For dry, sensitive, or post-treatment skin, the goal is to focus on barrier support and gentle repair.
Our Omega Replenish Face Serum is a great option which strengthens barriers, calms irritations, transforms skin appearance, and restores radiance.
4. Rich Moisturiser
This is, without question, your skin’s best friend - especially when it’s feeling extra dry, tight, or reactive.
A rich moisturiser will play a vital role in rebuilding the skin barrier, locking in hydration, and calming inflammation, and if your skin has been affected by cancer treatment, or you're managing ongoing dryness and sensitivity, this step becomes even more important.
It’s important to note that your moisturiser should feel comforting from the moment you apply it. No stinging or stickiness, and certainly not overly perfumed.
5. Body Balm
Dry, sensitive skin doesn’t stop at the face, and if you’re going through or recovering from cancer treatment, you might notice your body skin feeling especially tender, flaky, or sore.
This is why you want to introduce a rich, soothing body balm, which, unlike a standard body lotion, is typically thicker and more concentrated, designed to lock in moisture and create a protective barrier over compromised skin.
We recommend applying body balm after a bath or shower while your skin is still slightly damp to seal in hydration.
The Best Body Cream/Balm for Cancer Patients
You can call us biased, but in our opinion, the best body balm when recovering from cancer is the Peruda Revival Genesis Body Balm.
Featuring soothing ingredients like Andiroba Oil, Cupuaçu Butter and Murumuru Butter, this balm transforms cracked, rough skin into something beautifully alive, repairing damage while promoting regeneration and improving elasticity.
And we’re not the only ones who love this product - our customers often tell us it’s the only thing that truly comforts their skin during and after treatment. Check out some of the testimonials below…
We are Peruda Skincare: dermatologically approved, natural skincare specially crafted for sensitive and post-cancer treatment skin. Shop our wide range of skincare products here, including our face oil, lip balm and exfoliating mask.
For more insights and advice from our experts, check out our other articles, including ‘What's really in your cosmetic products?’ and ‘Retinol - what are the natural alternatives?’.
And if you’d like to speak with a member of our team about any of our products or general queries around skincare, please get in contact via our enquiry form.