How To Repair A Damaged Skin Barrier

In the quest for glass skin, most people invest in skincare products that seem to offer quick results. Other times, they improperly use these products like using exfoliants or retinols daily. In the long run, the skin reacts to the unnecessarily harsh routine thereby causing damage to the skin barrier. 

How do you know your skin barrier has been damaged? The skin appears dry and feels rough and flaky. Also, you may experience hyperpigmentation, inflammation, acne breakouts, sensitivity, stinging, or slow healing. 

When this happens, what next? In this article, we have compiled some tips on how to repair a damaged skin barrier?

Find The Cause

In tackling every skincare issue, finding the root cause is always the first step to healing. How do you do this? Reflect on your skincare routine. Have you been over-exfoliating or washing? Do your daily cleansers contain a high percentage of active ingredients like salicylic acid? What product did you recently include in your routine that might have caused the symptoms? 

Go Back to The Basics

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Treating a damaged skincare barrier requires a gentle approach. Your skincare routine should be basic: cleanse, moisturize, and sunscreen. Ensure your products are gentle and they should not contain a high percentage of active ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. This can also help you track what ingredients you should avoid. Be kind to your skin. 

Hydrate Your Skin Continuously

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One of the causes of a damaged skin barrier is the lack of moisture in the skin. It is necessary to use products that contain moisture-binding humectants like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and sorbitol. They attract water to the skin which helps keep it even, bouncy and healthy. 

Humectants also prevent water loss from the skin by 90%.

Avoid Over-Exfoliation

Exfoliating acids are good for the skin, but when used excessively, they can damage your skin barrier. Using AHAs or BHAs excessively can strip the skin of its natural oils thereby causing damage to it.

You will need to exclude exfoliation from your routine till your skin barrier is intact to prevent further irritation. 

When re-introducing exfoliants, it is advisable to use them one 1-2 times weekly. 

Use Your Sunscreen Daily

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Having a skincare routine without sunscreen is as good as having no routine at all. The UVA and UVB rays emitted by the sun can damage the skin cells and DNAs leading to inflammation, redness, and hyperpigmentation. 

It is necessary and important to use sunscreen to protect our skin from these rays that can damage our skin barrier. A broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least an SPF of 30 is recommended for protection. 

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