How To Repair a Damaged Skin Barrier

It’s the skin’s first line of defence, but so often the very last to be treated… Well, that was until it went VIRAL and made the Google search ‘how to repair skin barrier’ skyrocket. These ever-rising numbers tell us that, now more than ever, skins are suffering from damaged barriers thanks to a cocktail of an overload of product information and promises that, when applied all at the same time, can overwhelm and disrupt its barrier – a cozy, protective film that so primitively wants to protect our bodies' largest organ.

We’ve established the the 5 Signs Your Skin Barrier Is Impaired, now let’s delve into how to repair a damaged skin barrier with a few easy to implement changes in your routine.

Replenish Oil Content

Have you ever tried washing your hands with Vaseline? Us either... Why? Because water cannot penetrate through an oil like this; though, to be clear, we are NOT about to suggest you smother your face in an oil like this (we’re looking at you, Skin Slugging).

Oil, famously, sits on top of water: water is the key to cellular communication and healthy functioning barrier making it essential to replenish lost oils in order to repair it. A crucial step in skin barrier repair is to re-establish the lipids and oils, but not just any old oil from the kitchen cupboard either. We’re talking about lipids and oils that have an affinity with your skin’s natural oils and lipids; some of the best ingredients to repair skin barrier. By affinity we mean proven and evidence-based skin loving, breathable oils that have enhanced penetration through advanced delivery systems allowing them to work within the outer layer (the stratum corneum) to stimulate your own lipid production to further improve and repair it long after you’ve washed it off in the morning.

Some of our top picks for topical oils that contain the best ingredients for repairing a damaged skin barrier include:

A hand holding the O Cosmedics Youth Activating Oil Balm, which contains some of the best ingredients for skin barrier repair.

A bottle of O Cosmedics Vitamin C Hemp Seed Oil serum standing next to slices of oranges to represent the high amount of vitamin C content in the ingredients.

A bottle of O Cosmedics Retinoic Oil dripping in oil.

Improve Hydration Levels

If water is the key to cellular communication and a healthy functioning skin, then we could all benefit from listening to Jennifer Aniston’s tips for age-proof, perfect complexion: drink more water… If only it was as simple as just this! Sure, drinking a bucket load of water a day has incredible health benefits as we are essentially made up of water. However what is most important is increasing our capacity to retain water. This is a fundamental part of the chase to skin barrier repair and will ensure long lasting hydration and ultimately skin health. Some of the best ingredients to repair skin barrier through the skin's increased capacity to hold onto water are Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide and PHA (Poly Hydroxy Acids). Whilst they all work in different ways, essentially these three powerhouse ingredients are extremely influential in your skin and the use of one (or all three) if appropriate for your skin condition will be sure to help with skin barrier repair.

Some of our top picks for O Cosmedics products that contain these powerhouse ingredients are:

O Cosmedics 3D Hyaluronic Serum submerged in water to represent hydration. Hyaluronic Acid helps the skin increase its capacity to hold onto water.

A bottle of O Cosmedics B3 Plus being opened with the pump. B3 Plus contains Niacinamide which repairs skin barrier through the skin's increased capacity to hold onto water.

O Cosmedics Multi-Functional Peel in a flat lay. Multi-Functional Peel contains Poly Hydroxy Acids which helps the skin increase capacity to hold onto water to help repair skin barrier.

Internal Supplementation

Those lipids that make up our skin barrier and therefore repair it are formed partly due to our internal digestion of Omegas 3 & 6, explaining the push for including fatty fish, nuts, and spinach in our diets. However, the amount required for the skin to receive its part would involve us living on this diet and little else. Therefore, supplementing your Omega intake is the greatest way to ensure your body is metabolising the required lipids and ceramides to help with skin barrier repair. With supplementation you can expect to notice a drastically fast lipid increase alleviating dry, itchy, irritated and inflamed skin and ultimately restoring skin barrier damage much faster than you would without.

The O Cosmedics EFA’s Max Complex supplements were formulated specifically to help repair a damaged skin barrier.

A hand pouring pills out of O Cosmedics EFAs Max Complex, which contains Omega 3, 6 & 9 to help repair skin barrier

O Cosmedics EFAs Max Complex capsules in a flat lay, which contains Omega 3, 6 & 9 to help repair skin barrier.

Drip Feed Your Actives

A philosophy we’ve preached for over a decade- the slow introduction of actives in your skincare. Going too hard or too fast overwhelms the skin, causes inflammation, and disrupts barrier function with absolutely no benefit to the skin whatsoever. In order to repair the skin barrier, you may need to cut back your actives for a period of time until you’ve restored its function. Correct recommendation of actives being drip fed into the skin should not disrupt your barrier function, it should give it far greater integrity. However, if you’re overusing or using the incorrect forms of Vitamin A for your skin, as well as harsh scrubs and AHAs and BHAs or soap based cleansers, you will need to shelf these products and visit a Skin Expert to have your skin care revised.

Restoring your skins barrier is paramount to achieving skin health as is the use of daily SPF to avoid harsh UV wreaking havoc and causing further disruption. O COSMEDICS is formulated with the highest respect for the skin’s barrier housing a plethora of vitamins, antioxidants, oils, and humectants to protect, strengthen and restore skin barrier damage.