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Skin Conditions, Combination skin, Dry Skin, Oily Skin & Acne, Sensitive Skin
Barrier Repair: the Key to Outrageously Healthy Skin
28
Oct
Oct
Barrier repair – it’s an ambiguous phrase.
But it’s super important because it stands between you and the outside world.
Whilst it may not seem like it on the surface, your skin is constantly hard at work.
It’s a living thing constantly communicating with other cells to stay healthy.
One of the most challenging roles your skin has to play is at the uppermost layer, the skin barrier; you can liken it to a security guard for your skin.
It is there to stop potential irritants from passing through and protect everything that lies within.
Should your shield weaken, skin conditions can occur.
Rarely do we give our skin’s barrier much attention.
But we folks at the NC think it’s super important.
If you considered all the skin conditions associated with an impaired barrier, then maybe you would.
Interestingly, around 60% of the clients we see in our clinic suffer from an impaired barrier.
But why is this happening? We created this article to set the record straight.
To help you understand precisely what is involved if you want happy, healthy, balanced skin.
Barrier Repair Problems
- dry skin
- eczema
- rosacea
- psoriasis
- inflammation
- premature ageing
- dehydrated, flaky skin
- sensitivity and redness
- inflamed papules and pustules
Did you know that your skin is the largest organ on your body?
It’s the interface between you and your external environment and is important in protecting and supporting everything it encloses.
Healthy skin is supple, firm, and youthful skin, but if it becomes out of balance, it starts to appear flaky, prematurely aged and uneven.
Why? Because it reflects light abnormally.
Wrinkles and lines can appear more apparent, all leading to age-related conditions.
What Does the Term Natural Barrier Mean?
Your barrier function is found in the stratum corneum, a specialised layer that forms the epidermis’s outermost part of your skin.
This layer functions as both a physical and chemical barrier; its role is twofold:
- To prevent penetration from invading allergens and bacteria.
- To avoid water evaporation, referred to as trans-epidermal water loss.
It is made of multiple stacks of flattened cells called corneocytes; there are layers upon layers of dead skin cells that are surrounded by an oily, water-repellent coating.
They provide a formidable barrier to water outflow and an impermeable membrane to the environment.
This oily surrounding comprises 50% Ceramides, 25% Cholesterol, and 10% Fatty Acids, essential lipids crucial for the normal barrier repair function, a subject we discuss in greater detail here.
Your barrier is a vital front line that protects you from environmental assaults, including bacterial infection, UV, and more.
Sensitive or not, building up your skin’s outer barrier gives your skin the increased resilience that we fragile folk so desperately require.
How is My Skin’s Barrier Function Formed?
We must get a little skin sciency to understand this, so please bear with us.
As new cells form, old cells move up through the layers of your skin; as they do this, they are cut off from their nourishment supply and begin creating a complex protein called keratin.
This process is called keratinisation, and literally millions of dead cells turnover daily. Keratinisation is essential; it is a tough, waterproof protein that gives your skin resilience and strength.
A matrix is formed during this process; keratinisation structures within the cells, called lamellar bodies produce complex fatty materials (lipids) that sit between your skin’s cells.
The mixture and organisation of these lipids in the space between the corneocytes keep your barrier intact, which equals healthy skin.
Phew, see what we mean. This is a technical subject with some extensive terminology, but essential if you want to understand barrier repair.
If you need further clarification, this video explains your skin’s keratinisation process.
So Why Does Our Barrier Become Weak?
Aside from the environmental stressors mentioned above, it could be your age or colour.
Our skin barrier weakens with age, and vital ingredients like ceramides and cholesterol and humectants like hyaluronic and urea deplete.
And if you have Celtic skin, yes, English roses were talking about you; your barrier may be thinner, making you more prone to rashes, redness, and irritation.
Therefore building up your skin’s barrier function will improve its appearance and help increase its resilience, which we fragile folks so desperately need.
When your barrier function is intact, it contains the right amount of lipids and natural moisturising factor (NMF), which helps your skin retain water, making it dewy, plump and radiant.
