HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR SKIN’S REPAIR BARRIER IS WEAK?

Your skin goes to combat with aggressors daily. We come into contact with simple things every day like the sun, pollution, stress, chemicals, radiation, and more break down the skin’s repair barrier and defence function. The weaker your skin’s repair barrier, the faster you’re likely to age. Your skin’s protective element also weakens as you age. You might see early signs of sun spots, pigmentation problems, fine lines, and dryness. Those with paler skin may have thinner skin which is generally more sensitive, and you may notice signs of a weaker barrier such as redness, eczema and other skin irritation.

HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR BARRIER?

Your skin works hard to maintain its barrier and works the hardest during sleep when it goes into repair mode.

To help your skin, you can ensure that you get 8 hours of sleep so that it can become more resilient.
You can avoid using harsh soaps and chemicals on the skin as they can interfere with the essential oils and natural moisturising factors. Ensure that you stay hydrated as this helps the barrier to work effectively. Dry skin signifies that your barrier function is weakening as it cannot retain water as efficiently. When you’re young, your skin can retain 80% water, but this ability decreases with age.

As for skincare, you should aim to avoid harsh exfoliants as they can cause trauma to the skin and increase your sensitivity. Use a gentle flannel and acid-based exfoliator instead. You should also try to keep your routine as organic, clean and straightforward as possible and avoid any products that contain alcohol, silicones and other solid chemicals and irritants. And suppose you want to treat and repair your skin in-clinic. In that case, introducing specialised treatments such as Dye-VL and Celluma integrated into our Lightfinity Facial is a stellar way of strengthening and nourishing the barrier. Dye-VL can gently and effectively remove the dry layers that assemble on the skin’s surface, prompting renewal. Dye-VL uses photorejuvenation to improve and regulate the top layer and overall tone. A lightfinity facial uses LED light therapy to harmonise and stimulate new fibroblast technology under the skin, encouraging and renewing cells and nourishing skin without causing damage.