Taking Care of Your Skin’s Natural Barrier
If you want your skin to look flawless, radiant, and supple, you’ll need to maintain your skin’s natural barrier. Your skin’s natural barrier serves as your first line of defense against irritants, pollutants, and UV rays. Keeping this barrier intact is key to maintaining a vibrant complexion.
A common misconception that people make is that you can keep applying the best products on your skin and that it will do all the work - but this is just one step of the process. If you want to maintain the health and integrity of your skin’s natural barrier, you’ll need to change your habits as well.
In this article, we spill all our secrets on how you can nurture and build your skin’s natural barrier. Keep reading to learn all about practical tips!
What is the Skin’s Natural Barrier?
The skin’s barrier is also referred to as the “epidermal barrier,” which is made up of several components to create a complex protective layer that shields your body from external and internal factors. It has three main layers:
Epidermis - the outermost layer.
Dermis - the middle layer.
Subcutaneous fat - the deepest layer that separates the skin from muscle.
What are the Signs of a Damaged Skin Barrier?
Your skin barrier is tasked with keeping water and nutrients in your skin while keeping harmful components out. So, if you experience any of the symptoms we’ve listed below, your skin barrier may be compromised.
Dryness
Redness
Itching
Flakiness
Breakouts
Increased sensitivity
What Can Damage the Skin’s Natural Barrier?
Now that you know what the symptoms of a damaged skin barrier are, it’s time to learn what can damage this barrier. It’s important that you understand what can harm your natural barrier, so you can avoid it.
Harsh Skincare Products
Some skincare ingredients can irritate your skin. Ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide, retinoids, and fragrances in high concentrations can damage your skin’s barrier. This is why for certain ingredients, it’s recommended that you talk to your skincare specialist first to get proper direction on how to use them.
Environmental Factors
The weather can also play a huge role in damaging your skin’s natural barrier. Extreme heat, cold, and humidity can wreak havoc on your skin. Not to mention, sun exposure, which can also compromise your skin’s barriers.
Using exfoliating tools
Daily use of exfoliating tools will damage and disrupt your skin barrier. Those tools are too aggressive to be used daily.
Age
As we grow older, our skin’s ability to regenerate and maintain its barriers diminishes. Over time, you may notice that you may need to do more to keep dryness and fine lines away.
What Can You Do to Repair the Skin’s Natural Barrier?
Moisturize Regularly
Applying moisturizer regularly can help your skin barrier lock in your skin’s moisture. Try to find products that contain hyaluronic acid for that extra hydration boost.
Use Sunblock
Aside from moisturizing your skin religiously, you shouldn’t forget to put on sunblock and reapply it throughout the day.
If you wanna simplify your skincare process further, look for a hydrating sunscreen like Spalina’s Hydrating Mineral Zinc Oxide SPF 40 Sunscreen.
Nourish your skin
Skin nourishment is the key to a healthy and strong barrier. Serums containing different ingredients such as human growth factors, stem cells, peptides, vitamin A, vitamin C are essential to the strength of the barrier.
Ask for Help
If you still need more help in repairing your skin’s natural barrier, you can consult an esthetician to help you. An esthetician can give you personalized advice on what you can do to keep your natural skin barrier healthy.
If you’re looking for an esthetician who can help, then you can book a consultation with us today!