When this is impaired, your skin can suffer from any one of the following conditions:
Dry: Your skin will lack oil and may be rough and scaly.
Flaking: A typical sign of dehydrated skin is a lack of water.
Tightness: That one-size-too-small sensation that is often associated with dry skin.
Redness: Skin inflammation occurs when your barrier breaks down, which potentially causes inflammation which manifests as skin sensitivity – where your barrier can’t protect against irritants.
Itchiness: The classic “winter skin” when your skin is flaky and irritated is a sure sign of damage to your barrier function.
When the barrier function is impaired, this can affect your nerve endings, leading to irritation and itching.
When you scratch your skin to relieve the itch, your barrier function is injured further, causing inflammation and redness.
Sound familiar? It can be a never-ending cycle; once you’ve reacted to a product, your skin’s uppermost layer is compromised, giving way to the potential for even more problems.
Worse still, the steroid creams typically prescribed for severe inflammation, eczema and allergic reactions cause your skin to be thin, which, whilst it does reduce inflammation, leaves you vulnerable to further irritants.
What can Upset my Barrier Function?
Let’s take a closer look at some of the things that can undermine your barrier function:
Overcomplicated routines are just asking for trouble – we recommend keeping it simple. Take a long, hard look at your beauty practices and par your routine right back.
Throw out stripping harsh astringents like alcohol and surfactants, as these can leave your barrier dry, exposed, and susceptible to irritation.
They also have an alkalising effect on the skin and throw off your pH balance, disrupting your skin’s natural processes, leaching away at your Natural Moisturising Factor and dehydrating your skin.
Like glycolic and salicylic acids, active acids should also be avoided as these remove the top layers of your skin.
Exfoliants you intend to use should be extremely gentle, with no scrubbing bubbles – which can cause tiny micro-tears in your skin, causing a whole host of problems in a skin that is already undermined.
- invasive treatments, especially micro-needling, can completely disrupt the barrier, sometimes doing irreversible damage
- environmental conditions such as cold, heat, dry air, and wind can severely damage the barrier lipids
- cumulative sun damage can affect cellular renewal cycles, which is how lipids are naturally formed
- unprotected skin during the winter months can become dehydrated due to the destruction of barrier oils
- harsh soaps or products or being overzealous with high-foaming detergents can strip the skin’s protective sebum; breaking down protective barrier lipids
- over-exfoliation and harsh peels can strip the stratum corneum cells and deplete barrier oils
- genetic conditions and skin disorders, such as psoriasis, can have a detrimental effect on the barrier function
How do I Rebuild my Barrier?
Opt for well-thought-out formulas with skin-identical and barrier-repairing ingredients, like those discussed below:
- products that contain lipid components can help to supplement the missing elements in damaged skin
- a serum with humectant ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and urea attract water into the corneocytes
- occlusive ingredients such as cocoa butter provide a physical barrier; sealing moisture into the tissues whilst preventing water loss
- protective emollient ingredients will allow your skin to repair the damaged lipid layer through the cell renewal process
- sebum-identical ingredients such as jojoba and squalane that are found in human sebaceous secretions act as lubricants on the skin’s surface, giving it a smooth appearance
- triglycerides such as castor seed oil, which is 40-50% rich in triglycerides such as ricinolein, are incredibly moisturising
- linoleic acid is one of the most significant lipids for maintaining barrier function. Recent studies suggest that it is essential for the formation of the lamellar phase of the stratum corneum lipids
Are There Specific Barrier Repairing Ingredients
There sure are; these include:
- phospholipids
- ceramides
- cholesterol
- triglycerides
- squalane
- jojoba
- fatty acids
- phytosterols
These ingredients contain a composition similar to the membrane structure of your natural barrier function.
Therefore, we replenish them topically with essential skin-identical ingredients, which you can read all about here.
