The skin barrier is your skin’s first line of defense. A protective shield that guards against pathogens, viruses, and environmental toxins that can compromise skin health. Located in the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin, this barrier is made up of three key components: the microbiome, the acid mantle, and the lipid layer. Together, they work in harmony to keep your skin balanced, resilient, and protected. In this post, you’ll learn how to repair a damaged skin barrier and restore its natural strength for lasting skin health.
Just as we have a gut microbiome, our skin also hosts a delicate ecosystem of beneficial microorganisms known as the skin microbiome. When balanced, it plays a vital role in maintaining a strong skin barrier, reducing inflammation, and supporting clear, healthy, resilient skin from the outside in.
The acid mantle is a thin, slightly acidic film on the skin’s surface, formed by a mix of sweat and sebum. It plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy skin barrier by keeping the skin’s pH slightly acidic between 4.5 and 5.5. The ideal range that supports softness, hydration, and protection. A balanced pH also helps regulate desquamation, the skin’s natural shedding process, ensuring optimal cell turnover and overall skin function.
The lipid layer consists of a rich blend of oils, fatty acids, amino acids, lactic acid, and cholesterol. These lipids act as the skin’s natural moisturizer and sealant, helping to lock in hydration, maintain a supple texture, and prevent water loss. A healthy lipid layer also supports barrier repair, soothes inflammation, and defends the skin against external irritants and environmental stressors.
A healthy skin barrier is a natural moisturizer for the skin
The skin barrier supports the skin’s own natural moisturizing factors and protects the skin from trans-epidermal water loss, preventing skin dehydration. When our skin barrier weakens, skin becomes dry, dehydrated and vulnerable to inflammation and external pathogens. A weakened skin barrier accelerates the aging process due to this inflammation and dehydration. Chronically inflamed skin is a killer of tissue and leads to premature collagen breakdown and sagging skin.
Skin Barrier and Acne
In the case of acne, a disrupted skin barrier and imbalanced microbiome leaves the skin exposed to further bacteria-driven breakouts and skin inflammation. I’ve seen acne clients stuck in a cycle of using harsh and drying products for the skin, believing they will cleanse acne away by drying it up. This perpetuates inflammation and quite the opposite approach is needed when working with acne.
When this protective barrier is removed, skin inflammation occurs and triggers skin to produce more oil in order to protect itself. This innate overproduction of oil can clog pores and leave skin feeling like an oil slick by mid-day even though the root of over-production is due to a lack of oil from a stripping cleansing process.
If you’re still not convinced of how important the skin barrier is, studies from the Journal of Dermatology have showed skin with a more alkaline outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, developed more fine lines, wrinkles and was more prone to sun damage than those with an acidic skin layer. An alkaline surface offers no protection from external aging pollutants and toxins.
How to Repair a Damaged Skin Barrier
Our skin regenerates through a cycle of dividing, protecting and shedding. Improper cleansing and over exfoliating imbalances this process and removes dead skin cells called corneocytes prematurely. These are skin cells that stack like a brick wall and act like a protective barrier to keep hydration and moisture locked inside the skin.
Cleansing products that strip our skin barrier, disrupt cell cycles and and create an alkaline surface, such as bar soaps, gels, foams, overly astringent ingredients and other heavy sudsing products will damage your skin barrier.
Ditch the cleansers that leave skin feeling dry or tight after use. The same goes for improper use of active products that over stimulate the skin. Incorrect use of active products will sensitize the skin, weaken the skin barrier and perpetuate the cycle of breakouts, acne, and skin inflammations.
Eliminating harsh products and adjusting to a nourishing cleansing process will immediately begin to restore and repair a damaged skin barrier. Time and time again, I’ve watched clients skin transform and clean up chronic skin conditions just by adjusting their cleansing process.
Oil Cleansing
I have seen phenomenal results with oil cleansing to restore client complexions and skin barriers. Oils hydrate, balance natural sebum levels, soothe and calm skin, dissolve clogged pores and remove dirt and make-up without stripping the skin. Oil cleansing can be used for morning and evening routines.
Healthy fats and oils are the building blocks of cell communication throughout the skin and body. Without fats and oils, cell membranes become rigid and communicate poorly between each other. Resulting in pre-mature skin aging, inflammation and dis-ease throughout the body on a cellular level.
Marie Veronique Essential Oil Free Oil Cleanser
This oil cleanser is a unique product that has been formulated to mimic the skin barrier in order to replenish and rebuild even the most over sensitized and inflamed skin conditions. This product is superior for peri-oral dermatitis, facials psoriasis, acne and inflammatory skin concerns, especially with the presence of dryness.
Josh Rosebrook Herbal Infusion Oil
An ideal oil cleanser with a balanced omega ratio and botanical blend for all skin types. It can be used to remove make-up, and oil cleanse. And can be used as a daily facial oil, making it a multi-functional product. Formulated with jojoba, hemp oil, calendula, marshmallow and green tea to name a few of its spectacular ingredients, I never saw a skin type in my treatment room that did not welcome their skin cleansed with this phenomenal formulation.
Cream Cleansers
Creamy cleansers are not only for dry skin. They are sufficient for all skin types. It doesn’t matter what skin type or skin condition you may be experiencing. A well-formulated creamy or milky cleaners is highly capable of cleansing the skin, removing make-up, debris and sunblock.
Ranavat Luminous Ceremony Cream Cleanser
A stunning Ayurvedic infused cream to milk cleanser. Formulated with manjistha, sesame oil and rose essential oil, this cleanser removes make-up while deeply nourishing skin during the cleansing process.
Exfoliating Cleansers
Depending on individual skin, a gentle hydroxy acid cleanser can be beneficial to exfoliate and stimulate skin cell turnover without being abrasive to the skin. These formulations work to remove impurities, prevent breakouts, brighten complexions and also resurface the skin without stripping the skin barrier.
In the case of skin congestion, a well-formulated exfoliating cleanser can be used once a day to assist in unclogging pores. And to lessen breakouts without disrupting the skin barrier. For anti-aging and brightening the complexion, an exfoliating cleanser can assist in diminishing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, keep skin cells turning over at a healthy rate and overall brighten the skin.
Hydroxy acids and other exfoliating products are best used during evening skincare routines. And in combination with an effective sun protection daytime routine. I recommend an a.m. routine of waking up and protecting skin for the day with hydrating and nourishing products. While p.m. routines are ideal for your active and targeted treatment products with exfoliating properties.
If skin is sensitized or inflammation is present, begin restoring the skin barrier before implementing hydroxy acid use.
Less is More
When healing a compromised skin barrier, less is more. Avoid using active ingredients like acids, retinoids, or strong exfoliants during this time, as they can further irritate and weaken the skin. Instead, focus on nourishing and strengthening with gentle, barrier-supportive products that restore hydration, reinforce lipids, and promote repair. Simplifying your routine allows the skin barrier to rebuild and return to a healthy, balanced state.
The Best Product Money Cannot Buy
A balanced skin barrier is the number one external component of glowing and healthy skin. After over a decade of treating hundreds of complexions, I can assure you that a nourishing, gentle cleansing process is the most important external practice for healthy skin. If you are experiencing dry skin, dehydration, skin inflammations or chronic unruly skin, it’s time to check in with your cleansing process.
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