Lipids, such as fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides, are essential components of the skin barrier. They fill in the gaps between skin cells, ensuring a cohesive and intact barrier. The benefits of lipids include: Maintaining moisture balance: Helps to lock in moisture, preventing dryness and dehydration.
Using Overly Powerful Skincare Ingredients
Skincare products that are intended to improve your skin tone and texture may contain ingredients that are harmful to your skin barrier. Some examples of known skin barrier affecting ingredients include retinoid acid, hydroxy acids, amino fruit acids, and beta hydroxy acids.
Opt for Moisturizers with Hyaluronic Acid or GlycerinHumectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid are known for their ability to keep the skin hydrated and plump, effectively maintaining moisture balance within the dermal layer.
“Alcohol, fragrances and strong acids such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid can disrupt the skin barrier and cause further damage,” continues Dr Ifeoma.
Antioxidants, such as vitamin C, support the skin's barrier function by enhancing the production of barrier lipids (remember, a damaged skin barrier happens when too many lipids are broken down). Antioxidants also have natural healing properties to reduce inflammation and protect against water loss.
Niacinamide. Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3. It helps strengthen the skin's natural barrier, reducing moisture loss and preventing environmental irritants from penetrating the skin. Niacinamide also has anti-inflammatory properties that can soothe redness and calm irritated skin.
Niacinamide (vitamin B3) can help improve the skin's protective barrier by stimulating the synthesis of ceramides within the skin. Ceramides are important components of the skin and help maintain strong bonds between the cells to help strengthen the natural skin barrier.
Harsh Skincare Products: Overuse of products containing ingredients that can strip the skin of its natural oils, leading to barrier damage, including alcohols, mechanical exfoliation and layering too many actives.
Whether your skin barrier is damaged or healthy, it's still good to nourish it with repairing ingredients such as fatty acids, cholesterol, ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
You should be on the mend within two weeks after sticking to a bland routine. But if you've spent months accidentally breaking down your skin barrier through harsh products, stress, or environmental factors, you might need to change routine for one to two months to get your skin back to normal.
“It is important to avoid any ingredients that can worsen irritation or further compromise the skin barrier such as harsh soaps, abrasive scrubs, benzoyl peroxide, retinoids or salicylic acid. It is always important to allow your skin barrier to recover prior to incorporating any harsh active ingredients.”
Benefits of Snail Mucin for Skin
Moisturizes the skin: According to Dr. Lain, snail mucin contains moisturizing agents that work to repair the barrier function of the skin, both locking out irritants from the environment while also simultaneously locking in moisture.
Ceramides and niacinamide are helpful for replenishing the skin barrier, while hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and panthenol will help your skin retain water.
Lipids, such as fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides, are essential components of the skin barrier. They fill in the gaps between skin cells, ensuring a cohesive and intact barrier. The benefits of lipids include: Maintaining moisture balance: Helps to lock in moisture, preventing dryness and dehydration.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E promotes collagen production, prevents its breakdown, increases water retention, and protects the skin from oxidative stress. Regular use of products with this vitamin helps tighten the skin and provides other rejuvenating effects.
When your barrier is weak because you don't have enough lipids in your skin, Vaseline acts as a substitute for these lipids. Remember the brick-and-mortar analogy? Vaseline fills in the cracks in your skin's “mortar” so that your barrier starts to act in a healthy way again.
Hydration is key to repairing a damaged skin barrier. Look for a hydrating serum or essence that contains certain moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, or ceramides. All these ingredients greatly help attract and retain moisture, hydrating the skin from within.
All CeraVe skincare products are enriched with a blend of three essential ceramides (ceramides 1, 3 and 6-II), along with fatty acids and other lipids. This unique blend works to replenish the skin's natural ceramides and strengthen its protective barrier.
Natural oils such as sunflower, sesame, or safflower seed oil have been suggested as good options for their use in promoting skin barrier homeostasis [119].
Niacinamide has been shown to support skin components such as ceramides and fatty acids that are integral to the outermost layer of our skin. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% hydrates the skin, and reinforces the skin barrier in as little as 7 days.
For now, take out all retinols, acids and active ingredients from your routine. Go back to basics. Revert back to a simple, nourishing cleanser, serum, oil and/or moisturiser. Up the hydration and skin barrier-loving ingredients.