Why is it important to protect your skin barrier?

What is a skin barrier?

Your skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin and is made up of cells and lipids. The lipid layer consists of keratin, natural moisturisers, cholesterol, fatty acids, and ceramides. The skin barrier is responsible for not letting toxins and pathogens enter your body and disrupt its balance. Most importantly, it helps retain water inside your body and skin. A healthy skin barrier is vital in maintaining balance in your body and skin. This is why it is important to take quick action if your skin barrier is damaged.

What causes damage to the skin barrier?

Several external and internal factors cause major damage to your skin barrier. Here are a few actions that can damage it:

• If you live in a place that is too hot or too cold, the temperatures can result in skin barrier
• Being exposed to harsh sun rays can cause major damage to your skin barrier. The UV light dries out your skin and can rescue the strength of your skin barrier.
• Overusing harsh exfoliators results in microtears in your skin. This damages the skin barrier greatly and results in breakouts, dryness and inflamed skin.
• While starting a skincare routine, it is important to make sure you don’t try too many strong products at once. An elaborate skincare routine can irritate the skin and will leave your skin barrier damaged.

What are the signs of a damaged skin barrier?
If you aren’t well versed with your skin, it can be a little tricky to determine if your skin barrier is damaged or not. Here are a few signs of a damaged skin barrier:

• Redness
  If you have normal skin with no history of rosacea, redness in the skin can be a good sign of skin barrier
• Flaky skin
  If your skin has started to peel and feel extremely dry, it can be a sign of skin barrier
• Acne
  If your skin has been breaking out abnormally, it is because your skin barrier is damaged.

How to repair skin barrier?

A damaged skin barrier is not healthy. It disrupts the balance of your body and skin, which needs to be repaired pronto. Going on a skincare diet is the best way to let your skin barrier repair and breathe. A skincare diet is when you temporarily stop using chemical exfoliators and other strong products in your skincare routine. It is a minimal diet that helps repair your skin and make it strong again. Here is the perfect diet that will help you with your concern about how to repair the skin barrier. 

1. The first step is to temporarily stop using products with actives. Actives can sensitise your skin and disrupt your skin barrier.
2. Start your routine by using a gentle cleanser, this will cleanse your face without stripping it off its natural oils.
3. The next step would be to use a hydrating cream. This will keep your skin hydrated and make it plump. You can also use a nourishing night cream to maintain the moisture.
4. For the daytime, opt for a day cream with SPF. This will protect your skin from harmful UV rays.
5. As an additional step, you can use a serum sheet mask from time to time. This will gently hydrate your skin barrier and help repair it.

Repairing your skin barrier is extremely important to getting healthy skin. Add products from the Garnier skincare range to pamper and care for your skin!