How to protect your skin’s barrier (and how to know if it’s broken)…
Most of us have put our skin through the ringer over the years. Baby wipes to take off your makeup (we know you’ve done this), lack of SPF on sunny days, toothpaste on spots. The days of terrible skin care are over – well, we hope they’ve been left in the past. However, the years spent scrubbing our face dry with St Ives Apricot Scrub may have caused more damage than we thought. Our skin is made up of multiple layers that perform different roles. Although the top layer of skin (stratum corneum) is the strongest, the layers below it can be affected and therefore damaged. However all layers of the skin rely on one common denominator the skin barrier.
So what is the skin barrier?
The top few layers of skin are held together by the skin barrier; a watertight seal that keeps the layers together. It’s probably the most important thing to protect when it comes to having great, healthy skin. It protects us from external elements and stressors, and holds on to hydration.
How does a damaged barrier show?
Once the skin barrier is damaged, it can physically show very quickly through a multitude of symptoms such as; redness, dryness, irritation or sensitivity. When your skin doesn’t feel glowing, hydrated or rejuvenated, this could mean your barrier has been compromised and its time to take action!
What causes a damaged skin barrier?
When we age, our skin’s ability to hold onto water decreases, which can therefore result in a weakened barrier (just another symptom to add to the so-called ageing gracefully phase)… But alongside maturing skin, there are many other factors that can cause weakness in the skin. Using harsh or fragranced ingredients, sun exposure, pollution, stress or over exfoliating can all be detrimental to the barrier.
How do we repair it?
The most important thing to do to improve the barrier is to add as much hydration back to the skin as possible. Alongside finding out the root cause, ensure you’re keeping your skin hydrated with nourishing moisturisers, drinking lots of water and additional hydrating serums like our Environ Intensive Hydrating Serum. Then, until your skin feels more restored, limit extensive facial washing and exfoliating, as this can strip the skin further from its natural oils and moisture. Keeping a simple skin care routine can help the skin to restore itself back to normal before you add back in any retinols or active ingredients. Wash the skin with a gentle cleanser, such as the Image Ormedic Balancing Facial Cleanser that is formulated with aloe vera and botanical extracts which help to enrich the skin with moisture. After your hydrating serums, moisturise with a nourishing cream or mask. Ensuring you wear SPF every AM is essential when it comes to repairing your skin. Browse our SPF range here.
What treatments would help a damaged skin barrier?
Well, as we’ve figured, a damaged barrier needs hydration, so what better treatment other than the industry best-selling Hydrafacial! The Hydrafacial delivers moisturisers, peptides, nourishing botanicals and antioxidants to the skin, leaving it rejuvenated and glowing after just one session. It’s a very fast and effective treatment that encourages skin repair and collagen production for healthy skin. You can find out more info about our Hydrafacial and other skin rejuvenating treatments, here!