Did you know your skin is working hard for you twenty-four hours a day? The uppermost layer of your skin, the skin barrier, serves an essential role in protecting you from DNA-damaging elements such as toxins, bacteria, and infection. As a result of pollution, the overuse of harsh skincare products, and even some medications and health issues, it’s increasingly common to see weakened skin barrier function in clients of all ages.
Building up the outer moisture barrier of your skin will not only give your external security guard some much-needed support, it will also improve the appearance of your skin. A healthy skin barrier retains the right balance of water and sebum, is resilient and supple, and appears radiant rather than dull and dry. With the right combination of skincare products containing effective active ingredients, you’ll be able to provide your skin with what it needs to defend, rebuild, and rejuvenate itself. We'll be discussing what ingredients are necessary for the ultimate skin barrier repair.
To dive deeper into how barrier damage occurs, along with steps to take to repair and maintain healthy barrier function, read our blog on Signs Of A Damaged Skin Barrier.
Top Ten Ingredients For Skin Barrier Repair
Your natural skin barrier is made up of three main components: ceramides, lipids, and cholesterol. The key to healing a compromised barrier is to rebuild these structures, followed by strengthening, nourishing, and maintaining your barrier. You’ll need to replace vital ingredients in the skin barrier, provide soothing ingredients to calm inflammation, and add ingredients to pull in and maintain moisture in the skin.
Let’s review the top ingredients needed to repair and maintain a healthy skin barrier:
- Ceramides: These are fats or lipids in our skin cells that make up 30-40% of our epidermis. They are vital in maintaining proper moisture levels for barrier protection and avoiding dehydration and irritation in the skin.
- Plant Oils: Plant oils benefit the skin by adding a protective barrier and have higher bioavailability to add essential nutrients back into the skin. Jojoba oil, in particular, is most similar in structure to our skin’s own sebum.
- Squalane: The use of topical squalane helps reduce natural moisture loss, keeping the skin hydrated and supple, and also provides anti-inflammatory benefits for a healthy barrier.
- Niacinamide: This is a natural form of vitamin B3 that helps nourish and protect the skin by maintaining proper moisture levels and builds up proteins in the skin to protect against environmental damage.
- Colloidal Oatmeal: This soothing ingredient not only has significant anti-inflammatory properties, it also binds to the skin to lock in moisture allowing it to rehydrate.
- Botanicals: A botanical extract is made from a plant’s roots, flowers, bark, or leaves. Because of a plant's natural ability to protect itself from UV light, these extracts provide superior antioxidant protection with anti-inflammatory benefits to allow the skin to heal, repair, and defend itself.
- Humectants: Humectants, such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and panthenol, are known for drawing in and retaining moisture in the skin. They keep your barrier supple, healthy, and ready to defend.
- Stem Cells : Specifically look for cytokines or growth factors that deliver specific messages to target cells to stimulate the growth of skin cells, or more specifically, fibroblasts, which produce collagen and elastin.
- Peptides: The human body uses peptides as building blocks for proteins in the skin. Certain peptides work as messengers to tell your skin cells to start creating new collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid to rebuild structure in the skin.
- Probiotics: Probiotics promote a healthy microbiome and can boost the production of ceramides and lipids in the skin.
Products For a Healthy Skin Barrier
Top Products To Repair and Rebuild (Ingredients with natural barrier ingredients: ceramides, lipids, and cholesterol, plus stem cells to rebuild)
- Dr. esthé Moisture Cleansing Gel - this unique cleanser contains all three barrier essential ingredients for the ultimate repair support
- AnteAGE Stem Biogel Occlusive - this reparative gel is perfect for healing and restoring very raw, sensitized skin
- AnteAGE Moisturizer - formulated for normal to dry skin types, this lipid cream nourishes, hydrates, and repairs the natural moisture barrier
- NeoGenesis Barrier Renewal Cream - formulated for all skin types, even oily, this lightweight, deeply hydrating restorative cream is the ultimate support for barrier repair
- NeoGenesis Recovery Serum - this breakthrough serum utilizes stem cell cytokines to reduce inflammation and accelerate the healing process in compromised skin
Top Products To Strengthen (Plant oils such as squalane, jojoba, sea buckthorn, rosehip, and grapeseed, along with antioxidant-rich products)
- Hale & Hush Remedy Rehab Oil - a beautiful blend of seed oils with a luxurious feel that absorbs quickly into the skin to replenish the skin with a combination of antioxidants and fatty acids.
- ORGAID Facial Oil - this lightweight, revitalizing facial oil uses a base of amaranth squalene to provide vital antioxidant support with superior hydration
- Rhonda Allison Vita E Therapy - a silky, lightweight vitamin E-based serum that provides antioxidant support with potent healing benefits
- Rhonda Allison C-Stem Cell - a lightweight gel formulated with plant stem cells and vitamin C to boost skin immunity and support collagen synthesis
- Rhonda Allison Sensitive Skin Complex - a soothing serum using plant oils and extracts to protect skin from environmental damage while reducing inflammation
- Hale & Hush Vital Lipid Lotion - a deeply nourishing moisturizer filled with ceramides and plant oils designed to feed and heal damaged or sensitized skin
Top Products To Nourish and Maintain (Humectants such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, sodium pca, and panthenol, along with pre/probiotics)
- Le Mieux Hyaluronic Serum - this nourishing serum combines multiple weights of hyaluronic acid with vitamin E for intense hydration while calming inflammation and providing healing benefits
- Michele Corley Ultimate Hydration Gel - an oil-free moisturizer that uses humectants in an aloe vera base to boost moisture and soothe inflammation
- NeoGenesis Moisturizing Mist - formulated with stem cell cytokines and sodium pca for the ultimate hydrating and healing benefits
- ORGAID Firming & Nourishing Sheet Mask Set- a balancing sheet mask packed with probiotics and hyaluronic acid to restore the skin with vital nutrients and moisture
- HUM Nutrition Skin Squad - a supplement with pre and probiotics to nurture gut health and restore skin from the inside out
- Terraflora Daily Care Synbiotic Probiotic - a pre and probiotic supplement to balance your gut microbiome to promote healthy skin
Finding the right combination of skincare products to repair your compromised skin barrier can feel overwhelming. If you’re looking for guidance on what may be best for you and the health of your skin, reach out to us on live chat or request a free skincare checkup . One of our licensed estheticians will tailor the right skincare routine for your unique skin concerns into a simple, easy-to-follow routine that will guide you toward your healthy skin goals.
