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Want to know how to repair your skin barrier and have the best skin of your life? That’s exactly what you’ll learn today!
If you are a skincare junkie like me, chances are you’ve heard about the importance of a healthy skin barrier. Personally, it was mind-blowing to me because I later discovered my damaged skin barrier was leading to my never-dying acne.
Can you imagine? I was lathering on so many products to get rid of acne just to find out I still had it because I was stressing my skin way too much.
So, I’ve packed all I know about the skin barrier in this article so that you can learn from my mistakes and avoid unnecessary pain.
What is the skin barrier?
In order to have healthy skin your skin barrier NEEDS to be healthy. You know all the pictures you placed on your vision board in order to achieve healthy skin? Okay, if you want that you need to make sure your skin barrier is strong and not damaged.
What is the skin barrier though?
To make it simple, our skin is made up of different layers. These can be grouped, going from outside to inside, in three components:
- The epidermis, aka the skin barrier
- The dermis
- The subcutaneous tissue
The epidermis is also made of different layers. The outermost layer, called the stratum corneum, is made of layers of dead skin cells that cyclically come off leaving space for new skin cells. This process is called cell turnover.
Within the epidermis, there is the lipid matrix that acts as a glue that holds the skin cells together. It is made up of cholesterol, fatty acids, and ceramides.
Basically, the epidermis protects our skin from environmental threats. Also, the skin barrier is able to retain water in our body avoiding that it evaporates.
I know it sounds dramatic but without our skin barrier, we would basically die.
Signs of a broken skin barrier
So, now we know a healthy skin barrier is essential but how can you know if yours is damaged? There are a few signs to look for that indicate you have a damaged skin barrier.
- Redness
- Flaking
- Irritability (more than you’re used to)
- Itchiness
- Pain and burning sensations
- Acne
It’s not super obvious here, but something as little as a bit of redness like I had here (as well as more inflamed acne) can indicate a damaged skin barrier.
Causes of a broken skin barrier
1. Stress
Shocking but true. Stress is able to disrupt our skin barrier, which is why when we are in highly stressful times our skin tends to misbehave.
This is due to higher cortisol levels, and hormone that rises when we are stressed which can also affect our skin.
2. Genetic predisposition
Some people can be genetically predisposed to a damaged skin barrier. In most situations, this is not the case though.
3. Medical conditions
There are some medical conditions, such as diabetes, that can affect our skin and damage the skin barrier.
4. External causes
External causes are the most common reasons why your skin barrier could be disrupted. Here are a few you may be able to resonate with.
- Extreme weather variations
- Allergens
- Irritants
- Alkaline soaps
- Over exfoliation
- Overuse of topical steroids
I want to quickly point out that our skin barrier is slightly acidic. This is why alkaline soaps can potentially damage the epidermis.
This is super important, the acidity protects our skin from microbes, fungi, bacteria, etc since they cannot thrive in an acid environment (most of them at least). So, if we disrupt this acidity obviously our skin is going to suffer since it will be vulnerable to all of these threats.
Skincare routine to repair the skin barrier
I hope I got my point across most of the time our skin barrier is damaged because of us. By trying to achieve perfect instagramable skin we end up overdoing it, leading to skin barrier damage.
Trust me, I’ve been there and it’s not fun at all!
One of the biggest tips I can give you is to simplify your skincare routine. You don’t need a thirty-steps skincare routine! This does not mean you cannot use different products it simply means you don’t need to use them on the same day every day.
The easier way to simplify your skincare routine is to focus on one issue at a time. For example, I suffer from acne, acne scars, and texture. Right now I’m only focusing on treating acne. I’ve come a long way but my skin is not completely clear yet.
Before
Now
You can see I have still acne that continues popping up on my chin area. Until my skin is completely clear I’m not going to address other issues because it would be more stressful for my skin.
Of course, it’s normal to get a few pimples from time to time but in this case, I have consistent acne in this area.
1. Cleanser
If your skin barrier is damaged you absolutely need to switch to a gentle creamy cleanser. If it’s suitable for sensitive skin it’s even better!