Hi Samantha
Several years ago I started getting a bumpy rash on my forehead. I was prescribed acne medications and cream, several years later and after rounds of antibiotics it doesn’t clear. The rash is only on my forehead and scalp, I think I have damaged my skin barrier from acne creams and fungal creams when actually I was just having a reaction. Now the burning is really bad and the only thing I can use is cetaphil cleanser. I can’t put any makeup or moisturiser on my forehead the burning rash instantly spreads within minutes, even squalane oil I can’t tolerate on my skin. I also get a burning scalp from every shampoo. My skin even hurts when I start to sweat and produce my own oil or just being outside if it’s cold or windy my forehead feels so sore, tight and tingly.
Hi Charlotte I am so sorry to hear about your skin and yes you possibly could of impaired your barrier, if you would like to email me at samanthamiller70@hotmail.com I will be happy top recommend products for you. Yours in s kin health Samantha
Hi Samantha!
I was on an antihistamine that I shouldn’t have a been in the sun. Dumb me I went and laid out. My skin turned not red, but maroon. Since then I had weird eruptions around my nose and my face was super sensitive and about 5 different shades. A doctor thought it was a fungal infection so told me to put turbafine on it for a few weeks while taking oral antifungals. The cream causes more damage around my mouth and chin. Now when I move my face or eat or talk it turns bright red for about thirty seconds. Can you suggest what I should do to correct this. It’s been about 3 months and my face turns red to the touch. And feels very tight and tingly.
Hi Sarah I have to admit never coming across this reaction before? I recommend just using very little on your skin at this stage, strip it back to a simple water based serum and a moisturiser it sounds like your skin is really impaired.
Hi Samantha, I found this blog up late at night in excrutiating pain with with nowhere to turn
A few days ago I applied raw honey to my face and left in on for 3 hours as a recommended fungal acne treatment . Now my right chekewon’t stop burning. I am currently washing it gently with a mixture of colloidal oatmeal and water, then applying vaseline at night. I know there are healing ointments and moisturizers with ceramides that might make it heal faster, but at this point it feels like applying those things to my cheek would be the same as rubbing them into my eyeball. I have heard people talk about barrier damage being itchy or making dry or dull skin tone. I don’t think many people experience barrier damage to the point of nonstop burning pain.
In 2011, I suffered a burn to my right cheek from using tretinoin. My cheek burned painfully almost every day for six years before it finally healed some time around 2017 (I believe it took so long because an idiot doctor prescribed me a steroid cream for the problem, which permanently thinned my skin and made it extremely hypersensitive. After six years of nonstop pain, I was finally free. And now this. I can’t go through this again. I just can’t. I had gotten so used to life without this pain, I had forgotten what it felt like. And now it’s back. How could I be so stupid.
Hi I am so sorry to hear about your skin – your barrier is impaired and at this stage less is best, in fact some skin types just require little or nothing, honey applied directly on the skin I would never recommend as you can have a reaction which is what is happening to you. If you did what a healing barrier repair recommendation I would go with H20 and Biolipid, but ideally nothing right now and not vaseline because you may be reacting also. Samantha
I am pretty sure my last microneedling (last year) caused rosacea-looking cheeks, they are red, spidery, drier than it used to be and sometimes I get small papules.
What would you recommend to heal the skin?
Hi Victoria
It is difficult to tell but it sounds like your barrier has become severely impaired. Ideally you need a range of products that contain ingredients that will help to replenish and heal the skin such as Fortify and bio lipid from my range. You also should invest in a good sunscreen, once your skin has calmed down you can then use skin strengthening products such as DNA and A+ that will make your skin more resilient and help to improve dermal thickness. Warm regards Samantha
Hi- i’m in my 20s and I found out my facial skin barrier was completely compromised 2 years ago (due to years of obsessive use of scrubs/ exfoliators/ acids) – ever since i found out my routine has been very simple- i am very gentle with my skin and just use an emollient wash day and night- my skin has improved so much from the irritated contact dermatitis bumpy mess that it was but it is still very very sensitive and quite red in tone.
