Objective To observe the effect of recombined mussel adhesive protein paste dressing combined with short-wave physiotherapy instrument in the treatment of facial sensitive skin. Methods A total of 80 patients with mild to moderate facial sensitive skin who were treated in the dermatology department of our hospital from December 2021 to March 2023 were randomly divided into control group and experimental group, with 40 patients in each group. The control group was treated with short-wave physiotherapy instrument combined with recombined mussel adhesive protein paste dressing. The experimental group was treated with short-wave physiotherapy instrument combined with recombined mussel adhesive protein paste dressing. The skin burning sensation, pruritus score, skin barrier index, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results After treatment, the scores of burning sensation and itching sensation in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the skin moisture loss, skin erythema, sebum content and stratum corneum water content in the experimental group were better than those in the control group (P <0.05). The total effective rate of the experimental group was 90.00%, which was higher than 72.50% of the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the experimental group was 5.00%, which was lower than 27.50% in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion Recombined mussel adhesive protein paste dressing combined with short-wave physiotherapy instrument can improve facial itching and burning sensation, repair skin barrier, improve clinical efficacy and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions in patients with faci al sensitive skin, which is worthy of clinical application.