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How To Strengthen Your Skin Barrier In The New Year
When we talk about what we want our skin to look and feel like, we often use words like "bright," "smooth," "clear," and "refreshed." All great words to describe healthy skin—I'm certainly not taking issue with these descriptors. However, a word that rarely gets used is "strong." I can't imagine many folks are telling their estheticians they want to "strengthen" their skin during their facial or are browsing the beauty aisle looking for "strengthening" actives. It's just not a word we regularly use to describe the condition of our complexions.
But it should be! Strong skin—more specifically a strong barrier—will improve hydration, reduce irritation, limit the amount of damage accumulated from environmental stressors, help avoid premature aging, and prolong skin longevity.
Essentially: Strong skin looks better for longer. And who doesn't want that? So in the new year, commit to a skin-strengthening routine—which we've outlined below.
Why having a strong skin barrier matters
Up until very recently, the beauty industry didn't pay much attention to the skin barrier. As board-certified dermatologist and mbg collective member Whitney Bowe, M.D., once told us, "We were taught initially that the skin barrier is this brick and mortar. The bricks are dead skin cells, and the mortar is the fat. It's almost like a wrap around the body," she said. "And just in the last couple of years, we know that it's so much more dynamic than that."
Dynamic is an excellent word for it. Because your skin barrier is less like a wall and more akin to a multipronged defense system, with each of the different elements dependent on each other. None of these parts work in isolation, and if one aspect suffers—so do the rest. But on the flip side, when they're all healthy—they're impressively effective at protection:
- The outermost layer of the skin (called the stratum corneum) is made up of proteins, specifically keratinocytes.
- Lipids are also a vital part of the barrier. This part is also sometimes called the "moisture barrier," and it's made up of fats like ceramides, fatty acids, squalene, and so on.
- The skin microbiome is the trillions of microorganisms that reside on and in our skin. The skin microbiome is highly complex in itself but greatly contributes to overall skin and body health.
- The skin's immune system1 (yes, the skin has its own immune system) incorporates elements from all of the above, as well as skin resident immune cells and free radical fighters (like antioxidants).
- Finally, the acid mantle is the thin, slightly acidic film that covers the skin. It is a mixture of your natural sebum (oil) and sweat. The pH range of the skin on your face and body fluctuates between 4.7 and 5.752. It's very important that the skin's pH remains in this range, as going too high or below will cause irritation.
Here's the incentive to care: By prioritizing the health of these elements, abundant aesthetic benefits await you. A strong skin barrier means improved and longer-lasting hydration, thanks to better water retention. It also leads to fewer fine lines, fewer deep wrinkles, and an overall smoother complexion. A strong barrier can help with tone too: It brightens skin and can help prevent dark spots. And it'll also help reduce blemishes, redness, and breakouts.
Aesthetics aside, the strength of your skin barrier also has broad implications for your overall health. For example, research shows a link between skin dysfunction and various health conditions caused by chronic inflammation. In the study, researchers connected the use of barrier repair moisturizers with reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood, highlighting the importance of the skin's protective role in our overall health.
What weakens the skin barrier?
Indeed, the skin barrier isn't static—it's a living, evolving, and active ecosystem. And the discovery of its dynamism made us in the beauty industry realize that we really ought to be doing much more to care for it.
Or, at the very least, we have to stop skin care habits that are actively disrupting it. Here are some of the ways the skin barrier can become weakened:
- Stripping sulfates: Harsh, aggressive cleansers can break down the skin's natural lipids, leading to barrier breakdown.
- Irritating topical ingredients: Every skin type has its own unique sensitivities. Some folks can't tolerate retinol, while others are irritated by essential oils. Whatever it is, limit your exposure to topical ingredients that irritate your skin.
- Over-exfoliation: Exfoliation is the act of removing dead skin cells from the stratum corneum. Doing this to a degree is a good thing, as it can make the skin appear vibrant and encourage cell turnover—but when you go overboard, you're removing those precious proteins and lipids that make up the outer layer of the skin.
- Sun exposure and pollution: Environmental stressors bombard the skin with free radicals and oxidative stress.
- Lifestyle stressors: Things like excessive, chronic stress, inflammatory diets, smoking, and lack of sleep can all damage your barrier.
Once you get your skin to baseline—by removing anything that's causing damage—you can work on building strength.
Your "Stronger Together" plan
Set a strong base
If you're revamping your skin care routine for the new year (or building one from scratch), you should craft it with a strong barrier in mind.
Here are the basics to consider:
- Gentle cleansers: Skip sulfates, harsh scrubs, overly aggressive acids, and otherwise stripping face washes. The best cleansers are gentle, soothing, and balance the skin while removing makeup, oil, and debris from the day. I personally love Burt's Bees Face Cleanser for Sensitive Skin.
- Antioxidants: Antioxidants support the skin's immune system (like they do internally) and protect from free radical damage, along with a whole host of aesthetic benefits. Ideally, you'll use antioxidants in your serum step, as it offers the most optimal delivery for these precious actives. I love the ingredients found in Naturally Serious Supercharge Anti-Oxidant Moisture Serum, but for more inspiration, check out our favorite antioxidant serums here.
- Fatty acids & lipids: One of the most important parts of any skin care routine is a moisturizer, which feeds the skin lipids, such as fatty acids, ceramides, and so on. The new cream from buzzy brand Drunk Elephant is a certified hit: Try Bora Barrier Rich Repair Cream with 6-Butterlipid Complex for serious moisture.
- Microbiome-supporting formulas: Overall, your skin care routine should be microbiome-friendly every step of the way. This means it should be formulated with your skin pH in mind, limit irritation, and ideally include biotic ingredients, such as pre- and postbiotics. I love mindbodygreen's postbiotic body lotion, which is deeply hydrating and contains an algae-derived prebiotic and a biotech-crafted postbiotic.
Level up
If you've already mastered the skin care part of it, there are plenty of tools that can take your complexion to the next level:
- LED mask: LED masks can improve the skin in a myriad of ways, including reducing inflammation. Inflammation—especially chronic inflammation—wreaks havoc on the skin barrier. Red light and infrared therapy have also been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and skin3. In addition, research also notes that LED light therapy improves skin tone4, decreases dullness, and softens the appearance of wrinkles4. Shop our favorite LED masks here.
- LYMA laser: This is the world's first at-home laser and can improve skin barrier function by reducing inflammation, improving ATP production, and boosting collagen production. I use it almost every day, which you can read all about here.
"Strong" may not be as exciting or enticing a descriptor as "glowing" or "supple," but believe me: It's the most important skin quality you can have. So for the new year, I encourage you to focus on strengthening your skin barrier.
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