More exfoliation or more moisturise?

My skin is sensitive -- it feels like my skin barrier gets compromised pretty easily! I've revamped my routine over the last year and it's in a pretty good place BUT my skin seems congested on the forehead and dry on the cheeks. So I'm wondering:

1. Should I increase exfoliants? I use retinol twice a week (0.1% so it's low) and could increase that to 3 times plus increase to 0.3% once I'm okay with 0.1% 3 times a week. OR I could add in a different exfoliant.

2. Should I add a hyaluronic acid serum to the mix? I'm careful about adding things one at a time and waiting 3 weeks and am trying to decide whether to up the exfoliation first or the moisture.