Skin Barrier
What is the skin barrier?
The outermost part of the epidermis is the stratum corneum, or the skin barrier. It is like a brick wall where skin cells are like bricks and everything else, including the skin barrier is like a mortar that is holding those bricks together.
This mortar contains essential nutrients, like cholesterol, ceramides, and fatty acids. These compounds are referred to as skin’s "natural moisturizing factor," because they help keep the deeper layers of skin hydrated and nourished.
What does the skin barrier do?
If skin barrier is working properly it will retain water to keep the skin hydrated, smooth, and elastic. It will also protect from environmental aggressors, like pollution, and be less prone to sensitivity and irritation.
Factors that cause skin barrier dysfunction?
Most serious factors that cause skin barrier dysfunction are UV radiation, smoking, chronic exposure to pollution, poor diet, not enough hydration, over-washing or over-exfoliating of the skin, stress and not enough sleep.
How to keep your skin barrier healthy?
By reducing barrier disrupting factors mentioned above and including the right skincare routine we can positively impact the skin’s texture and appearance.
Sample skincare routine to repair and protect skin barrier:
1. Cleanse - washing your face in the morning and evening helps remove the dirt, oil, and pollutants that accumulate on your skin and helps prevent them from damaging your skin barrier. We recommend using oil cleansers or gentle gel cleansers.
2. Tone - helps remove any remaining dirt, oil, or cleanser residue without over-drying the skin. We recommend using hyrdrolat toners.
3. Nourish and hydrate - by applying oils we can keep our skin barrier hydrated. We recommend Glow Face Oil that has the ability to form a protective layer on the surface of the skin, keeping the moisture in.
4. Protect from UV - applying sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun should be the final step in your skincare routine every day, even during the winter. We recommend using broad-spectrum sunscreen that offers protections from UVA and UVB.