I wouldn’t leave the house to go to work or socialise at all but a year ago when i noticed an improvement I started using Loreal true match foundation about 2 days a week just to go out and socialise and resume ‘normal’ life on those days…. I was able to use this for a year (up until now) but suddenly, although my skins appearance has improved so much, I have just started breaking out in rashes due to this foundation! I’m so upset because I thought things would just continue to improve. I have now ordered zinc oxide powder and iron oxide powder to make my own gentle mineral makeup and hope i will be able to use this a couple of days a week with no reaction.. fingers crossed.. otherwise I don’t know what i’ll do- this is a very depressing and distressing situation for me as i’ve always cared (too much) about my appearance. Please could you email me and give me some advice as i’m really struggling with this 🙁
Thank you
P.S I’ve been patch tested for allergies and have 0 allergies so all my facial reactions are irritation contact dermatitis not allergic
My dermatologist said my barrier would eventually heal (he said 2 years to see significant improvement- which i have) but i’m on long term Lymecycline antibiotics in the meantime.
Hi Eleanor. I am happy to give you further advice but it really sounds as though you are moving in the right direction, we are all metabolically different so how long one’s skin needs to heal from trauma is dependant on the person. As long as your really using gentle healing products and monitoring your skin topically you are on the right track. Thank you for sharing your story Samantha
I have eczema and I am injured and disabled which compels me to exercise in the public swimming pool. This is wrecking havoc with my skin. What drew me to the conversation was the word barrier. I am seeking a preparation to apply to my skin all over and my hair after showering but before I go in the pool to sit between me and the chlorine soup. It needs to be protective and persistent. I shower again after the pool and treat my skin with layers of other stuff. What is a good barrier product for this purpose please?
Barbara Thank you so much for reaching out…I have emailed you directly.
Kind regards
Samantha
Hi Samantha, I appreciate all and any help you can give me. I am so sad and having such a hard time just getting through each day. I don’t even recognize myself I look so bad and the damage continues top get worse which I can’t even begin to comprehend. So here it goes – May 2015 fully ablative CO2 laser. Plastic surgeon told me I would have a week of down time for some reason he lied but I could not leave the house for a month. It was for a scar on my face and a few little brown spots. Not something I ever would have done had I realized what it was because I had good skin. Sept and Oct of 2015 they did a IPL to try to correct the damage – I told them not to do any more IPLs because pigmentation was worse. Dec 2015 they did one micro-needling and I told them to stop. Feb 2016 I did a VI peal. June 2016 a new plastic surgeon put me on the obagi system with hydroquinone and retina. I stopped in September due to increased hyper pigmentation and irritated skin. This same plastic surgeon in Dec of 2016 did a fraxel lazer for hyper pigmentation.
In March 2017 I stupidly did a self administered cosmelon peal 1 and 2 which I stopped after seven days as I saw I was doing damage to my skin. This peal had hydroquinone, azelaic acid, kojic acid, arbutinfido acid, ascorbic acid. The cosmelon 2 had kojic acid and phylitic acid etc. I guess because of my skin’s vulnerability it started to randomly scar daily and has continued for the last year and four months to get worse and worse. I didn’t have scarring after all of the other procedures only horrible hyperpigmenation everywhere. The scars occurred all over my face daily after the cosmelon peal and have continued to get worse over the last year and 9 months. My skin barrier layer is completely destroyed, extremely dehydrated and dry, feels hot, burning and irritated almost all the time. I could live with all of that but not with this scarring that won’t stop and I am positive it is from a completely damaged barrier acid mantle .
