The skin barrier is the protective shield of the skin composed of ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids.
Your skin barrier prevents your skin from losing water and becoming dry, keeping it young and free from diseases and bacteria.
So a healthy skin barrier is required for healthy skin.
“Imagine your skin like a grape, you don’t want to destroy your skin barrier and let it become a wrinkled raisin!”
Table of Contents
What Causes Damage to the Skin Barrier?
- Exfoliation physically (using a harsh granule scrub)Too much Sun Exposure
- Dry or Humid Environment
- Hormone Imbalance
- Winter takes a toll on Your Skin
- Washing your face with hot water
- Using too many actives like glycolic acid, and salicylic acid that destroy your outer layer of skin
- Using lemon, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar directly on your skin without diluting it
- Steroid Use
- Stress
- Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis
What are the signs of a Damaged Skin Barrier?
Dry Skin – Even your oily skin has become Dry over time, which means you have used too many actives (glycolic acid, retinol, vitamin C, Do Such names ring a bell?)
Sensitivity – A small dusty day will give you a pimple the next, your skin gets irritated, and red whenever you use a new product.
Acne – A damaged Skin barrier leads to the formation of acne as the skin is exposed to pollution, irritants and bacterial growth(source).
Redness – Your skin may feel red or irritated and the moment you apply some skin care product on your face, it starts to feel tingly in many cases. Other signs are scaliness, itchiness and skin colour changes.
Top Moisturizers to Repair a Damaged Skin Barrier
Vaseline for Dry Skin – A holy grail product that is within budget.
Neutrogena Hydroboost – Simple Hyaluronic Acid Gel
Cerave Moisturizer
DIY glycerin and Water Spray
Mix 1 part glycerin in 4 parts water to make a face mist and apply it whenever needed on your clean face.
When Nothing Works, Switch to Aloe vera Gel
Plant Oils like Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil
How to Heal Damaged Skin Barrier
Use Hydrating Cleansers
You don’t want to strip your skin’s moisture while washing your face. Use those cleansers that have glycerin, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, squalene coconut water or ceramides in it.
Avoid Excessive Washing, Wash Once a Day only.
Stop Using Harsh Actives
Remove harsh active like retinol, glycolic acid and salicylic acid. Stop using any kinds of ‘peels’.
When I gave up all skin care products to treat my acne, I ended up healing my skin barrier and that cured my acne.
Keep Your Skincare Routine Minimal
This is not the time to go for 10 10-step skincare routine. Just use minimal possible products, so that there are minimal irritants for your skin.
After using a hydrating cleanser or this DIY facewash that I am using till date.
You can use a hydrating toner or a simple aloe vera toner post that.
Moisturizer is your best friend, see the best moisturizers for oily acne-prone skin here.
Choose Barrier Repair Sunscreen and avoid harsh sun.
Use Honey as a face pack at least once a week.
Keep Your Skincare routine minimal and simple while focusing on healing your skin and not treating any issues such as fine lines, pigmentation, acne etc. Retinol can wait!
Use Fragrance-Free Products
Make sure your skincare products don’t have too much fragrance, as you want to walk on eggshells till your skin is well and glowy again. Use less detergent while washing your clothes too, and yes, be in contact with nature more. It will help relieve stress and help the microbiota of your skin.
Eat More Tomato
It may sound ridiculous in terms of barrier repair but a recent study found that eating a tomato-derived supplement resulted in better skin barrier and improved skin firmness and elasticity.
So make friends with this humble fruit that is often misunderstood as a veggie.
Eat Right
The best food for your skin is fermented food (fermented drinks, buttermilk, curd etc), fruits, veggies and legumes etc will help improve your skin & gut health while improving the barrier.
Mesotherapy
In severe cases, mesotherapy has been proven very effective in repairing the damaged skin barrier and treating acne thereby as well.
In this therapy, the barrier repair actives are injected directly into your skin to expedite the process.
Mevalonic acid-Rich Food
Mevalonic acid is especially helpful in keeping the skin barrier healthy in ageing skin. The most common sources of mevalonic acid are Apples, Corn, Wild carrots, Garden tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Sweet oranges, Potatoes, Cow’s milk, and Cabbages.
Prebiotics – Probiotics
Be it Prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics or postbiotics, make them your best friend, it will help you more as you age.
Natural Ingredients that Help Repair the Skin Barrier
Aloe vera gel, emollients like Vaseline, coconut oil, glycerin, Centella Asiatica and above all a mix of coconut oil, Macadamia nut oil and mango seed oil has worked amazingly well in restoring the skin barrier as early as within an hour in a recent study in 2024.
FAQs About Skin Barrier
How to Exfoliate Without Damaging Your Skin Barrier?
- Use Lactic Acid
- Use Pumpkin, take a piece and massage it on your face, and wash it off after a few minutes.
- Don’t Use more than one active ingredient in your whole skincare routine after your skin returns to health.
How much time will it take for the Skin Barrier to Heal?
Although it depends on how damaged the skin barrier is, it generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal your skin’s barrier.
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References –
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10841493/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10632383/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11657040/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11650898/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10834687
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10794395
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11617626/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5796020/
