How is everyone enjoying the first quarter of 2021? There’s been a lot going on in my life both professionally and personally, but one thing that has remained constant is my care for my skin. If you check out my Instagram, you can see that I’m really giving the girls GLOWY BUTTERY SKIN when it comes to texture and complexion! Well, I think a lot of it has to do with a few products that I started heavily using every day when winter began. Both products aid in regulating proper skin barrier function. In today’s post, we’re going to discuss what exactly your skin barrier is, why it’s important and how to strength it!
What Is The Skin Barrier?
Your skin barrier is the top most layer of the skin and is made up of cells, lipids and moisture. The reason a healthy skin barrier is so important is because it helps the skin to function properly by balancing oil and water content while keeping negative environmental factors at bay. While it doesn’t allow negative factors in, it does have an open door policy for good nutrients! A good skin barrier will help regulate your overall skin health. However, there’s many ways you can compromise this barrier:
- Excessive exposure to the sun’s radiation
- Over using chemical or physical exfoliants
- Harsh environments like cold or dry climates
- Exposure to allergens and pollutants
How To Avoid A Compromised Skin Barrier
Using exfoliating products 2-3 times a week will ensure that you don’t over-exfoliate. And I know you’re reading that last sentence and want to be a smarty-pants. “BuT tHe BoTtLe SaYs I cAn UsE DaIlY!“ Yes, I know the bottle says that you can use it daily. They’re going to fuck your face up. Anyone that has ever over-exfoliated will tell you it’s not something you want to ever do. It can lead to painful tingling on the skin upon simply touching it or adding other products to the skin. I find people that delude themselves into thinking it’s ok to exfoliate daily are the same consumers who want immediate results from every product they buy. Proper skin health takes time, y’all. But if you think shedding multiple layers of skin off your face in the matter of a week is the look you want, go off, sis! If you’re looking for a gentle exfoliant that you can use multiple times a week, I recommend the Deviant Skincare Gentle Resurfacing Liquid ($48.29).
Obviously, ensuring that SPF is your BFF is a mantra you should live by. I still think there’s people out there who hear me tell them to wear sunscreen 365 days a year and think I’m kidding. But the evidence shows that sunscreen protection is important on so many levels. Also, reducing your time outside around smoggy pollutants or harsh environments will help to keep your skin barrier solid! Other ways to prevent a compromised skin barrier is gentle non-stripping cleansing and frequent hydration.
What To Do When You’ve Been Compromised
Stuff happens. You’re going to have times where your barrier isn’t functioning well. And that’s ok, because there’s lots of easy ways to incorporate products that will keep you as strong as the Armored Titan. Btw, anyone else obsessed with Attack on Titan? My husbando will forever be Levi. But I digress. You know your skin barrier has been broken when you have bouts of dehydration, redness, dry flaky skin, acne and/or itchiness! I always recommend that people take their skincare “back to the basics”. That means ditching the exfoliants and actives for a while.
1. Cleanse
Focus on cleansing once a day, preferably at night. Over cleansing (especially if you have a harsh cleanser) can be over stripping and remove the healthy parts of your skin barrier. I often just rinse my face with water in the morning during the winter time. Any of Paula’s Choice cleansers will be gentle enough while not over-stripping. But the cleanser I’m obsessed with these days is actually Herbivore’s Pink Cloud Rosewater +Tremella Creamy Cleanser ($24). Not only is it a PH-balanced non-stripping cleanser but it has lots of hydrating ingredients like squalane and tremella mushroom as well.
2. Hydrate & Fortify!
OK THE HIGHLIGHT OF TODAY’S POST: Evenprime’s Barrier Serum ($48)! I really started noticing a significant difference in my skin after using this consistently for a month. This serum is formulated with Centella Asiatica, which is used to fight irritation, redness, inflammation and premature aging. Ceramides are a type of fat that helps with improving the look of dryness while hyaluronic acid provides the long-lasting hydration that your skin barrier needs by locking moisture within your barrier. A peptide complex further helps in the way of providing fats that keep wrinkles away. And lastly, Irish Moss Extract works at both providing moisturization and barrier strengthening.
Be sure to use the Barrier Serum right after cleansing your face in order to replenish the moisture that you just stripped away. It’s truly a power house product that has become one of my holy grails!! I immediately go in with the Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Moisturizer ($35) which is also chock full of ceramides and fatty acids that help to strengthen your barrier. This is by far my favorite moisturizer for the winter time, because when used in tandem with the Barrier Serum, it just locks in all the hydration and fortifies my skin. I really feel impenetrable with this pair!
I’ve Got A Discount For You
Lastly, I’m happy to let all of my readers know that Evenprime was gracious enough to give me a discount code for my audience. So if the $48 price tag is a little too much for you, you can use CHO15 to not only get 15% off your Barrier Serum, but your entire purchase from Evenprime! Now that’s what I call a deal! Have you heard of any of the products that I mentioned today? What products have you been trying to alleviate dry skin, redness and inflammation? Let me know over on Instagram or Twitter!! As a reminder, using my affiliate links above to make your purchases is a FREE way for you to support me monetarily, and I appreciate you for doing so!
