What to know about your skin barrier and how to protect it?

The skin barrier is in charge of retaining moisture and blocking the entry of topical drugs from entering into your system. A healthy skin barrier is important so that you don’t have to go in crazy skin rejuvenation mode, years from now! Here's all you need to know about how to protect it

We’ve been reading a lot of articles recently about maintaining skin health and have also heard a lot in skincare and makeup media commercials about the "skin barrier" but do we really know what it is? Dive-in into this pool and let's find out everything you need to know about skin barrier and how to protect it.

What to know about your skin barrier and how to protect it?(Ron Lach)

The skin barrier is probably one of the most important organs of the body since it is responsible for body integrity and outward/in for keeping microbes, chemicals and allergens from penetrating the skin. Our skin is essentially made up of three layers - Epidermis (top layer), Dermis (middle layer) and subcutaneous (deeper layer) where each layer performs differently to maintain and protect our overall body.

Simply put, our skin barrier is the outermost layer of our epidermis (and the epidermis is the outer layer of the two main layers of cells that make up our skin). The skin barrier has so many important roles like protecting the body from external stressors, like UV rays and pollutants, retain water to prevent the body from dehydrating and help with the transportation of key nutrients to the skin.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Manasi Shirolikar, Consultant Dermatologist and Founder of Online Consulting Brand drmanasiskin.com, explained, “Your skin’s epidermis, aka the outermost and also thinnest layer, is known as the skin’s barrier. Scientifically known as stratum corneum, it is made up of skin cells called corneocytes that are all tightly strung together by a protein called filaggrin, as well as fats such as ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids. The filaggrin is responsible for the production of NMFs i.e. natural moisturizing factors, for the skin, whereas overall, the epidermis is responsible for protecting the skin from environmental pollution, UV rays, and toxins, hence the name skin barrier.”

The skin barrier is also in charge of retaining moisture and also of blocking the entry of topical drugs from entering into your system but on the flip side, if your skin barrier isn’t working as it should, your skin will be vulnerable to damage.

Dr Sushma Yadav, Dermatologist, Cosmetologist, Hair Transplant Surgeon and Founder of Skinology Centre in Bangalore, revealed, “It’ll be more prone to dehydration or trans-epidermal water loss, resulting in a dull, dry appearance. You’ll also be less able to fend off damaging aggressors, like free radicals, that can result in physical changes such as discoloration, pigmentation, and premature wrinkles. Therefore the skin barrier is very important and one must keep it healthy and well-protected.”

How can you protect it?

Dr Sushma Yadav quipped that you don’t need to perform a 12 step Korean skincare routine in order to the skin barrier since you can actually do it by following a simple and effective 3 step skincare routine: cleansing, moisturising and wearing sunscreen. She suggested:

1. A gentle cleanser - Cleansing your skin is crucial and helps you get rid of the environmental pollutants. So, that’s the first step!

2. Using a moisturiser recommended by your dermatologist - Moisturiser will help you preserve moisture, hydrate your skin and help you get rid of irritated, itchy, flaky, and dry skin.

3. Sunscreen – A good quality sunscreen with clean ingredients (no parabens, synthetic fragrance, etc.) – can also help protect your skin barrier. After all, you need to protect your skin from the biggest environmental aggressor – the sun!

According to Dr Manasi Shirolikar, protecting your skin’s barrier is important as while it may seem ironic, the barrier does tend to get damaged due to various causes and factors, like over-exfoliation, incorrect usage of acids, environmental changes, etc. To protect it, she added to the list of tips and tricks and recommended:

1. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen, with a minimum of SPF 30 and PA+++ rating. Even physical protection such as hats, caps, full sleeved clothing would help. In short, protect yourself from Sun exposure.

2. Don’t tug, pull or rub your skin too hard, and be gentle with your skincare application, as well as cleansing of your skin

3. Moisturise daily, to replenish any lost moisture, and also help the skin retain and pull water into your skin barrier

4. Avoid taking hot showers or baths, as hot water can dry your skin out (they tend to disrupt the skin’s NMF) and damage the skin barrier

5. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, rich in healthy fats, proteins, Vitamins A, C, and E, Zinc and Selenium

6. Last but one of the most important ones - stop stressing out. Stress is one of the biggest and most common causes for skin flare-ups, acne, dry skin, and even wrinkles, all signs of a damaged skin barrier

A healthy skin barrier is important and keeping your skin clean, moisturized, and protected will keep it in good shape so that you don’t have to go in crazy skin rejuvenation mode years from now!