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How to repair a damaged skin barrier

Is your skin dry, tight, and irritated? Let’s talk about how to repair a damaged skin barrier.

What exactly is the skin barrier (and how does it work)?

In simplest terms, the skin barrier is responsible for how your skin looks and feels and it has two main roles; to keep the good things in, and the bad things out.

It’s a protective shield on the outermost layers of your skin, made from cells and lipids, that works really hard every day to protect your skin. It regulates water levels, keeps essential moisture in, and protects the skin from environmental aggressors, inflammation, irritation, etc. Basically, it’s super important 🙂

What does it feel like when your skin barrier is damaged?

When your skin barrier is damaged, it can feel irritated and dehydrated, red and hot, or generally inflamed. It might feel sore and tight, or dry and sensitive to the touch – or it could be a combination of these things.

A damaged skin barrier can happen for many reasons, but the most common causes are over-exfoliation of the skin (it happens to the best of us!), stress, hormonal fluctuations, lack of sleep, a reaction to a new product or a combination of products, wearing a mask all day, or using a cleanser that’s too stripping or drying.

 

How To Repair A Damaged Skin Barrier | Simone Scribes

How can you repair your damaged skin barrier?

Completely pair back your routine. And when I say pair back, we’re talking two to three products maximum. A very gentle cleanser, a repairing/hydrating serum, and a barrier-repairing moisturiser – morning and night.

Remove Vitamin C from your routine, any exfoliating acids and retinol (along with any product(s) that may have caused the damage or irritation) and focus on using products that repair, nourish, soothe and deeply hydrate the skin. Look for products that include ingredients like Ceramides, Squalane, Niacinamide, Glycerin and Hyaluronic Acid – our skin can never get enough of these and they will work to quickly (and gently) repair, hydrate, and moisturise your skin.

Here are some of my favourite, non-stripping, non-drying, gentle cleansers

 

 

Gentle, repairing, hydrating serums

 

 

Barrier-repairing moisturisers and creams

 

 

Soothing recovery masks

These are particularity great when you need instant relief as they work to immediately soothe and calm the skin.

 

How long does it take to repair a damaged skin barrier?

Depending on your individual skin type and how long your skin barrier has been damaged, it can take anywhere from two to three weeks to three months. If the irritation you’re experiencing is down to a new product, over-exfoliation or wearing a mask, etc. your skin barrier should be shiny and new within two to three weeks.

If the damage is a few months in the works it might take a little longer.

For more deep-dives into skin issues and ingredients, take a look at the Skincare Guides section of my website or follow me on Instagram or Tiktok.

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Categories: Homepage, Skincare Guides

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Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin Foundation
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My Most Used Products in May and June

The new headshot called for several layers of make The new headshot called for several layers of makeup and lots of glow, in an effort to look natural 😆 ✨ #thethingswedo #makeup
I wrote about my grandmother some time ago, a stro I wrote about my grandmother some time ago, a strong, elegant, educated woman. A writer, a teacher, a mother, a powerhouse. 
A woman who impacted my life in such profound ways, that they’re still revealing themselves, two and a half decades after she left. 
Here I am today, writing for a newspaper that she wrote for many moons ago, about a subject that brings me back in time to her. My first introduction to beauty, to taking care of myself, to respecting myself. 
It’s a full circle moment, but equally, it’s a testament to the enduring power and influence of women. 
A friend gave me a beautiful card this weekend, and on the front it said ‘you’re some woman for one woman’. But I am not one woman. I am my grandmother. I am my mother. 
I am the sum-total of every woman who has ever made space for me. Every woman who raised me, and loved me, and cared for me, and placed a steady hand on my back when I needed it. 
The power of women is truly eternal, it’s everlasting. 
We must never underestimate the impact kind, supportive, trailblazing, inspiring, loving women can have. On a life, on a lifetime. And I am proof of that. 
Here’s to you, Christine ❤️
Never not face-masking ✨ Never not face-masking ✨
A daily topical supplement for your skin? Absolute A daily topical supplement for your skin? Absolutely yes, thanks to Irish brand @sastaskinhealth 🙌🏻

Their Microbiome Booster Serum feeds the skin topically with prebiotic and postbiotic microbiome friendly ingredients that help to improve and support the health and wellbeing of your skin. 

