A.U.
B.R.
C.A.
M.X.
C.H.
Skin Barrier Repair: Where to Start
When it comes to keeping your skin looking and feeling its best, ensuring that your skin barrier is healthy is a must. Of course, this is often easier said than done, especially when there’s so much out there that’s constantly damaging that precious protective barrier.
If you think your skin barrier could use some TLC, keep reading as Vine Vera explains where to begin.
Understanding the Skin Barrier
Before you turn your attention to repairing your skin barrier, it’s useful to first understand what this barrier consists of and how it functions.
Your skin barrier, which is officially known as the stratum corneum, is the outermost layer of your skin. It’s often compared to a brick wall because it’s made up of skin cells that are held together by lipids in a way that’s similar to brick and mortar.
What does this barrier actually do? It performs two key functions. The first is preventing moisture loss. It slows down the rate at which moisture evaporates out of the skin, which helps to keep the skin hydrated and healthy. The skin barrier also serves as a physical shield between the environment and the deeper layers of your skin. It stops irritants, germs, pollutants, and more from delving into your skin and wreaking damage.
How Can You Tell If Your Skin Barrier Is Damaged?
Unfortunately, the skin barrier is constantly exposed to aggressors that can cause serious harm. Sun exposure, winter weather, heavy pollution, certain skincare habits/products – all of these can really take their toll on your skin barrier, weakening it and preventing it from functioning in the way that it should.
Some of the signs that your skin barrier has undergone damage include:
- An increase in sensitivities
- Skin that looks and feels inflamed
- Redness/a blotchy complexion
- Skin that feels itchy
- Dryness and/or scaly patches
- Skin that seems prone to bacterial/viral/fungal infections
- Acne breakouts
- A sudden increase in the visible signs of aging
If you can relate to any of the above, it’s time to gear your skincare efforts toward ensuring that your skin barrier feels replenished and supported as soon as possible. How? Read on…
Switch to a Gentle Cleanser
First and foremost, you need to ensure that you aren’t causing any additional damage to your skin barrier, which is exactly what some cleansers do. This doesn’t mean that you should stop cleansing as this will only leave your skin barrier congested and, once again, unable to function properly.
The solution lies in switching to a gentle cleanser that isn’t going to further compromise your skin barrier. You need a formula that will remove dirt and other impurities without being so strong that it also strips away a part of that protective barrier.
This is where the Vine Vera Resveratrol Cabernet Mousse Cleanser really shines. It’s designed specifically for a skin barrier that’s struggling, with a blend of gentle surfactants, amino acids, and plant oils that will help to leave your skin feeling restored.
Stop Exfoliating for a While
It’s not just cleansing that could potentially further disrupt your skin barrier – exfoliation does this too. In fact, with exfoliators usually being much more aggressive than cleansers, they do this to an even greater extent.
However, while cleansing can’t be skipped, exfoliation can…at least for a while. This can seem difficult, especially if your skin is flaky or overly greasy, but it’s important to resist the temptation to scrub those problems away.
Instead, wait until your skin settles before you return to regular exfoliation. This could take weeks or months, depending on how damaged your skin barrier is, so you may need to practice some patience! Once your skin starts to feel normal again, introduce exfoliation gradually with a gentle formula, just like the Vine Vera Resveratrol Vitamin C Peeling.
Put a Pause on the Potent Actives
There are so many fantastic active ingredients out there, many of which can work wonders on the complexion. With that said, they can also take a toll on your skin barrier. These ingredients work to stimulate the skin, which isn’t what your skin barrier currently needs. Instead, your focus should be on soothing your skin, and continuing to slather potent actives onto your face will only work against this.
So, just like with exfoliation, put a pause on your use of potent actives for a while. Again, your skin barrier needs some time to recuperate without those actives interfering with how it functions.
Consider Skin Cycling
Can’t bear to stop using your favorite active ingredients? If so, skin cycling may be worth considering. This trend involves alternating your use of actives with soothing products so that you don’t end up overwhelming your skin.
How exactly do you go about skin cycling? The most common cycle is spread out over four nights. On the first night, you’d exfoliate your skin. The second night involves the use of your chosen active ingredients. Then, the third and fourth nights are all about hydrating and calming your complexion.
With that said, if your skin barrier is severely damaged, it would be best to save this method for once your skin starts to feel more ‘normal’ again.
