What is your skin barrier and how to protect it!

So, let’s talk about your skin’s barrier. We emphasize the importance of making sure you don’t damage it, even cleansing should be gentle enough so you don’t compromise your skins natural protective shield. 

Why exactly is it so important?

Your skin barrier is a layer of defense between your skin and our outside environment. A healthy skin barrier has a few primary functions: it helps prevent dehydration by slowing down transepidermal water loss (preventing water from evaporating out of your skin). A healthy skin barrier protects skin against harmful microorganisms, chemicals, or irritants that can penetrate skin and cause damage. The skin barrier also helps maintains skin’s immunity.

When the skin barrier is compromised, it doesn’t work as well, so hydration is lost to the environment and harmful things like microorganisms or pollutants and bad bacteria can break through the barrier. This damage often allows for inflammation, dehydration and sensitivity as skin has lost its protective shield — but don’t worry we got you covered. There are ways you can help protect your natural skin barrier, so it can do its best job protecting your skin.

Here are a few steps we recommend to help heal your skin barrier

Use a gentle and nourishing facial cleanser like - Pure Love's Zen Cleanse (Calming Lavender Facial Cleanser). This gentle milky cleanser is full of calming and nourishing ingredients such as Kale, Carrot, aloe, cucumber, green tea and chamomile. Zen Cleanse will help hydrate and strengthen your skin’s protective barrier while helping to reduce blue light oxidative damage. 

Tone! Toners help balance the pH level of your skin after cleansing, so skin doesn’t become too alkaline or too acidic. Keeping skin balanced is very important to maintain good skin health; the optimal pH for skin is 5.5, which is a bit acidic to help maintain the skin’s natural microbiome. Chemicals in tap water such as chlorine, calcium and magnesium can throw off your skins PH causing breakouts, dryness, and irritation. It could also make dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis worse. Pure Love’s Rosy Happy Day (Rose Water Hydrating Mist) is the perfect hydrating toner to help keep your skin’s PH in check. This delicate toning mist is made with exotic, Bulgarian Rose and Chamomile water, along with soothing Aloe, balancing Witch Hazel, and plant-based Glycerin. 

 

We hope this was helpful! If you have any other questions, feel free reach out we would love to hear from you!