Our skin barrier protects us from negative effects of the environment and as times goes by and we age,
it gets damaged. Even though skin care conscious people buy and apply all sorts of moisturizing, nourishing crems most of us still do not know what a skin barrier is and how to take care of it properly.
What is a skin barrier?
Our skin is made up of many layers. The top layer is the skin barrier, and it performs very important function of protecting our body form harmful toxins that could literally kill us. This outer layer is called
stratum corneum and is made up of very strong cells called corneocytes that are bound together by mortar-like lipids. Inside of those strong sells there are keratin and natural moisturizers.
Without our skin barrier the water in our body would evaporate.
Knowing now how important function is fulfilled by our skin barrier we should take proper care of it.
What can damage our skin barrier and how to tell if our skin barrier is damages?
Both internal and external factors can harm our skin barriers.
Here are some of those factors:
- Too much sun exposure
- steroids
- allergens
- pollutants
- stress
When our skin barrier is damaged and is not functioning properly, we may be prone to develop the following conditions:
- dry skin
- acne
- inflammation
- skin infections
How to take care of our skin barrier?
- Use plant oils (sunflower oil, primrose oil, almond oil, coconut oil, borage oil etc.) to help repair our skin and help it retain moisture
- use moisturizers that contain hyaluronic acid, glycerin
- pay attention to pH of products you use to cleans the skin. The skin's pH is around 4.7 so it is recommended to use cleansing products that have the pH levels at from 4.0 to 5.0.
Please know that your skincare is not just a beauty routine. Take good care of it as your skin barrier is literally keeping you alive and healthy.