Your skin is the mirror of your lifestyle and body status. Healthy skin reflects a healthy lifestyle and vice versa. While healthy, glowing skin represents a well-balanced lifestyle, the skin barrier has to be strong and enduring for an undisturbed natural glow. At La Pink, we’ve discussed how skin barrier protection is foremost for a healthy skin life while suggesting top supplements to accelerate its strength. 

What is a Skin Barrier?

The skin barrier resembles the bricklayer of the skin. Our skin has multiple layers. The outermost layer consists of tough, mortar-like cells (made of resistant lipid layers), which are referred to as stratum corneum, and is the skin barrier layer. It appears like a living brick wall on the skin, which functions as a bridge between the internal and external environment. While it shields environmental stress from penetrating and instigating damage, it also conceals essential extrinsic nutrients from evaporating and being breathed away. In brief, without a skin barrier, it is impossible to survive. 

Considering the structure, the skin barrier is made of tough and resistant lipid layers that contain ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids together, which gives it a resistant structure, as hard as stone.

What Does Skin Barrier Do?

Regulate Acid Mantle

The skin barrier is slightly acidic. The average pH ranges between 4.5 to 5.5. Being acidic in nature is it creates a buffer zone between the outer and internal environment, thus hindering environmental attacks from penetrating the skin, at the same time concealing essential body-furnishing nutrients to evacuate. As a result, the skin remains strong, plump, and youthful, and so is the body.

Lock-In Moisture & Hydration Balance

The skin barrier effectively helps lock in moisture and retain hydration balance for this skin. This further eventually protects the skin from dryness and flakiness and helps it transform into a soft, plump, and glowing complexion.

Shield Against Environmental Damage

Appearing as a bricklayer, this outermost skin layer directly blocks UV rays, dust, and pollutants to prevent damage to the skin, which eventually helps in combating issues like premature aging, wrinkling, dullness, inflammation, redness, etc. Therefore, the stronger the skin barrier, the stronger the environmental protection. 

Regulate Skin Breathability

A strong barrier also takes effective control of the skin’s breathability. This does not mean it actively helps in cellular ventilation; rather, it works as a wall between the outer environment and the internal body, helping to nourish the skin with essential nutrients that eventually reduce oxidative stress and result in a breathable skin layer.

Prevents Irritations & Bacterial Infections

A strong barrier keeps irritants out, reducing redness, itching, and sensitivity because when damaged, skin becomes more reactive to skin care products, weather changes, and allergens. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the healthy protection of the skin barrier.

Promote Efficient Damage Repair

The skin becomes susceptible to multifaceted damage like acne, breakouts, and breached texture due to many factors such as bacterial attack, high sun rays, etc. A strong barrier advocated sufficient nourishment that not only helps cut out excess oil but also helps the skin stay soft, plump, supple, and resilient. 

How Does the Skin Barrier Get Damaged?

The skin barrier is hampered due to several factors such as dehydration, inappropriate skincare products, indulgent lifestyle, over-exfoliation, etc. With this, the nature of the skin plays a crucial role side by side. For example, dry skin is more susceptible to a broken or malnourished skin barrier than normal and well-nourished skin. 

Excessive Cleansing & Alkaline Products

Excessive or frequent cleansing strips away natural oil from the face and hampers sebum production, leading to poor skin barrier health. With this, the use of alkaline products such as soaps and detergents also takes a toll on skin health.

Over Exfoliation

Too many AHAs, BHAs, or scrubs weaken the barrier by removing essential lipids. With this, unregulated usage of retinoids without prescriptions worsens the situation.

Dehydration

Skipping moisturizer weakens the lipid barrier, leading to dehydration and eventually affecting the skin barrier. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to keep the skin well-hydrated for a supple skin tone.

Direct UV Rays Exposure

Direct exposure to UV rays directly affects the skin barrier. It causes cellular breakage, leading to collagen degradation and eventually drags down the natural immune defense mechanism of the skin. As a solution, be regular to wear sunscreen with a good SPF factor regularly.

Poor Lifestyle

High stress and poor sleep increase cortisol levels, leading to breakouts and inflammation. With this, a poor diet lacking fatty acids like omega-3 can also potentially undermine the lipid barrier.

Environmental Aggregators

Environmental aggregators like pollution, smoke, and harsh weather can cause oxidative stress, leading to premature aging and sensitivity, thus hampering the natural strength of the skin barrier.

How to Protect Skin Barrier?

• Choose a gentle pH-balanced, sulfate-free cleanser
• Hydrate the skin properly with a soothing, moisture-repellent moisturizer. Look for ingredients like ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane to lock in moisture. Avoid alcohol-based products
• Refrain from overexfoliation. Once or twice a week is fine to go with
• Make the habit of applying sunscreen daily. Look for at least SPF 30 for standard protection and SPF 50 for advanced protection.
• Abide by a healthy lifestyle and nutrient-enriched diet. With this, consume omega-rich foods such as fish, nuts, avocado, and drink plenty of water. Make sure to get at least 7-9 hrs of sleep regularly.

Compounds/ Ingredients Help in Skin Barrier Strengthening

Lipids

Lipids or fats make up 90% of the skin barrier. Three types of lipids help structure this morton-like outermost skin layer with distinguished functionalities. For instance, Ceramide (Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP) itself bears half of the responsibility for the lipid layer. It helps strengthen the lipid matrix, sealing moisture inside. Fatty Acids (Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid etc,) help replenish the skin’s natural oils and support cell membrane function. In the same way, Linoleic Acid regulates sebum production and prevents acne. Cholesterol works collaboratively with ceramides and fatty acids to maintain barrier integrity

Hydrators

Numerous hydrators or moisture are boosting against which play an active role in both the maintenance of the skin barrier and strength building. Hyaluronic acid is one of the prominent compounds amogst them. Known for exceptional water-bearing capacities (1000 times higher than its own weight,) it helps bind water molecules and boost the moisture barrier like a catalyst. Another important ingredient is squalane, which mimics the skin’s natural oils, reducing trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). In the same way, Glycerin draws moisture into the skin.

Vitamins

Vitamin helps in reshaping the skin structure with essential nutrient doses. Pertinent vitamins responsible for skin barrier strengthening are Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Vitamin B5 (Panthenol), Vitamin E (Tocopherol), and Vitamin C. While Vitamin C helps increase ceramide production that regulates oil production and immunizes the skin against bacterial attack, Vitamin E Soothes irritation and promotes healing, Vitamin E promotes protection against environmental damage, and Vitamin C supports collagen production while enhnacing natural skin brightening potential. 

Proteins & Peptides

Proteins and peptides are essential not only for skin layer structure and firmness but also they are equally important for collagen production. While Peptides boost collagen and improve skin barrier function, Amino Acids help with hydration and repair, securing the ultimate skin nourishment.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which damage the skin barrier and accelerate aging. Some essential antioxidants that are required for the skin barrier strengthening are Green Tea Extracts, which fight oxidative stress, Resveratrol (found in Grapes, Berries, and Red Wine), which conceals environmental damage, and Coenzyme Q10 to fight free radicals and promote collagen synthesis.