Does your skin feel dry, itchy, and prone to flaking? The reason for this could be a weakened skin barrier.

But what can we do to strengthen the skin barrier? We have compiled the best tips for you in this article and, as always, provide you with important background knowledge on the fascinating topic of the skin barrier.

What is the skin barrier?

It seals our body and ensures that harmful substances cannot penetrate – the skin barrier does a lot for us. But how exactly can one imagine this important barrier?

Skin barrier definition

The skin barrier refers to the outermost cell layer of the skin, the stratum corneum. It consists of horny cells (corneocytes) held together by the skin's own fats (lipids). You can imagine this as a kind of wall, where the horny cells correspond to the bricks and the lipids to the mortar.

Hydro-lipid film (acid mantle)

Additionally, on the upper skin layer, there is a film of sweat, fats, amino acids, and cell scales, known as the hydro-lipid film (also known as the acid mantle). This hydro-lipid film has a slightly acidic pH value of 4.7 to approx. 5.5, depending on the body region. The acid mantle is a component of the skin barrier and contributes to a healthy skin barrier.
The skin barrier and the acid mantle thus work hand in hand and are fully committed to protecting the skin.

Why is a strong skin barrier important?

The two main functions of the skin barrier

1. Protection against negative environmental influences

First, your skin barrier provides protection against negative external influences. These are primarily environmental damages such as UV rays, wind, cold, or pathogens.

2. Protection against water loss from the skin

Furthermore, the skin protective barrier regulates the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) of your skin. This measures the amount of fluid that evaporates from the skin surface into the environment. [1] A healthy skin barrier ensures that not too much moisture is released outwards. The skin barrier thus ensures optimally moisturized skin.

A healthy skin barrier is the best form of slow aging

Let's summarize briefly: A healthy skin barrier is the most effective form of slow aging, because it not only keeps the skin moist and plump, but also fends off environmental damage such as UV radiation or pollution – still the number one cause of premature skin aging.

Damaged skin barrier – symptoms

Normally, you can rely on your skin's protective barrier. But if it is disturbed, this is often accompanied by unpleasant symptoms:

• Your skin shows itchy, flaky patches.
• You have redness on your face.
• Your skin is irritated and sensitive.
• It feels dry and dehydrated.
• Your complexion is dull and full of impurities.
• Wound healing no longer functions optimally.

What damages the skin barrier?

The causes of a damaged skin barrier are manifold. We would like to address the six most common ones here.

Unhealthy lifestyle

An unhealthy lifestyle can lead to your skin's acid mantle becoming imbalanced. This includes unhealthy habits such as consuming too much fast food and stimulants like alcohol and nicotine, as well as stress and lack of sleep. The result: pathogens and pollutants can penetrate the skin more easily.

Too much UV radiation

UV rays penetrate the layers of the skin and can permanently weaken your skin barrier. Make sure you always protect yourself from the sun. This is best achieved by protective clothing and cream with a high sun protection factor. Sun protection is a must even in winter and should always be the last step in your facial care routine.

Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers are designed to hold together fat- and water-containing components of care products. The disadvantage: They continue this function in the barrier layer of the skin.

Classic emulsifiers detach the skin's own protective substances from the lipids in our skin, which are then simply rinsed away during the next cleansing. This makes the skin barrier increasingly porous. The skin can store moisture less effectively and becomes more permeable to pollutants. Dryness, hypersensitivity, as well as pimples and impurities can also be the result. (Therefore, at ruhi, we avoid emulsifiers and rely on natural emulsions that combine by shaking the oil and water phases).

Mineral oil-based products

Mineral oils are allergen-free, but they negatively affect the skin barrier. At first glance, they are great because they seal the skin surface and prevent moisture from escaping – great, that's exactly what we want, right? No, not to this extent! Because mineral oil & Co. hinder the skin from breathing, which can lead to a drastic deterioration of the skin's appearance. In addition, the skin becomes increasingly sluggish and no longer produces important lipids itself.

