Many skin sensitivities can be traced back to one factor: a compromised moisture barrier. The Dermatology Times points out that around 60-70% of women suffer from having sensitive skin, while 50-60% of men report having skin sensitivities. An irritated skin barrier can lead to sensory discomfort like dryness, itchiness, burning, and tightness.
Though these signs of skin irritation are common, many individuals are still unaware of how they can care for their skin’s moisture barrier. To get your skin to a healthy state, here’s what you need to know about the moisture barrier:
Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
Your Skin’s Moisture Barrier and Its Function
Your skin is the organ that is most exposed to the environment, and it’s made up of several layers that can protect your body from external factors. The outermost layer of your skin is called the stratum corneum. As the most exposed layer, it’s responsible for protecting the other layers of your skin and the rest of your body from environmental aggressors, such as the sun’s UV rays, pollutants, and harsh chemicals. On top of that, the stratum corneum is integral in maintaining moisture and beneficial oils for optimum skin health.
Unfortunately, your facial skin has a higher exposure to triggering factors that can disrupt the natural moisturizing factor within your stratum corneum. These factors include extreme weather conditions, sun exposure, smoke, and harsh skincare products. Once the moisture barrier has been compromised by these factors, your skin will experience a transepidermal loss that then translates into dry skin. This dryness will then make your skin susceptible to inflammation, redness, itchiness, and dullness. Without enough moisture, your skin’s barrier will be unable to protect and maintain itself.
How Can You Protect Your Skin’s Moisture Barrier?
Follow a Sensitive Skincare Routine
Skincare products can help strengthen your skin’s moisture barrier, but using skincare products that have large amounts of fragrance and irritating ingredients can end up doing the opposite. As such, it is important to use skincare products for sensitive skin, with gentler ingredients like peptides and colloidal oatmeal. By applying moisturizers and skin treatments with these ingredients, you can relieve dryness and further strengthen your skin’s natural moisture barrier. This ensures that your skin gets enough moisture to protect itself, without getting exposed to harsh chemicals that can trigger skin sensitization.
Boost Your Skin’s Collagen Production
Collagen is a protein that can be found in your bones, muscles, hair, and skin. This building block ensures that your skin remains elastic, plump, and moisturized for optimum health. Though your body naturally produces collagen, this production can decrease starting in your mid-twenties. On top of that, external aggressors like the sun’s UV rays can degrade collagen and make it weaker.
Thus, you should boost your body’s collagen production by taking collagen supplements or by consuming collagen-rich food, such as animal skin, cartilage, ribs, oxtails, and connective tissue. This increases the production of the protein, and keeps your skin looking and feeling healthier for longer.
Protect Your Skin From the Sun
Since your skin is exposed to environmental factors like the sun, it’s essential that you defend the moisture barrier using sun protection. You can make sure that your skin’s moisture barrier won’t be compromised by the sun’s UV rays by applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day. A sunscreen with at least SPF 30 is ideal if you’re mainly staying indoors, and you’ll need at least SPF 50 if you’re heading outdoors. You can further protect your skin by wearing protective apparel, such as hats and long-sleeved tops.
Building Barriers
Your skin’s moisture barrier plays an important role in protecting your skin but since it’s constantly exposed to aggressive elements, it needs a lot of TLC. Provide the protection that your moisture barrier needs by following a gentle skincare routine, boosting your skin’s collagen production, and practicing proper sun protection, and you may find many of your skin woes fading away.
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
#Whats a Moisture Barrier and Why Does It Matter
