These days, everyone talks about having a strong and healthy skin barrier. But what exactly does this mean? Well, your skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin. Your skin barrier has an essential job: to keep harmful bacteria out of your skin and keep water inside of your body. Therefore, maintaining a healthy skin barrier is crucial, and damaging it will cause skin problems such as dehydrated and irritated skin. If you do end up damaging your skin barrier, don't worry! We will discuss some tips on how to repair a damaged skin barrier.
Give your skin a break and time to heal
First, you need to stop using products with active ingredients, and you need to give your skin time to heal. Active ingredient products include any skincare product with vitamin C, retinol, AHA/BHA, lactic acids, etc. You want to avoid anything that will increase your cell turnover rate and exfoliate your skin. Since you're experiencing a damaged skin barrier, your skin will be sensitive and inflamed, and it's best to stop using exfoliants and active ingredients for at least two weeks.
Use gentle cleansers & use calming ingredients
Switch out your regular cleanser for a gentle one that doesn't have too many irritating ingredients. You want to look for hydrating cleansers with ingredients like ceramides, Centella, etc. These ingredients will help repair your skin barrier and not further irritate it. In addition, we suggest that you use a cleanser that has a soap-free formula.
Use balmy skincare products
Balm textured products will provide your skin with more moisture than a cream or a lotion. It's the perfect type of moisturizer to use on any damaged skin! It will help heal your skin faster and keep it soft and supple. Balms are best applied to damp skin because they don't have water as an ingredient. Balms are also a better choice than your typical cream moisturizer because they provide a protective seal over your skin and better retain moisture.
Have you experienced a damaged skin barrier? If so, what did you do to repair it? Let us know in the comments section below!