Sensitive Skin was a magazine created and edited by B. Kold and Norman Douglas. Started in 1991, the first four issues were titled "Peau Sensible," which is French for "Sensitive Skin." Subsequent issues were titled in English. In 1994, John Farris, Patricia Winter, and Darius James joined the editorial team. That same year, Mr. E. Oso took over editorial duties for the final issue.
Sensitive Skin magazine included short fiction, screenwriting, poetry, reviews, drawings, essays, and photographs by both established and emerging writers and artists, mainly from New York. The publication also partnered with The Living Theatre to host release parties and benefits. Sensitive Skin published downtown New York writers including John Giorno, Herbert Huncke, Jack Micheline, Joel Rose, Lynn Tillman, Eileen Myles, David Rattray, Chris Kraus, David Ulin, Sparrow, Mike Topp, Ron Kolm, Richard Hell, Bob Holman, Wanda Phipps, Maggie Estep and Taylor Mead, among many others.[1]
After a sixteen year hiatus, Sensitive Skin was relaunched as an online magazine on June 18, 2010, by Bernard Meisler (publisher and managing editor) and Tim Beckett (webmaster and editor). The first issue contained work by Justine Frischmann, Andrew Huebner, Jose Padua, Tim Beckett, Steve Horowitz, Bob Bannister and Bart Plantenga. Steve Horowitz joined as music editor for issue two, and Rob Hardin joined as an associate editor for issue three. In subsequent issues, Sensitive Skin has published writing by Craig Clevenger, Emily XYZ, Darius James, Stewart Home, Jonathan Shaw, Melissa Febos, Max Blagg, John S. Hall, Ron Kolm, Rob Roberge, Marguerite Van Cook and Lyn Lifshin, art by Al Kresch, Ted Barron, Shalom Neuman and Hal Hirshorn, video by Kevin Rafferty and music by Ralph Carney, Elliott Sharp, Kurt Wolf, Timber and Dan Becker, among many others.
Sensitive Skin Daily, featuring stories, poems, art, music, video, cultural reportage, reviews and event notices by past, present and future contributors to Sensitive Skin, was launched as a separate site in June 2011.
In October 2011, Meisler stepped down as publisher and turned publishing and managing editor duties back to the original founder, B. Kold. At the same time, the magazine became available in print format for both present and back issues.