The skin barrier: what it is and how to take care of it
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Have you ever heard of the skin barrier? Like a natural shield for your skin, it needs to be maintained and protected.
With the seasons changing, we recommend you double down on your efforts to take care of your skin and its protective barrier. Your skin will thank you!
A natural shield against aggression
The skin barrier is the superficial layer of the skin (called the stratum corneum) and the hydrolipidic film that protects it which is made up of water and fat. Its role is essential: to protect the skin from external aggressions like bacteria and to keep the skin supple and hydrated.
When the skin film is damaged and lacks water, it no longer acts as a shield, leaving your skin more vulnerable. At the same time, your skin feels less supple, drier and duller, and can show signs of redness and irritation. It’s also normal for skin to have the opposite reaction and produce an excess of sebum to compensate for the dehydration and rebuild the hydrolipidic film barrier. In theory, the skin barrier is autonomous: it self-regulates and takes care of doing its protective work on its own. But, when damaged by skin ageing and other external factors like wind, cold, or UV rays, it needs a little boost. Especially in winter.
Strengthen your skin barrier
For skin that’s as soft as it is luminous, you need to hydrate it above all. Before you can do that, the first step is to identify your skin type and any pathologies to offer it the targetted care it needs. Dry, combination, and oily skin all have different needs and levels of hydration.
To find out which team you’re playing on, cleanse your face and wait half an hour: if it shines evenly, you have oily skin. If you only notice excess sebum on your nose, chin and forehead (aka the famous T-zone) then you have combination skin. If your skin isn’t particularly shiny, consider it ‘normal’ skin. If you experience feelings of tightness and redness, then you most likely have dry skin. Be sure to adapt your skincare shopping and daily routine based on your diagnosis! Also, be careful not to confuse dry skin with dehydrated skin: unlike the skin type, the lack of hydration of the skin is not permanent.
A cleanser with a gentle formula, like our Purifying Face Cleanser, is best so it doesn't strip the skin barrier. Understand that removing too much sebum, the natural oiliness of the skin, risks drying your skin out and causing issues like dehydration or oiliness (your sebaceous glands will produce an excess of sebum to compensate for the dryness). You’ll then increase your chances of getting pimples and irritation. When it comes to hydration, we recommend applying a treatment each morning and evening on clean skin, to replenish the lack of water in your skin’s hydrolipidic film barrier. For dry skin, a rich face moisturiser, or a botanical oil containing amino acids, hyaluronic acid, lactic acid or mineral ions (like calcium, potassium or sodium) will help rebuild this protection and retain water in the skin’s stratum corneum for deep hydration.
Be sure to pay particular attention to using scrubs. They should be gentle on your skin and used only weekly, not daily. Otherwise, they can destroy your skin barrier without giving it time to reconstitute itself. Doing a gentle exfoliation once a week is a good base. And don't forget the basics: remember to drink (water) during the day. Sadly, afterwork beers won't do since alcohol tends to dehydrate the skin.