OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the perception of skin sensitivity in Spain. METHODS: A representative nationwide sample of the Spanish population aged 15 and over was taken. The individuals were questioned by telephone and selected as per the quotas method. RESULTS: To the question "Do you have sensitive skin", women more frequently considered that they had sensitive or very sensitive skin than men, with 35.4% of women versus 27.9% of men answering yes to this question. Women consulted a dermatologist more frequently than men (p<0.001). The no response rate was less than 0.5%. A total of 31.8% of the population with very sensitive skin, 19.0% with sensitive skin, 9.2% with slightly sensitive skin and 3.0% with non sensitive skin also presented with a dermatological condition. Those with dermatosis more frequently reported sensitive or very sensitive skin. A history of childhood atopic dermatitis or eczema was more frequent in patients with sensitive or very sensitive skin (22.5% versus 5.9%, p<0.001). The interviewees who declared that they had dry or oily skin also significantly more frequently (p=0.015) reported sensitive or very sensitive skin than those with normal skin. Subjects with sensitive or very sensitive skin reddened more easily for no reason (31.9% versus 8.5%, p<0.001), after exposure to the sun (71.8% versus 60.2%, p=0.013) and in response to an emotional stimulus (50.0% versus 32.0%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of sensitive skins to be conducted in a representative Spanish population. Thus, more than 11 million Spanish people would appear to have sensitive or very sensitive skin. This is probably a much higher figure than the population spontaneously reporting this condition to a dermatologist. These specialists should therefore systematically ask their patients this question. The non response rate was negligible, which indicates that the term "sensitive skin" is meaningful to the immense majority of people.