Have you ever heard of your skin barrier? Did you know that it existed before reading this? No, that’s okay, most people don’t know about the skin barrier and how to properly protect it! We talk a lot about skin protection on here, but we’ve never actually talked about the skin barrier. Therefore, we shall talk about the skin barrier today. Get ready.

Okay, I was acting really dramatic up there, but honestly, there is no need for drama, just the ways to protect our wonderful skin barriers. First, though, we’ve got to talk about what in the world is a skin barrier. Essentially, the skin barrier is made from lamellar sheets which are between the cells of the top layer of the skin called the stratum corneum. Some health professionals like to refer to these sheet structures as the mortar between the bricks in the wall of your house. This basically helps keep your skin cells in place and the stratum corneum in tip-top shape.

The skin barrier is basically your skin’s security system, and when you protect it right, it works like the world’s best security! Anyways, the skin barrier helps to seal in moisture and hydration while protecting against bacteria and other irritants. The barrier is flexible but strong when properly taken care of. If it isn’t, this can cause skin dullness, dryness, and sensitivity which can also lead to inflammation and skin aging (yikes!).

Your skin barrier takes damage from aging, exposure to environmental stressors, and over-cleansing the skin. These irritants cause the skin barrier to weaken, and it just can’t do its job correctly! Some more common barrier damagers are pollution, UV light, stress, poor diet, blue light, and extreme temperatures.

So, how do we protect it? This should come as no shock when I say this but SUNSCREEN. You should be applying sunscreen every single day because it helps your skin in SO many ways with such little effort. Another way to protect it is to keep that skin moisturized, not just with moisturizer but keeping yourself hydrated with water is super important as well. Antioxidant-rich ingredients in skincare products are another fantastic way to prevent and repair damage. This helps fight the bad things trying to tamper with the barrier, and when you’ve got the right antioxidants, you’ll be unstoppable.

The skin barrier is so important for us to take care of it, and it doesn’t require that much effort from you! Just make sure to incorporate those tried and true things (sunscreen and water with a good diet) to keep the skin barrier healthy and functioning. Now, do drink a glass of water and put that sunscreen ON!