Used morning and evening after cleansing (and before other products), this super lightweight serum works on the immunity of your skin, protecting it from environmental aggressors that can irritate our skin barrier (I think you all know how much I love talking about the skin barrier 😆) 

It’s suitable for all skin types, and is particularly great if you have inflammation, pigmentation, or sensitive, dehydrated skin.

It’s available now from www.sastaskinhealth.com for €45, or choose to go packaging free for €43.

AD #skinmicrobiome #sastaskinhealth #skincarelover #irishskincarebrand
Love this, and everything else in @melodygodfred’s Self Love Poetry book ❤️ 

#selfcare #wordstoliveby #wordstoinspire
Newness from @amandaharringtonlondon that’s wort Newness from @amandaharringtonlondon that’s worthy of all the applause (and a place on the grid 😆).

There are many things I love about AH’s Tonal Tan Drops; they’re easy to use (apply alone or mix a few drops with moisturiser), they buff in beautifully, they’re not sticky, they don’t smell like biscuits, and most importantly - they deliver instant, natural looking results. 

I’m sold, all the way, forever and ever. 
#newfavourites #instanttan #beautyjunkie
LED Face Masks are a form of LED Light Therapy, wh LED Face Masks are a form of LED Light Therapy, which has been around for a very long time - over 30 years in fact. NASA were the first to use it in the eighties in an effort to stimulate plant growth. During the experiments one of NASA's scientists noticed that his skin lesions had started to heal faster, and so began the era of LED Light Therapy.

LED Light Therapy is widely used today in hospital and clinic settings. So much so, that if you have visited a skin clinic for a facial or treatment in recent years, you've probably spent some time under an LED light.

So, what does LED stand for exactly? The answer is Light Emitting Diodes. These are the red and near infra-red lights that are absorbed by your skin cells when you have a treatment in a clinic, or when you wear an LED mask. 

Red Light and Infrared Light are incredible for the skin. They penetrate the deeper layers and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, soothe inflammation and redness, target fine lines and wrinkles and speed up skin recovery. 

@currentbody have two great LED devices I’ve been using recently; their LED Face Mask, and LED Neck and Dec Perfector. With regular 10 minute treatments (that’s all it takes!) these devices are clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 35% in just four weeks, and 95% of users say their skintone, texture and tightness improved. 

If you’d like to try them, code SIMONE15 will get you 15% off the entire CBSKIN range on CurrentBody.ie (link in my Stories). 

AD #ledlighttherapy #currentbody #skincare #ledfacemask #dublin
Carry on skincare for this trip; lots of gentle, h Carry on skincare for this trip; lots of gentle, hydrating, repairing products, a pigmentation treatment for PM use and SPF. 

When I travel my main focus is to just keep my skin hydrated and calm. I rarely bring anything new and stick to products my skin responds really well to 🤗 

• @cliniqueuk Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm (for a first and second cleanse) 
• @garnieruk Micellar Water (to remove eye makeup, lipstick, and clean up around the eyes when I’m doing my makeup). 
• @dermalogicauk Peptide Eye Gel (A gorgeous plumping, hydrating eye serum) 
• @charlottetilbury Magic Serum (Love this for hydrating, repairing, brightening. It contains Niacinamide, Vitamin C, Polyglutamic Acid, Glycerin). 
• @avene_uki Hydrance Rehydrating Serum (A longtime favourite, this hydrates and calms dehydrated, sensitive skin. Like a big drink of water for your skin). 
• @avene_uki Mist (For dampening my skin before serums and moisturiser)
• @theinkeylist Mandelic Acid (I use this to spot treat dark spots/pigmentation)
• @biossance Squalane Omega Repair Cream (A rich but lightweight, super hydrating and soothing moisturiser. Totally divine)
• @supergoop Play SPF50 (One of the greatest SPFs ever, basically 😆) 

#travelskincare #travelbeauty #carryonskincare #myskincare
My go to evening outfit: a wrap dress, linen blaze My go to evening outfit: a wrap dress, linen blazer and a nice even layer of @vitaliberata Body Blur 😆 
Such a great product, if you haven’t tried it give it a go 
(I bought shade medium)
Reason 172631 @bylouiseemmaclarke and I are friend Reason 172631 @bylouiseemmaclarke and I are friends: she brings me to vineyards 🤩 
#whataday #vineyardviews #kent
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