What is healthy skin?

The hardest part about all of this is it can be very easy to weaken your barrier if you are not careful. Your skin’s barrier helps prevent TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss) and defends your skin from outside aggressors. The barrier can weaken due to aging, genetics, UV exposure, and even things like over-cleansing.

With one of November’s focuses being Healthy Skin month, I wanted to focus on what healthy skin truly is. With the age of social media and the internet, its representation gets skewed by the idea that perfect skin is the only way to have healthy skin, which is quite the opposite of the truth.

Keeping the outermost layer of your skin healthy is crucial to maintaining the overall health of your skin. Your skin provides a barrier to protect the body from bacteria and other possible environmental hazards that can harm your health. Your skin plays many roles in protecting you. It controls nerve endings that will alert you when an object is too hot or sharp. Sweat glands and tiny blood vessels in your skin help to handle your body’s temperature.

The hardest part about all of this is it can be very easy to weaken your barrier if you are not careful. Your skin’s barrier helps prevent TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss) and defends your skin from outside aggressors. The barrier can weaken due to aging, genetics, UV exposure, and even things like over-cleansing.

How can I tell if my skin’s barrier is damaged?

• Dryness/Dullness: the moisture in your skin will escape and evaporate. It can also leave signs of rough texture, tightness, or flakiness.

• Redness: cracks in the skin allow irritants and allergens to sneak through, which can cause an inflammatory reaction.

• Sensitivity: an imbalance of lipids in the skin’s barrier will cause dysfunction and may cause sensitivity by stinging or burning. An example of this, a product you have used with no irritation before may irritate your skin if it is compromised.

• Breakouts: bacteria may penetrate the skin, making it more likely for blemishes and flare-ups of acne to happen.

While these can be a sign of other things, your skin needs a bit of healing if one or more of these are happening. If this is the case, you will want to drench your skin in ingredients that feed your skin, including humectants, ceramides, emollients, and antioxidants. Elements like these will allow your skin to retain moisture and repair that barrier damage.

What kinds of products will help this? Here are a few of my favorites to help!

Cleanse:

• Peptide Cleanser: Packed full of peptides and botanicals that help to promote health within our skin cells.

• Mega-Purifying Cleanser: Provides Not only a deep clean but also contains the age-defying antioxidant Vitamin E to combat dryness, extrinsic assaults, and harmful irritants that lead to premature aging.

Treat:

• CBD-Micro Silver Intensive Hydratherapy Masque: Helps to support the skin’s natural flora to reduce bacteria and aid in healing.

• CBD Power Balm: Perfect for dry and dehydrated skin. Infused with botanicals such as sunflower, grapeseed, and shea butter to help soothe and calm irritation within the skin.

• Amino Acid Serum: is a concentrated lipid-identical serum that establishes amino acids for a healthier stratum corneum.

Balance:

• Ultra Hydro Gel: this serum helps to replenish dehydrated, irritated, and aging skin. It helps to retain moisture in the skin.

• Cell Protection Serum: This serum strengthens the skin’s barrier by replenishing critical lipids lost from intrinsic aging. This product is balanced to identify with the skin’s natural epidermal environment. It drenches the skin in humectants, ceramides, antioxidants, and other age-fighting nutrients.

• Skin Recovery Mist: This mist forces life back in dehydrated, irritated, and lackluster skin while hydrating with algae, hyaluronic acid, and Vitamin B.

• Cell Protection Balm: This balm is infused with live yeast cell derivates that promote cell renewal and collagen synthesis. Perfect for helping soothe dry and irritated skin and form a barrier to keep moisture in the skin while still allowing the skin to breathe.

• Amino Acid Epidermal Sealant: This is formulated to mimic the natural barrier of the skin. It saturates your skin with ceramides and lipids to provide a protective barrier from damage and seasonal changes. Also perfect for post-peel healing!

Protect:

• SPF: Any of our SPF’s depending on your skin type, is essential to keeping your skin healthy! It is the easiest way to help prevent intrinsically and UV aging and protect your skin from free radical damage.

All of these are a great start to implementing barrier health into your skincare. A great tip is to make sure you regularly see your esthetician and dermatologist to keep your skin in tip-top shape! As always, remember that everyone’s skin is a journey, but always try to appreciate your skin no matter where it’s at.

If you have any questions and would like to speak to one of our friendly Master Aestheticians in your area, please email support@glymedplusaustralia.com.au

Written by Whitney Dickerson