The top layer of your skin is referred to as the skin barrier, which is also frequently referred to as the “moisture barrier” or “acid mantle.”
The three main layers of skin are the epidermis, which is the outermost layer; the dermis, which is the middle layer and includes collagen and elastin as well as the skin’s nerve and blood supply; and the subcutaneous fat, which acts as a barrier between the skin and the muscle.
The Skin Barrier: Why Is It Important?
Keeping the good things in and the bad things out are the two main functions of the skin barrier. The skin barrier guards against physical contaminants and UV radiation from solar exposure inside the body. By halting transepidermal water loss, the skin barrier also aids in the body’s ability to retain natural moisture.
Skin loses suppleness and appears dry, flaky, and rough if the epidermis’ top layer of water is deficient. Skin that is not properly hydrated also struggles to maintain an adequate skin barrier, making it more susceptible to environmental and external factors damaging it.
Read also: How To Recover Your Skin After Makeup
How to Tell if Your Skin Barrier Is Damaged
There are various ways in which the skin barrier’s essential functions might be disrupted, including:
Eczema with rosacea. A hereditary skin barrier deficiency contributes to the development of these disorders. Yet, these diseases may worsen if the skin barrier sustains more external harm.
- Chronic skin irritation
- Skin itch
- Dehydrated, dull skin
- Hyperpigmentation
- Skin infections
- Delayed wound healing
What Can Damage Your Skin Barrier?
Skin barrier does not just get damaged on its own they are several things or agents that are responsible for it which will be listed below:
- Smoking
- Lack of sleep
- Stress
- Nutrient-light diet
- Pollution
- Wind
- UV radiation
- Frequent handwashing
- Use of cleansers that strip the skin barrier of its natural oils
- Overuse of exfoliating acids
- Use of harsh physical exfoliants
- A combination of avoidable and unavoidable daily habits cause varying degrees of
- damage to the skin barrier.
How To Treat A Broken Skin Barrier
Take Care Of Yourself
The first and most crucial step in protecting your skin’s barrier is to view your skincare and cosmetic treatment routines as a way to respect and celebrate your skin rather than a way to remove its natural pigment and pores. There isn’t glass skin. With a filter, you can create brilliance and glow, but you’ll never appear exactly like yourself.
Easy With Your Skincare Products
Most people tend to have many many skincare products that you really wonder what exactly they are trying to achieve with all that skincare product. Yes, skincare products are really needed in fact this can also help in maintaining your skin barrier if you are using the right product. But even at that you still need to go easy when it comes to choosing your skincare products.
Use a Gentle (but Effective) Skin Cleanser
It’s crucial to get rid of any traces of pollution from the skin because metropolitan settings harm the skin. Also, it’s crucial to safeguard the natural ceramides and oils that serve as the adhesive for the barrier on your skin. The optimum cleansing routine cleanses the skin without stripping it of its natural oils while removing makeup, grime, and fine pollution particles. You might want to perform a “double cleanse” to accomplish this, depending on how many products you have on your skin.
Use a good moisturizer or serum that cares for your skin barrier
You can continue to use acids and/or retinol as long as you balance them with skin barrier-supporting products. You can either utilize these components on days when you skip your actives or layer them with your actives. Ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and petrolatum are components to search for. A prescription-strength sulfur cleanser is also used by the majority of my acne patients with sensitive skin to calm the skin.
Read also: Clothing Colours That Goes Perfectly With Brown Skin