I went through menopause at age 44 and I am now 51. I have tried to get my makeup off using simple microfiber cloths, cotton balls and water which involves rubbing and is very drying . I cannot handle any exfoliation. I have used distilled water and regular water – it all bothers me. I have tried the aveene line of products, copper peptides, vasoline, cetaphil, cerave, micellar water H20, Niacidiamide, Jojoba oil, argon oil, avocado oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, saflower oil, emu oil, olive oil, caster oil, cucumber juice, oatmeal, honey, lots of organic product with botanicals, copper peptides, laroche posay tolerance line. All of these are no-go and cause more scarring and irritation. I can’t use fruit acids – the list goes on and on. I’ve been trying to avoid all makeups with silicones. I have tried dermablend, skin pseudicals physical mat defense, tarte cosmetics, natural organic makeups, powder foundations with just four ingredients in them, like zinc and iron oxides, mica. Nothing seems to help and the dehydration and damage just continues. I can’t even find a makeup to use yet I won’t leave the house with out makeup because of the pigmentation and the scarring. I am currently using a cool mist humidifier every night to try to keep moisture in my skin. I take vitamin D, iron, selinium, zinc, magnesium, vitamin B complex, probiotics, and just started taking liposomal vitamin C and glutothione liposomal as well. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jen
Thankyou so much for reaching out I am so sorry to hear about your skin issues. Jen I am going to personally email you my recommendations, please just bare with me as it is a busy time of year in the clinic but I will get around to responding. warm regards samantha
Hello,
My face is in desperate need of help! I’m 67 yrs old, had beautiful facial skin, not oily, till about 2 yrs ago. My routine was simple, I used only 2 products cleanser / moisturizer. People would compliment me all the time. Thanks to menopause my face produces NO oil to protect my skin. It’s dry, irritates easily and has fine lines everywhere, which I never had! Some people may become more oily, but not me. The dermatologist I’ve been to keeps telling me to put Vanicreme, Cetephil, Cereve etc. but that stuff doesn’t work for me. It’s irritating and makes may face drier! I’ve done research on skin care ingredients over many years. Petrolatum, mineral oil, glycols, silicones, dent. alcohol etc. cause more dryness, irritation. Even some oils are for oily skin, not dry skin. Why do companies put drying ingredients in moisturizers for dry skin! I’m at a loss…it’s so depressing since I once had beautiful skin. Hope you can help me.
Thank You
Hi Carol
As we age our skin naturally loses ingredients, that is why the Naked Chemist is formulated with skin identical ingredients that are missing. Biolipid, Saviour, Fortify and H20 would be a great place for you to start. You should also consider taking fatty acids internally, vitamin C and magnesium. Yours in skin health Samantha
I had a Fraxel laser treatment 2 years ago, and since then have been experiencing chronic breakouts, dermatitis, fungal infections, increased sensitivity, and general intolerance of most products. I was using oils high in linoleic acid and stayed away from fragrance and essential oil products. Right now my routine is: Raw honey as face wash, cool water rinse, facial toner with niacinamide and sodium PCA, Hyaluronic acid serum, squalane oil, followed by Cerave moisturizer. Can you suggest anything different for me to use to help repair my barrier? Also, a week ago I used a sulfur acne spot treatment on my cheek and it seemed to leave an area where it changed texture and made a recessed area of skin. It did not peel or flake. Do you think this is temporary and will it heal ??? Please help.
Hi Ann
Please email me at samanthamiller70@hotmail.com directly so i can best advise you. Warm regards samantha
I have emailed you directly. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Hi Samantha,
I wrote you previously but my message didn’t show up. I used Retin A only 12 times over a 2 month period and my skin barrier was stripped. It’s now inflamed, shiny, red, and weird texture going on. I’m at a loss as to what to do as it’s been 15 months since it happened. I know how to fix the texture with biorevitalization of necessary and such but I do not know how to repair my barrier. Please help I’m so distraught. I’ve talked to several that healed from this by doing the caveman regimine but I can’t see that helping me.
Hi Karrie
Please can you email me directly on samjade888@gmail.com please, so i can help you further. Thank you Samantha
Oh I forgot to mention I was told by a corneotherapy expert my barrier is in emergency mode creating this texture ….
