DSNW stands for Dry, Sensitive, Non-Pigmented, and Wrinkle-Prone. Each of these four characteristics provides important information about what your skin needs and which skincare ingredients and products are best for you.

DSNW skin is Dry because it has an impaired skin barrier that does not hold moisture as effectively as a healthy barrier. This impaired barrier also allows irritating ingredients to penetrate more easily, making the skin more susceptible to inflammation. This increased susceptibility to inflammation is what makes DSNW skin Sensitive. The inflammation may be associated with acne, rosacea, stinging or burning, skin allergies, or a combination of these.

Non-Pigmented means that developing unwanted dark spots and uneven pigmentation is not one of your skin's primary tendencies.

Wrinkle-Prone does not mean that you have wrinkles now. Your age, habits, lifestyle, and other factors that influence skin aging have placed you in the Wrinkle-Prone category. This means that anti-aging ingredients should eventually be an important part of your skincare routine.

However, with DSNW skin, the order of treatment matters. The first priority is to repair the impaired skin barrier and calm inflammation. Once inflammation is under control and the skin barrier has been restored, appropriate anti-aging products can be added to help prevent and treat skin aging.

No. Choosing a moisturizer for DSNW skin can be complicated because all of the characteristics of your Baumann Skin Type, your specific type of sensitivity, and your individual skin concerns need to be considered.

All DSNW moisturizers should first help repair and protect the impaired skin barrier without containing ingredients that sting or irritate the skin. We have chosen moisturizers with ingredients that help strengthen and repair the DSNW skin barrier, including barrier-repair lipids such as fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol.

Calming inflammation is also a priority. Soothing and anti-inflammatory ingredients such as argan oil, niacinamide, and allantoin are good options for DSNW skin.

The specific cause of your skin sensitivity further determines which moisturizer is best for you. If you have acne-prone DSNW skin, you should be recommended a noncomedogenic moisturizer. If you have facial redness or rosacea, anti-redness and soothing ingredients such as niacinamide, Portulaca oleracea, green tea extract, and licorice extract are good options.

If you have stinging or burning skin, ingredients that commonly cause your skin to sting should be excluded from the moisturizer. This may include retinoids, certain forms of vitamin C, and other potentially irritating ingredients, depending on your individual sensitivity.

DSNW skin does not usually need skin-lightening ingredients because unwanted pigmentation is not one of its defining concerns. This can be an advantage because many ingredients used to treat hyperpigmentation can also be irritating. DSNW moisturizers can instead include non-irritating anti-aging ingredients, such as antioxidants and ingredients that target cellular senescence, as long as they do not worsen sensitivity or inflammation.

This is why there is not one moisturizer that is best for every person with DSNW skin. Moisturizer recommendations take the entire Baumann Skin Type into account and then use your individual skin concerns to further personalize the choice. Knowing your Baumann Skin Type provides the foundation for the recommendation, while your Skin Type Quiz answers help identify which moisturizer ingredients your skin needs and which ingredients should be avoided.

The best cleansers for DSNW skin are barrier-safe cleansers that remove dirt, sunscreen, makeup, and excess oil without stripping away the lipids that dry, sensitive skin needs.
We have chosen gentle cleansers for DSNW skin that help preserve the skin barrier and may contain hydrating ingredients such as humectants, emollients, and occlusives. These ingredients help the skin hold onto water and leave it better prepared for the serums and moisturizers that follow.
DSNW cleansers should avoid harsh detergents, including irritating anionic surfactant systems, that can remove too many of the skin's natural lipids and worsen dryness, barrier damage, and inflammation.
That “squeaky clean” feeling is not beneficial for DSNW skin. It can be a sign that too much oil and lipid have been removed from the skin. DSNW skin needs to preserve and replenish lipids, not strip them away.
The cleanser is an important first step in a DSNW skincare routine because everything that follows is being applied to the skin after cleansing. Choosing a barrier-safe cleanser helps protect the impaired skin barrier, improve hydration, and prepare DSNW skin to better tolerate the treatment products used later in the regimen.

The best sunscreens for DSNW skin are hydrating, non-irritating sunscreens that provide effective sun protection without worsening dryness, acne, rosacea, stinging, or inflammation.

Some chemical sunscreen filters can sting sensitive skin or the eyes, and certain sunscreen formulations may aggravate rosacea-prone skin. Sunscreens can also contain ingredients that may contribute to clogged pores in acne-prone individuals. For these reasons, sunscreen selection for DSNW skin needs to take your specific type of sensitivity into account.

We have chosen noncomedogenic, sensitive-skin-friendly sunscreens that are less likely to flare acne or rosacea, sting the skin or eyes, or further dry and irritate DSNW skin. Because DSNW skin has an impaired barrier, hydrating sunscreen formulations are especially helpful.

Both tinted and untinted sunscreens can be good choices for DSNW skin. We have selected options in both categories so your sunscreen can match your preferences while still meeting the needs of dry, sensitive skin.

Because DSNW is Wrinkle-Prone, sunscreen is also one of the most important steps for preventing premature skin aging. Some of the sunscreens we recommend contain additional anti-aging ingredients, such as antioxidants or DNA repair enzymes, that can help protect against or address some of the damaging effects associated with sun exposure.

The best sunscreen for DSNW skin should therefore do more than provide UV protection. It should protect against sun damage while helping maintain hydration and, most importantly, not trigger inflammation or sensitivity.