How to know if you have damaged your skin's moisture barrier and how to fix it

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Have you been venturing into skincare and you can’t seem to get enough but something seems not quite right, instead of achieving the glass, glazed-doughnut-looking skin that skincare influencers have, yours just seems quite off?

Maybe you’ve searched online and found out that this could be a damaged moisture barrier and you’re not quite sure if that is what you have.

Or It could be that you are struggling with a bout of irritation and breakouts and nothing seems to be working and you are looking to fix that ASAP.

In this post, we’ll be talking about how you can tell if your skin’s moisture barrier is damaged and what you can do to help heal that.

Signs that your moisture barrier is damaged

1. Your skin feels dry and tight

Have you noticed your skin feels dry and tight regardless of the product you use on it, especially after cleansing your skin?

Does it also feel as though products just sit on top of it and don’t seem to penetrate your skin?

Your moisture barrier is likely compromised and unless you use specific products targeted at healing your moisture barrier, none of the products you use would work and the reaction on your skin might get worse.

2. Your skin is more sensitive

Is your skin more reactive to products than it used to be?

Do a lot of things you apply on your skin cause an adverse reaction on your skin even products that seemed fine before?

Another sign of a damaged skin barrier is increased skin sensitivity.

You can kind of see it as though your skin’s protective layer is damaged so it is easily irritated and a lot of things that it could handle before seem to overwhelm it so it gets inflamed from the irritation.

3. Redness

If you notice redness as patches across your skin or entire areas of your skin, this could also be a result of inflammation caused by damage to your skin’s barrier.

Sometimes this redness also comes along with some of the other signs we mentioned such as increased sensitivity, dryness, etc.

However, if you notice a recent increase in redness even if it is the only sign you are experiencing, it could still suggest that your skin’s moisture barrier is damaged.

4. new Bouts of breakout

Have you noticed a sudden onset of breakouts on your face?

Even if you have acne-prone skin, an impaired moisture barrier can worsen your acne or give you new bouts of breakouts. So if you notice that you are breaking out all of a sudden, you need to improve your moisture barrier as that alone would improve your skin even if that is not the reason for the breakout.

This could also be true for you if you notice that your non-acne-prone skin is starting to break out.

Although there are so many reasons why your skin can break out. this is one of the main culprits that aggravates other problems your skin can be going through.

How to fix your skin’s moisture barrier

Now that we have talked about some of the things you should be looking for when you are trying to find out if your skin’s moisture barrier is damaged. Here are ways you can fix it.

1. Stop exfoliating immediately

One of the things that leads to a damaged skin barrier is overly exfoliating your skin in the first place so if you continue exfoliating your skin while trying to fix your moisture barrier, your efforts will be futile.

Exfoliating removes some of the outer layer of the skin further causing damage to our already impaired skin barrier.

This includes all your scrubs and chemical exfoliants.

If you are often so tempted to exfoliate your skin, put them in the farthest part of your skincare cabinet. You can reintroduce your exfoliants when your skin has healed.

But this time you are going to introduce them carefully so you can rule out what the culprit is so you don’t damage your barrier again.

2. Use a very basic and mild cleanser

When you are trying to heal your skin’s barrier, the first step in your skincare is to use very mild cleansers.

If your current skincare has active ingredients in it you want to take a break from using them and use something very mild instead. You can benefit from using cleansers for sensitive skin, or those with calming ingredients such as aloe vera, green tea, Centella, etc.

You also want to use products that are free from fragrance, alcohol, astringent, and other irritating ingredients.

My holy grail cleansers for fixing my skin’s barrier include the First Aid Beauty pure skin cleanser. This cleanser is mild yet it thoroughly cleanses the skin. It also has antioxidants that help to bring down inflammation which is what we want.

Some other really good ones are the Cerave hydrating cleanser or the Foaming one if you have oily skin. The Cerave cleansers don’t have these irritating ingredients and instead contain barrier-repairing ingredients like ceramides.

You could also try the very much loved EltaMD foaming facial cleanser.

Due to the fact that cleansers don’t stay on the skin for that long, the main point you should focus on in picking a cleanser is that it should be calming and not irritating. The other parts of your skincare can focus on products that build your barrier back.

3. Use toners and essences rich in moisturizing products

A lot of people think toning is just another step of cleansing the skin and although there are cleansing toners that give you that extra step of cleansing, there are so many toners whose primary focus is to hydrate and moisturize the skin.

Essences on the other hand are kind of like diluted serums. Just like you have serums to target different skin concerns you have essences. They are just diluted with super hydrating and moisturizing ingredients.

These two steps are important in building back your skin’s barrier. Take advantage of them to add as much moisture to your skin as possible.

Again you are looking for products with calming ingredients like aloe and green tea and hyaluronic acid as well as ceramides to help heal the skin’s barrier.

Some of the ones I recommend are the Laneige cream skin toner, the I’m from Rice Milky toner, the Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner, the I’m from Mugwort Essence, and the Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner.

4. Use barrier-repairing creams

This is the step where most of the barrier building happens.

It’s also the step where you seal in the moisture you have applied to your skin in the previous skincare steps.

Here you are looking for products that are rich in ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to create that protective barrier over your skin and heal it very fast.

My absolute favorite moisturizer for fixing my moisture barrier is Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Lightweight Face Moisturizer, this moisturizer noticeably improved my skin’s barrier in less than 2 weeks and I can’t be without it.

It contains omega 3, 6, and 9 as well as ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

Other really great options include the First Aid Beauty ultra repair cream, Cerave moisturizing cream, the Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Concentrate Cream, and AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 Cream.

5. Apply sunscreen religiously

Sunscreen is one of the most important steps of skincare that prevents premature aging and other skin-damaging effects of UV rays.

If you struggle to be consistent with your sunscreen application, this is one time that you need to be more diligent than ever.

Exposing your already damaged skin barrier to the sun’s UV rays would lead to more damage as the skin is compromised and can not provide the little bit of protection it could when it is healthy.

If you are struggling to find a Sunscreen that suits you so much and that you can call your own, don’t give up trying to find one. Some of my favorite light SPFs that are SPF 50 but apply clear include this La Roche-Posay one, this EltaMD one that is a best-seller, the Neutrogena ultra sheer sunscreen, or the CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen with Sheer Tint.

Conclusion

These are the ways you can figure out if your moisture barrier is damaged and ways that you can easily fix it.

Once your moisture barrier has healed you will see a world of difference in your skin elasticity and bounciness and your skin will look more radiant than it used to.

You would also notice an increase in the effectiveness of the other products that you use.

How to know if you have damaged your skin’s moisture barrier and how to fix it