Coarse peels

Too frequent mechanical exfoliation with coarse abrasive particles can also strain your skin barrier. They can dry out the skin and increase the risk of annoying redness, irritation, and itching. But even chemical exfoliating products like fruit acid peels (keyword BHA or AHA acid) can weaken the skin's protective barrier if used too often.

Alcohol

Care products containing alcohol are not recommended, especially for sensitive, irritated skin. But even with easy-care skin, you should be careful with alcohol. It weakens the skin's acid mantle and throws it out of balance. This allows pollutants to penetrate more easily.

How to strengthen the skin barrier?

Fortunately, there are some active ingredients and active oils that can stabilize, strengthen, and even help rebuild the skin barrier.

Squalane

High-quality squalane oil is ruhi's top priority when it comes to strengthening the skin barrier. As an occlusive and skin-identical lipid, squalane plays a crucial role in the formation of a healthy barrier. It seals the skin, so to speak, and thus prevents moisture loss. Squalane thus also contributes to higher skin moisture. [3] Our oil serums are formulated with high-quality organic squalane to best strengthen your skin barrier.

Probiotics

Probiotics are living microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi that can have a positive effect on our health and even on our skin barrier. In our probiotic hyaluronic serum, for example, we use an innovative probiotic complex that is proven to strengthen the skin's barrier function by up to 77%.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E has a protective and antioxidant effect. It can stabilize the skin barrier and protect it from light-induced skin aging. [2] Therefore, this all-rounder vitamin can be found in every ruhi oil serum.

Ceramides

Ceramides are skin-identical lipids that occur naturally in the stratum corneum of the skin. Good to know: They even make up about 60% of the fats in our stratum corneum. No wonder this effective active ingredient is currently making a big comeback. Psst, we are currently developing great new products in which this ingredient plays a major role…

Glycerin

As an endogenous substance, glycerin is one of the skin's natural moisturizing factors and thus contributes significantly to better skin hydration and to strengthening the upper stratum corneum. You can find this great active ingredient in our water-based formulations such as our Adaptogen Toner Serum and our Probiotic Hyaluronic Serum.

Plant oils

Plant oils also have an occlusive effect and effectively seal the skin barrier. Our oil serums contain not only squalane derived from organic sugar cane but also organic pomegranate seed oil (Bakuchiol Oil Serum) and organic plum kernel oil (Adaptogen Vitamin C Oil Serum).

Both oils protect, strengthen and nourish the skin and contribute to a healthy skin barrier. Our tip: Always apply face oils and oil serums to damp skin. This creates a natural emulsion and the moisture as well as the valuable active ingredients from the oil can be introduced into the skin and locked in there.

As you can see, there are several ways you can support your skin's barrier function. All ruhi products are designed for the sustainable strengthening of your skin barrier. Especially our squalane-based oil serums intensely nourish your skin and optimize its moisture balance – for a radiant and healthy glow!

Sources

[1] Proksch, E., Brandner, J.M. and Jensen, J.-M. (2008), The skin: an indispensable barrier. Experimental Dermatology, 17: 1063-1072. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0625.2008.00786.x

[2] Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage S, Tavakkol A, Polefka TG, Nabi Z, Elsner P, Thiele JJ. Vitamin E delivery to human skin by a rinse-off product: penetration of alpha-tocopherol versus wash-out effects of skin surface lipids. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2005 Jan-Feb;18(1):20-6. doi: 10.1159/000081682. PMID: 15608499. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15608499/

[3] Boussouira, Boudiaf & Pham, Dang-Man. (2016). Squalene and Skin Barrier Function: From Molecular Target to Biomarker of Environmental Exposure. 10.1007/978-3-319-43157-4_2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306385965_Squalene_and_Skin_Barrier_Function_From_Molecular_Target_to_Biomarker_of_Environmental_Exposure/citation/download

[4] Fluhr JW, Darlenski R, Surber C. Glycerol and the skin: holistic approach to its origin and functions. Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jul;159(1):23-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08643.x. Epub 2008 Jul 1. PMID:18510666. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18510666/

[5] Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Dec 27;19(1):70. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010070. PMID: 29280987; PMCID: PMC5796020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29280987/