Hi Samantha
So I’m at my wits end 14 months ago I used Retin A for 6 weeks and was doing facial exercises which were rough on the skin with rubbing. My skin got red and inflamed. Then developed this weird pin prick texture to it. It literally looks like I’m missing my outer layers of skin as it’s shiny with this really rough texture. My skin prior to this was very nice I was just doing this for preventative measures. This has effected my life so badly that I stopped working and just feel hopeless…
Hi Samantha,
I wonder if you can help…
I’m a guy in my late 20s and I’ve never had any skin issues but had hair growing all over my face, up to high cheek level so decided to undergo laser hair removal on the cheeks area. Had 5 sessions and after the 5th session, the laser severely damaged my skin. It was red, I had breakouts and the texture which was once smooth, tight and glowly has become rough and uneven.
It’s been 6 months since the 5th treatment and my skin has recovered gradually but it hasn’t gone back to how it was before laser…
It’s still reddish in tone and texture is rough looking. My skin also feels like it’s emitting heat from the inside and generally feels restricted in movement/tight.
I’ve been reading this post and explored your website and it seems as if the laser has damaged my skin barrier due to the heat (erbium yag laser).
To improve the skin condition I’ve been considering doing a session of green peels, where after 5 days the top layers of the skin sheds but not sure if my skin is ready for it yet.
Please advise whether I should first concentrate on healing my skin barrier and once it recovers, then consider the green peels to improve the texture of the skin?
Also is it possible to completely heal the barrier to how it was before? if so, how many months of do you reckon it would take if I were to cleanse everyday, followed by a toner and moisturiser containing barrier repair ingredients and wear spf everyday?
Sorry lastly, someone suggested applying vitamin c serum with actives everyday, is this something I should incorporate in to my routine?
Please help as I’m not sure where to start and what route to follow.
Thank you
Hi Varane
Thank you for reaching out, I really feel like I would love to do an article for my poor un-suspecting readers on why you should avoid laser treatment, especially if you have sensitive skin. The problem with laser is two fold first it is a very serious treatment, that all to often is administered by untrained beauty therapists. it is a powerful medical device, one that omits light energy at a single wavelength, and it must be treated with respect or you will get laser burn and will cause significant damage to the reticular layer of the dermis, this is under your outer layer of skin the epidermis and will cause a faulty underlying dermis and sadly it is not as simple as resurfacing and creating a superficial texture.
Secondly frequent treatment sessions can result in unsightly complications of dark and white patches on the skin known in the industry as as “mottled hypopigmentation”.
I’m keen to know why you have been told to correct this issue with a series of green peels? First a peel works on Keratinized skin cells. Keratinization happens at the surface, so it stands to reason that it will not effect the Dermis which is where the damage has happened with your skin. A green peel uses trichloracetic acid (TCA) and is comparable to a mild grade chemical peel, which is hardly barrier repairing, which is what your skin requires right now. Honestly this sort of advice really does infuriate me, whilst the peel won;t penetrate all the way to the dermis why add fire to fire? After all your barrier is already impaired! At this stage you need to strip back your routine with barrier repairing formulas, that contain skin identical ingredients that are missing, avoiding all treatments and actives like Vitamin C.
If you would like to contribute to an article on this I would really appreciate it, or require further advice, contact me on samjade888@ gmail.com. Yours in skin health Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for the amazing article. I believe I have damaged my skin barrier in the last couple weeks due to too much benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid foam wash, stress, and lack of sleep. If I eliminate these factors, drink a lot of water, exercise daily, avoid sun, and get ample amounts of sleep, will my skin barrier repair itself in time? Or do I need the use of products?
Additionally, I recently suffered a bad breakout, and was going to get a hydra facial to help with some of the pigmentation. Is this a good idea or will it just delay the process of repairing my skin? Thanks!
