How to Repair your Skin Barrier
Your skin barrier is the very thing responsible for how your skin feels and looks, and if you're not adequately taking care of yours, you could be increasing your odds of dryness, irritation, acne, rosacea, fine lines, and more. Not ideal.
What is the Skin Barrier?
A brick-and-mortar system makes the layers of the skin barrier Cells, known as corneocytes, are the bricks in your skin barrier, while various lipids make the mortar, like cholesterol and ceramides.
Of course, the skin barrier is a bit more complex than that. Like the rest of our skin, several vital layers, each of which is crucial to your skin barrier's function, comprise the skin barrier.
The lipid matrix: A healthy skin barrier consists of layers of skin cells arranged in a brick-and-mortar pattern. The bricks are the skin cells, and the cement is the lipid matrix: a network of healthy fats consisting of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids. Together, these lipids help hold the cells in place, thereby keeping hydration in and bacteria, pollutants, and allergens out.
The acid mantle: The acid mantle is the protective film of natural oils, amino acids, and sweat that sits on top of the skin cells and helps cover and shield the skin. Its function is to keep our skin's pH slightly acidic—around 5.5—to further protect it from contaminants, such as unwanted bacteria or fungus.
The microbiome: The skin microbiome consists of microorganisms that inhabit our skin. They provide vital functions for the skin that include impacting our bodies' production of fats, like skin-healthy ceramides, altering the skin's pH by secreting acidic molecules into its environment, and affecting the immune system by instructing it to either amp up or slow down.
SALT: SALT refers to skin-associated lymphoid tissue, which is another way of saying our skin's immune system. An intelligent, balanced immune system prevents infection without being over-responsive or hyperactive.
In basic terms, It keeps the skin from losing too much water and keeps unhealthy external substances from penetrating the deeper layers of skin and causing inflammation and irritation.
Why Is It Important to Have a Healthy Skin Barrier?
A healthy skin barrier equates to healthy skin.
When the skin's barrier becomes damaged or imbalanced, it loses its ability to hold on to the vital substances that keep skin cells intact. This imbalance can eventually lead to a host of problematic skin conditions.
Compromised skin can show up in several ways depending on the person, including acne, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis and sensitive skin. A damaged skin barrier can even accelerate signs of ageing, including less elasticity, uneven skin tone, and wrinkles."
How does Your Skin Barrier Become Compromised?
Some of the biggest causes of compromised skin barriers are Environmental factors (sun exposure, col and dry weather, pollution, smoking), physical damage (excessive exfoliating or using harsh/irritating skincare products), and even just your genetics and age.
As we age, the skin's ability to maintain adequate hydration, regular activities, and epidermal barrier function slows. When we're young, the skin barrier is in peak condition, but that barrier begins to break down over time. Therefore results in the appearance of dehydrated skin, skin laxity and lines and wrinkles.
In addition, most people will experience skin diseases such as allergy, dermatitis, eczema, acne or psoriasis—at some point in their lives. These problems can reduce the skin barrier's ability to do its job and lead to water loss, which causes the skin to become dry. They can also minimize barrier function due to an elevated skin pH, which affects the skin's ability to form a strong barrier.
How to Repair Your Impaired Skin Barrier
Avoid over-exfoliating: With a compromised skin barrier, stop exfoliating! And allow your skin to regenerate its skin barrier. Once all the symptoms have resolved, you can slowly start incorporating exfoliation into your routine.
Avoid overuse of irritating or harsh ingredients: Overuse of products often starts in the teenage years with too many harsh toners, cleansers, or scrubs that break down the skin barrier, overdrying the skin, and causing more inflammation. These over-the-counter products include potent ingredients, such as alcohol and high alkaline levels that disrupt the skin's natural pH. To keep the skin barrier in good shape, avoid alcohol-based toners, heavily fragranced skincare, pre-moistened facial wipes, as they can irritate.
Look for moisturizers that contain ceramides ad humectants: Moisturizers can protect your skin; those with very high lipid content are best. Ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids are the three essential lipids that repair your skin barrier. (Look for fatty acids listed individually—especially stearic acid and palmitic acid—or oils that contain them, like shea butter and coconut oil.) Most moisturizers contain fatty acids, but if you have particularly dry or sensitive skin, you'll get the best results from products with all three barrier-repairing ingredients.
Keep your skincare routine simple: Always go with the basics. Keeping it simple reduces the chance of irritation on your already irritated skin. When it's at its weakest, the steps to maintaining a healthy skin barrier are: Cleanse, Moisturise, and Protect. These three steps are the essential steps while your skin is recovering. Any additional hydration from toner or serum is a bonus but make sure that you are familiar with the serum you're currently using.
Try skincare with prebiotics: Everyone can benefit from prebiotics' valuable support, especially those with a compromised skin barrier or sensitivity. Applying prebiotics to the skin helps probiotics thrive so they can:
Keep the skin's surface—its first line of defence—balanced, younger-looking, and strong.
Set the factors that lead to redness, dryness, and a weakened top layer.
Ward off signs of ageing skin.
Restore a healthy microbiome balance (good bacteria).
Recovery time is dependent on your skin type and how damaged your skin barrier is. If you just went over exfoliated with a chemical peel or a scrub one time? You should be on the mend within a week or two. But if you've spent months accidentally breaking down your skin barrier through harsh or ill-suited products. It could take a few months for it to bounce back.
In the end, you may need to see a dermatologist in your barrier repair journey. Though there are some things you can fix on your own (like dryness or flakes), there are some skin conditions that will ultimately need a dermatologist's opinion and prescription products.
