Think your skin barrier may be damaged?
Thankfully, there are many ways to keep your skin barrier in check.
It’s all about knowing what can trigger a pH imbalance, such as environmental stressors andover-exfoliating.
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Meet the Experts
What Is the Skin Barrier?
Why Is the Skin Barrier Important?
The skin barrier has two general roles: Keep the good stuff in and the bad stuff out.
The skin barrier also helps the body to hold onto natural moisture by preventing transepidermal water loss.
A healthy skin barrier is also key to obtaining hydrated, glowing, even skin.
However, environmental aggressors are also to blame.
Pollution, wind, and UV radiation have all been proven to weaken skin barriers.
A combination of avoidable and unavoidable daily habits causes varying degrees of damage to the skin barrier.
How to Heal a Damaged Skin Barrier
1.
Glass skin does not exist.
Always ask yourself, Why am I using this?
For some, this is to decrease redness.
For others, it may be evening the skin tone or getting acne under control.
A goal-directed skincare routine will be effective, simpler, gentler, and cheaper.
And remember, your skincare routine will likely vary by the season.
The ideal cleansing routine removes makeup, small particulate pollution matter, and dirt without stripping the skin.
Ingredients to look for include ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and petrolatum.
Look for a Multifaceted Moisturizer
Dr. Marchbein notes that the best moisturizers have a combination of emollients and humectants.
Humectants attract and bind water, increasing the skins water content.
In addition, moisturizers rich in ceramides will help to replace natural ceramides that are depleted throughout the day.
This is especially important if you’re using actives in other areas of your routine.
Treat Inflammation
Once the skin is irritated, often anything and everything will worsen that irritation.
Check-in with your skin each day.
For more significant inflammation, such as rosacea or eczema, see a board-certified dermatologist to treat the inflammation.
However, less will likely always be best for sensitive skin.
Focus on using gentle cleansers and moisturizers on the body and the hands.
Switch out your body wash for an oil body cleanser like Avene’sXeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil.
The key here is that your skin is part of your body.
However, our outside environment and skincare routines are taking a toll on our skin barrier.
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