Hi rohan thanks for reaching out, it sounds like you are doing all the right things in terms of lifestyle, you need very gentle products to repair your barrier. Please stay away from harsh stripping actives like salicylic and treatments not sure how to advise on hydra facial as not familiar with it. Good luck Samantha
Hi Samantha,
I had lovely skin that was maintained with Biologique P50 and regular facials until a perfect storm of events quickly ruined my skin. Between my first microdermabrasion treatment and a strong uptick in stress, sugar, lattes, and fruit in my diet, I started to break out on my forehead. We hit it hard with the P50 and a year later I still wasn’t looking like myself so I started SkinMedica .25 retinol and alternated with my P50. I still thought it was stress that was hindering my recovery and an esthecian did a mild peel and still no improvement. My texture was changing on my cheeks at this point, my first chin breakouts began, and redness on my cheeks that I’d never had. To add insult to injury, the next Dermatologist put me on retin-a micro .8. I used it maybe 6 times over the course of a month and my skin was furious—bumpy, red, burning non-stop. I sought the advice of an esthetician who said I was congested and did another round of microdermabrasion that was very painful. After doing my own research, I realized it was allergies (food and skin—I’m allergic to fragrance in sunscreen and the skinmedica) and a severely damaged barrier. 9 months later, the acne on my forehead is vastly improved, as is most of the redness, but I’m still oily (which is new for me) with strange texture, uneven tone, and sometimes a crawling/tugging sensation.
AM regimen: cool water rinse, Clindamycin lotion on forehead and mouth, CeraVe barrier repair
PM regimen: Bioderma if I’m wearing a bit of concealer (I only spot conceal sometimes—no makeup otherwise for 9 months!); wash with VaniCream, Aczone in some spots, CeraVe, jojoba oil.
I have a great many allergies to products and foods. My diet is super clean and hormone supporting, but I’m not really seeing much improvement.
Will/how can my skin ever recover it’s former smoothness and strength? I’m a professional singer and performing for a crowd with my new face has been incredibly hard for me.
Hi Carly
Thank you so much for reaching out.
I don’t know why we ladies are so addicted to overusing products and treatments, when our skin is in good shape. It sounds like the vitamin A as originally the problem compounded by microdermabrasion and chemical peels, treatments that I never advocate using on the skin. Your on the right track you need to avoid fragrance and any actives in your product and possibly look at the fact that you might have a lactose intolerance. You will be able to re build your barrier long term you just need to pull back on your skin care routine. I’m sorry I’m unable to comment on the products as I have never used them. Good luck Samantha
I could sure use some help before purchasing your products, is there any way to get more personal communication through email.
I have emailed you directly Andrea
Hi Samantha,
About 3 months ago I used a face mask that I now believe was expired. It had a ton of ingredients, and wreaked havoc on my face. My face immediately started burning, so I rinsed it off. It caused a red, raised, painful rash all over my face. Since then, my face has been very red, irritated, itchy on parts, and feels like a constant sunburn. It’s pretty painful, and making me pretty self-conscious and unhappy. I can’t even wash it with tap water, only distilled water. I assumed it would be better by now, but it still really hurts. My dermatologist can’t figure out why it’s not healing, and the prescriptions only make it worse. He keeps telling me it will take time. How long will it take? Did I completely destroy my face? How can I get it back on track and not so painful?
Hi Erin please can you email me directly to discuss your skin concerns further at samanthamiller70@hotmail.com
Dear Samantha,
About 10 years I caused damage to my skin using a combination of facial cleansers and exfoliates. Skin became very ‘dehydrated’ it has improved over those years but it never fully recovered. I don’t use any harsh soaps and I moisturise daily and still this problem persists. How could my skin not heal after all these years?
Laura you need a good skin care regime such as my products, without actives and fragrance or anything that will upset the acid mantle, it’s all about repairing your skin and the barrier. samantha
Hello Samantha,
How long does it take to repair the barrier? I have been taking good probiotics, taking care of my skin, etc! I’ve never had acne or issues and I’ve never needed to use many products. I didn’t have a cystic acne breakout. It was more of a rash, red bumps issue. I’m sure with all the alcohol products that I used – it compromised my barrier. It has become better however, I just want to completely restore it. Took tests and found that it was not a hormonal problem so it must have been a weird fluke. I’ve been to all the doctors and they say I’m healthy and nothing would indicate this issue which makes me believe it’s the skin barrier. Please help!!!
Thank you!!!
Hi Katlin, it is so difficult to say without seeing you in person and understanding more about your history and skin conditions, please email me privately so i can answer you personaly. Samantha