Turn to Ingredients That Soothe and Calm the Complexion
So, if you shouldn’t be using powerful active ingredients on your skin while your skin barrier is damaged, what can you apply?
Ideally, your skincare routine should be filled with products designed to soothe and calm the complexion. You need to put a stop to the feeling of inflammation and sensitivities while giving your skin the ingredients that it needs to feel restored.
The Vine Vera Resveratrol Cabernet Toner is one product that does this well. Its short ingredient list reduces your chances of experiencing irritation, especially since the aloe vera, chamomile, resveratrol, and cucumber in this formula are all renowned for how they soothe the feeling of inflammation. This product is great for hydrating the skin too, which, as you’re about to learn, is crucial if you want your skin barrier to feel stronger and healthier.
Give Your Skin Some Extra Hydration
Earlier, we discussed how one of the roles of your skin barrier is to prevent moisture loss through evaporation. However, if your skin barrier is compromised, it won’t be able to do this to the same extent. This then leaves your skin susceptible to dehydration, which only exacerbates all of the other issues that a damaged skin barrier can lead to.
To counter this, focus on ramping up your skin’s hydration levels. Certain ingredients, like sodium hyaluronate, peptides, seaweed extract, and soluble collagen do this exceptionally well. You’ll find all of these names in the Vine Vera Resveratrol Chianti Revival Serum. This formula also contains ceramides – another key ingredient when it comes to repairing the feel of your skin barrier.
Sun Protection is Everything
One of the biggest threats that your skin barrier faces is UV rays. Each time the sun’s rays hit your skin, they not only harm that protective barrier but also dehydrate the skin while causing inflammation. This is bad news for anyone but even more so if your skin barrier is already damaged.
This is why sun protection should be a key focus of yours. Ideally, you want to ensure that your skin is always protected from the sun during the day, even if you plan on staying indoors. Since the sun’s UVA rays can penetrate through glass, you’re never really safe!
Of course, you don’t want to use a sunscreen that’s only going to irritate your currently sensitive skin. So, follow the advice that we gave you earlier – pick a formula that contains ingredients that will also soothe your complexion, such as the Vine Vera Resveratrol Cabernet Replenishing Moisture Cream. With aloe vera, vitamin E, green tea extract, and resveratrol, it will leave your skin feeling safe and balanced.
Moisturize With Fatty Acids
Moisturizing is important at all times but becomes especially so when you’re trying to keep your skin barrier safe. A moisturizer forms its own physical barrier over your skin’s surface, which will leave your natural barrier feeling fortified.
For the best results, pick a moisturizer that contains plenty of fatty acids. These are a natural component of your skin barrier, so these creams will be better received by your skin.
If your current face creams are lacking in fatty acids, give the Vine Vera Resveratrol Cabernet High Potency Night Cream a try. Shea butter and sunflower seed oil provide a plethora of fatty acids while the antioxidants in this moisturizer will help to leave your skin feeling stronger.
Keep Your Skincare Routine Simple
Although we’ve recommended a few different skincare products, don’t rush to add them all to your routine in one go. When your skin barrier isn’t functioning optimally, the best thing that you can do for it is to keep your skincare routine as simple as possible.
What, exactly, does this involve? Cleansing, as you know, is non-negotiable. After that, a soothing toner or serum, followed by a replenishing moisturizer, is all you need. Again, once your skin barrier is back to normal, you can then slowly start to add more products back into your routine.
Don’t Subject Your Skin to Hot Water
One final tip – keep your skin away from hot water! Why? Because hot water melts the skin’s sebum, which forms a significant part of your skin barrier.
The more contact that your skin has with hot water, the faster your skin barrier will deteriorate and the harder it will be to ‘fix’ things. While turning the temperature down while you’re in the shower or cleansing your face may not feel quite as satisfying, you’ll be doing your skin barrier a huge favor!
Summary
The state of your skin barrier has a huge impact on the overall health of your skin. Simply put, if you want your skin to look and feel healthy, your skin barrier needs to be functioning optimally. Repairing this barrier can take a while but the tips that we’ve shared above should help to speed things along so that you can once again enjoy a bright and fresh complexion, along with a radiant glow!
Click here to pamper your skin barrier with more bestsellers from Vine Vera.