This is the key in every step basically, you want to be kind and gentle to your skin so that it’s able to heal itself.
One of my absolute favorites, this is the one I always seem to go back to, is the CeraVe hydrating cleanser. It has a creamy consistency I just love to lather on my skin, it feels kind of velvety.
After using this cleanser, even if I don’t apply moisturizer immediately after my skin doesn’t feel tight at all. I feel like this is kind of therapeutic for me, especially after a long day. It contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid, also it is pretty cheap.
If you have super sensitive skin and you want to use a retinoid after I would avoid it at first. The hyaluronic acid in this is great to draw water deeper into your skin but it will also draw in other actives deeper making them more irritating.
Another one I adore, which is without hyaluronic acid and therefore suitable for more sensitive skin types is the Vanicream gentle facial cleanser. It is extremely gentle, hydrating, and also cheap, what a dream!
So, ideally, you want a gentle creamy cleanser closer to your skin pH which is approximately 5.
2. Serums and treatments
If you have a damaged skin barrier the first thing you want to do is quit exfoliating acids! Obviously, I don’t mean forever but try not to use them until you feel your skin is recovered and healthy again (at least a few weeks).
Also, when you start using them again do not go for the most intense ones but start slow with polyhydroxy acids (PHA).
Onto serums you should definitely include hydrating and repairing serums, they will help you.
One of my absolute favorites is the COSRX snail mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence. Snail mucin is a phenomenal ingredient to strengthen your skin barrier and the product is actually a joy to use, it’s not sticky at all!
Plus, this is pretty cheap and easily available.
3. Moisturizers
One of the most important components of moisturizers is occlusives. They essentially trap moisture in our skin so they are essential in moisturizers.
Do not be scared of them because you absolutely need them. For example, slugging with vaseline is absolutely a great idea when trying to heal your skin barrier. It can be your best friend!
Personally, I use a strong moisturizer (look below for examples) and then lather vaseline on top of it. Vaseline has been proven to block nearly 99% of water loss. This is crazy!
So, during your healing phase, you want to be using strong and thick moisturizers, possibly morning and night. Here are my top recommendations that transformed my skin.
COSRX snail mucin 92% repair cream
This is basically the same as the serum but in a moisturizer form. I absolutely love this product, whenever I apply this my skin feels super plump and healthy the morning after.
It has a very dense consistency, as you would expect from snail mucin, but surprisingly it absorbs really well and also pretty fast.
Also, a fun fact, snails are not mistreated in the process whatsoever. Actually, if snails are in distress or traumatized they release dangerous toxins in their mucin making it unusable for cosmetic purposes.
La Roche-Posay cicaplast baume B5
This is one of the most talked about, especially for skin barrier and there are good reasons for it! It’s absolutely phenomenal.
I have an entire in-depth review of the cicaplast B5 if you’re interested, with lots of photos and videos.
Aurora’s tips
when dealing with a damaged skin barrier make sure to avoid products with essential oils and fragrance as much as possible since they could irritate your skin even more in this case.
If you have a little bit more to spend I highly recommend SkinCeuticals triple lipid restore 242. I didn’t personally try it yet but it was recommended to me by valuable sources.
I can see why this would be amazing for the skin barrier since it’s made of 2% ceramides, 4% cholesterol, and 2% fatty acids. If you remember these are the exact components of the lipid matrix, a key component of the epidermis.
Bodycare tips to repair a damaged skin barrier
Of course, when talking about the skin barrier, we cannot forget the rest of our bodies. To take care of it I have a few recommendations.
First, use the same gentle cleanser you would use on your face to wash your body. This sounds obvious, but how many of us are following this tip? For sure I wasn’t but since I made the switch my skin is less dry and itchy for sure.
I suggest CeraVe hydrating cleanser for this purpose since it’s hydrating, contains ceramides and also it’s cost-effective.
This post was all about skin barrier health, and how to understand and deal with it.
Want the best product to heal your skin barrier?
Here is a full review of the La Roche-Posay cicaplast B5, my top recommendation!
