Acne. “Blemishes and acne flare-ups can be a sign of a damaged skin barrier, as the bacteria that causes acne is more easily able to penetrate the skin,” explains Plescia.
You can help repair your skin's barrier by simplifying your skin care regime, using products with a suitable pH, and using a moisturizer that contains ceramides or a humectant like hyaluronic acid. Moisturizers with petrolatum can also help your skin barrier seal in moisture.
Your skin will look and feel irritated overall—think redness, scaly texture, itching, and inflammation. Gohara says you can even experience rashes, while Garrette says a telltale sign of a damaged barrier is that you experience stinging and burning when applying nonactive products like cleansers or hydrating serums.
Damage to the skin barrier occurs in the form of miniscule cracksthrough which moisture can easily escape and irritants can enter more easily. Signs your skin barrier is damaged: When your skin barrier is healthy, your skin generally looks plump and smooth and feels soft to the touch.
A compromised skin barrier means that it is impaired in performing its normal functions: (1) keeping the bad stuff out: like defending against environmental aggressors. (2) keeping the good stuff in: like maintaining hydration.
Can your skin barrier be permanently damaged? In most cases, skin barrier damages can be fixed. If your skin barrier has just recently been compromised, maybe by over-exfoliating with harsh products, and you're seeking help immediately, then it should easily be fixed. The damage by then isn't permanent.
It can take anywhere between 2 weeks to an entire month or more to repair your skin's natural barrier function. You'll be able to tell when your skin is healed; inflammation will be decreased, there'll be a reduction in skin sensitivity, oiliness, dryness, dehydration, and reactivity.
After you eliminate what's causing the issue, a compromised barrier should take between two and four weeks to heal. Adopt a morning routine of washing with lukewarm water, followed by a moisturizer with barrier-supporting emollients, humectants, and occlusives plus ceramides and niacinamide.
When it's damaged, the tight arrangement between the skin cells is lost. This allows external irritants to get in our skin a lot easier and lead to more water leaving our skin. Damaged skin barrier is characterised by easily irritated, dehydrated and flaky skin. Your skin is red, irritated, tight, yet very oily.
Feel free to keep using hydrating serums like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, which can help improve skin barrier function1. Go without makeup if you can, or as little as you're comfortable with. If you do wear makeup, moisturize liberally before applying to give your skin extra protection.
Niacinamide also reduces the impact of environmental damage because of its ability to improve skin's barrier (its first line of defense), plus it also plays a role in helping skin to repair signs of past damage.
Dr Murad advises: “Watch out for things such as redness, flakiness, tightness, itchiness, rough to the touch, fine lines, increased breakouts and rashes are all signs of a compromised barrier. It can appear in large or small areas over the body or face.”
Well, ceramides can be a little too rich for acne-prone or oily skin, and can cause clogged pores — but that's definitely not the case for everyone.
Benzoyl Peroxide Can Damage Epidermal Barrier and Microbial Diversity While Treating Acne. Although benzoyl peroxide (BPO) can improve Global Acne Grading System (GAGS) score, it can damage the epidermal barrier and reduce microbial diversity, according to findings from a study published in Dermatologic Therapy.
There are several causes of a compromised or damaged skin barrier, including external influences, genetic predispositions, and age. Moreover, the skin barrier can continue to weaken with age, this can be attributed to a loss of moisture within the skin cells and reduced hydration in the body over time.
By replenishing ceramides where they are most needed, CeraVe helps restore your skin's natural barrier, helping to keep moisture in and harmful elements out.
Gentle on Skin
I recommend CeraVe Moisturizing Cream to my diverse patient population because its gentle, fragrance-free formula helps repair and maintain a healthy skin barrier by replenishing ceramides and locking in hydration.
Hydrate Continuously. A damaged epidermis requires moisture, so keeping your face and body well hydrated is critical in the fight to restore and maintain a healthy skin barrier. Reach for creams, lotions and serums that contain moisture-binding humectants, such as glycerin, sorbitol and hyaluronic acid.
Though some people do report experiencing irritation and breakouts after using the ingredient, niacinamide is unlikely to cause purging.
"Retinol basically increases your collagen, so it thickens the dermal layer as well as the epidermal layer," Dr. Wang clarifies. "It does weaken the skin barrier, and that is why you get desquamation, peeling, redness, irritation." You're probably somewhat familiar with the skin barrier, or stratum corneum.
Common signs of a damaged moisture barrier include redness and rosacea, dryness and dehydration, flakiness and peeling, irritation, itchiness, roughness, a stinging or burning sensation when products are applied, and even increased breakout activity.
Purging is a sign that the product is working and you should continue with the treatment as prescribed. After a few weeks of purging, your skin and acne will have noticeably improved. Breaking out is when your skin is reacting because it is sensitive to something in the new product.