Why A Healthy Skin Barrier Is Important
🌟 Do you have a healthy Skin Barrier? 🌟
A healthy skin barrier is the skincare buzzword you’ve been hearing everywhere—but what does it mean, and how can you tell if yours is in tip-top shape?
🧖♀️Let’s break it down!
Before diving into the details, it’s important to understand the role of our skin, the largest organ in our body. Our skin’s main job is to protect us from harmful substances, environmental pollutants, and the sun. But, various factors can prevent our skin from functioning at its best.
We all know that the sun is damaging and compromises the skin barrier when we get a sunburn. Environmental pollutants and toxins also break down our skin’s barrier. Lastly, skincare products that are too strong or misused also break down the skin’s barrier.
When the skin is healthy and working properly, it doesn’t allow harmful substances to get into the skin, however, due to the environment, sun, and using the wrong skincare products, most of us are walking around with a compromised skin barrier and we don’t even realize it.
🤔What is a compromised skin barrier?
We love to geek out over the skin and get a little scientific here, but the skin can be confusing. We have a few great analogies to help you understand how the skin works!
Imagine your skin’s barrier, the Stratum Corneum layer, as a brick wall. When your skin’s barrier is healthy, the “bricks” (cells) are perfectly aligned, keeping harmful substances out. But over time, sun damage, pollution, and harsh skincare products can cause that wall to crack and crumble, allowing toxins to seep in and moisture to escape. When this happens, your skin may feel dry, sensitive, and prone to breakouts—a telltale sign of a compromised barrier. It’s a common issue, but the good news is that it’s fixable!
A healthy skin barrier is like a brand-new brick wall. When a building is brand new, the bricks lay perfectly and look nice & neat. A compromised skin barrier is like an old brick wall. Think about an old brick building. The bricks have chips in them, some of them are cracked and crumbly. That is what a compromised skin barrier looks like.
Those microscopic cracks? That’s how harmful substances can now get into the skin. Think about ingredients and how certain ones have become “harmful.” Well, those ingredients have been used in skincare for years. Due to us compromising our skin barrier, these ingredients can enter through the skin and get into our bloodstream which causes them to be harmful.
A compromised skin barrier also causes our skin to lose water, creating dehydrated skin. When your skin is dehydrated, it means water is being removed from the skin. This is common with acne skincare products. Most are designed to “strip the oil” from the skin. Think Noxema pads (ok I am old!)
Over the years, estheticians learned that stripping the skin is bad. When you strip the skin, not only are you removing the surface oil, but you are removing water too. This forces the oil glands to overcompensate for the lack of water in the skin. This is why dehydrated skin types can feel dry and oily all at once. When you use products that maintain a healthy skin barrier, your skin won’t feel like this.
If you have a healthy skin barrier, your skin stays hydrated and healthy, preventing harmful substances from entering the skin. This also helps normalize oil production.
Another skin problem caused by a compromised skin barrier is sensitive skin. Sensitive skin means you react or become sensitive to certain products and ingredients. Sensitive skin has become an issue because most consumers use skincare products they learned about through blogs or social media influencers.
These “experts” have no background in skin, unless you are following knowledgeable estheticians.
Typically when clients come to see us, they are fed up and tired of wasting money on products that aren’t working OR they’re tired of how their skin looks and feels. When your skin is sensitive, it turns red or reacts when you apply certain products. When I became an esthetician, over 20 years ago, sensitive skin clients were more of an allergic reaction or topical allergy, which meant we had to avoid certain products with these clients. Today almost every client we see has sensitive skin. It is caused by using the wrong skincare products, over-exfoliation, overdoing skincare ingredients, our diets, lifestyle, environment, and sun.
🌟 Why you Need a Healthy Skin Barrier
A strong barrier keeps your skin hydrated, healthy, and protected from external aggressors. It also helps balance oil production and reduce sensitivity, giving you that coveted glow. Who doesn’t want that? When your skin’s barrier is healthy, you have a gorgeous glow to your skin. Your skincare routine is simple, yet effective. And your skin feels better overall.
Our mission at Skin Deep Esthetics is to help you with your skin and achieve a healthy skin barrier without wasting money, but simplify your skincare routine to maximize your results.
🌱 How to Create a Healthy Skin Barrier
Here’s how to rebuild and maintain your skin’s protective barrier without breaking the bank:
🧼 Switch to the right cleanser
Switching from a gel or foam-based cleanser to a creamy or oil-based cleanser is a great start to your skincare routine.
🚫 Skip daily exfoliation
Limit exfoliation to 1-2 times a week and opt for gentle enzymes or gommage exfoliants that won’t damage your skin. If your skin barrier is compromised, skip using acids, such as Glycolic or Lactic acids, and avoid scrubs or mechanical exfoliant brushes.
💧 Use Hydrating Serums
Incorporate serums with ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid and Salmon DNA to restore hydration and target specific skin concerns. Serums are your worker bee ingredients, meaning they get into the skin and help target a specific function.
🌿 Never skip the moisturizer
Finding a moisturizer that hydrates and maintains the skin’s healthy barrier is key. Professional-grade moisturizers may cost a little more upfront, but a little goes a long way so you save money by not replacing your moisturizer as often.
⏰ Be consistent
Stick to a simple routine of cleansing, serum, and moisturizing morning and night. Consistency is key to seeing results. We tend to skip our routines when our skincare products irritate, strip, or don’t feel good on the skin. Another reason why consumers skip is because they have too many products and aren’t sure which ones they need to use. Overwhelm stops us from being consistent.
Having a simple, but effective skincare routine is exactly what you need.
💫 Ready to Glow?
We’ve handpicked our favorite products to help you achieve a healthy skin barrier—shop online and let us guide you in creating the perfect skincare routine. Plus, check out this insightful article from ISDIN, one of our trusted skincare lines, on their 5-step process to repair your skin barrier. Read more here.
Got questions? Drop them in the comments below—we’re here to help!
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more skincare tips in next week’s blog!
