OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of "sensitive skin" among a representative sample of the French population. METHODS: We questioned a representative sample of the entire French population aged 15 years and above. The SF-12 is a generic measure of health status. The SF-12 is composed of two dimensions, a Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) and a Mental Component Summary (MCS-12). The results are standardised on the general US population [ mean score of 50 (SD=10) ], so results can be meaningfully compared to an average and compared one another. The lower the score, the more the quality of life is affected. The SF-12 was intended for parents in order to assess their own quality of life. RESULTS: Out of the French population aged over 15 years, 51.9% felt that they had sensitive or very sensitive skin. An evaluation of the quality of life, using SF-12, revealed a change in the mental dimension of the score for subjects of both sexes, "very sensitive or sensitive" compared with "slightly or not sensitive ": Men: 45.61 versus 49.70 (p<0.0001), Women: 44.68 versus 47.30 (p=0.0024). In addition, comparisons of the various degrees of sensitivity revealed significant differences for both men (very sensitive: 43.57, sensitive: 46.12, slightly: 48.43, not sensitive: 51.34) and women (very sensitive: 42.21, sensitive: 45.54, slightly: 46.99, not sensitive: 47.84), showing that the alteration in the mental dimension was more severe when the skin was more sensitive. CONCLUSIONS: As measured by SF-12, the mental dimension of their quality of life was affected.