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A damaged skin barrier is when your outermost layer of skin has become compromised and less effective at protecting the body from external irritants and retaining moisture. This disruption can lead to various skin issues like dryness, inflammation, itchiness and in turn leads to poor health indicators.
REPAIRING YOUR SKIN BARRIER:
TAKING A BREAK FROM SKINCARE:
A simple solution to fixing your skin barrier is only cleanse your face for two weeks. Only a simple gel cleanser every night to clean gunk from your face, no need for moisuriser. This will force your skin to recalibrate trans epidermal water loss and rebuild its own lipid layer so as a result your skin will regulate oil, hydration and sensitivity much better.
LIPIDS:
A 3:1:1 ratio of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids is often cited as being beneficial for skin barrier repair and recovery. This ratio mimics the natural composition of lipids in the skin's stratum corneum
You can use fatty oils like squalene or rose hip oil, I would avoid coconut oil as it has comedogenic properties. Skip moisturisers with heavy silicones and gums, remember that less ingredients the better.
EXFOLIATION:
Most people destroy their skin barrier by layering on too many products with different pH’s/acids.
You will want to apply acids to dry, clean skin very minimally. Wait 15 minutes before applying anything else. Some good gentle acids are azaelic acid and lactic acids especially for beginners. You want to only use these products twice/thrice a week as you do not need that much to maintain skin cell turnover.
RETINOID CYCLING:
Depending on your skins tolerance, you will need to introduce retinols (tretinoin) slowly through cycling. It’ll look something like this.
Week 1-2: Use tret 2-3x a week
Week 3-4: Use tret every other day
After that, you can use it nearly everyday. The timeline I’ve given probably won’t work for most people, especially if you do have sensitive skin, so you can be expecting that it’ll take around 3-6 months for your skin to adapt to tretinoin.
You can also use the sandwich method; use moisturiser, tret then moisturiser again to help reduce irritation. Gradually overtime, you can use stronger percentages. ALWAYS USE SUNSCREEN WHEN USING RETINOLS!!
DIET:
As a final note, your skin health will always be related to your gut health no matter what product you apply. If you eat like shit, your skin will be shit. Start by drinking 2L of water daily and avoiding ultra processed foods. You want to eat like someone before the rise of ultra processed foods as a general rule of thumb. Genetics also plays a role in good skin unfortunately.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
By the end of all this, your damaged skin should look something like this:

TLDR:
• Take a break from harsh, irritating skin products and only use a cleanser
• Use non comedogenic oils for heightened protection
• Use gentle acids to exfoliate your skin gently twice/thrice a week to prevent dead skin cell buildup
• Or you can cycle retinols like tret at a low percentage to gradually introduce it to your routine (some people can handle both)
• Good gut health = good healthy skin
REPAIRING YOUR SKIN BARRIER:
TAKING A BREAK FROM SKINCARE:
A simple solution to fixing your skin barrier is only cleanse your face for two weeks. Only a simple gel cleanser every night to clean gunk from your face, no need for moisuriser. This will force your skin to recalibrate trans epidermal water loss and rebuild its own lipid layer so as a result your skin will regulate oil, hydration and sensitivity much better.
LIPIDS:
A 3:1:1 ratio of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids is often cited as being beneficial for skin barrier repair and recovery. This ratio mimics the natural composition of lipids in the skin's stratum corneum
You can use fatty oils like squalene or rose hip oil, I would avoid coconut oil as it has comedogenic properties. Skip moisturisers with heavy silicones and gums, remember that less ingredients the better.
EXFOLIATION:
Most people destroy their skin barrier by layering on too many products with different pH’s/acids.
You will want to apply acids to dry, clean skin very minimally. Wait 15 minutes before applying anything else. Some good gentle acids are azaelic acid and lactic acids especially for beginners. You want to only use these products twice/thrice a week as you do not need that much to maintain skin cell turnover.
RETINOID CYCLING:
Depending on your skins tolerance, you will need to introduce retinols (tretinoin) slowly through cycling. It’ll look something like this.
Week 1-2: Use tret 2-3x a week
Week 3-4: Use tret every other day
After that, you can use it nearly everyday. The timeline I’ve given probably won’t work for most people, especially if you do have sensitive skin, so you can be expecting that it’ll take around 3-6 months for your skin to adapt to tretinoin.
You can also use the sandwich method; use moisturiser, tret then moisturiser again to help reduce irritation. Gradually overtime, you can use stronger percentages. ALWAYS USE SUNSCREEN WHEN USING RETINOLS!!
DIET:
As a final note, your skin health will always be related to your gut health no matter what product you apply. If you eat like shit, your skin will be shit. Start by drinking 2L of water daily and avoiding ultra processed foods. You want to eat like someone before the rise of ultra processed foods as a general rule of thumb. Genetics also plays a role in good skin unfortunately.
Gut–Skin Axis: Current Knowledge of the Interrelationship between Microbial Dysbiosis and Skin Conditions - PMC
The microbiome plays an important role in a wide variety of skin disorders. Not only is the skin microbiome altered, but also surprisingly many skin diseases are accompanied by an altered gut microbiome. The microbiome is a key regulator for the ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
By the end of all this, your damaged skin should look something like this:

TLDR:
• Take a break from harsh, irritating skin products and only use a cleanser
• Use non comedogenic oils for heightened protection
• Use gentle acids to exfoliate your skin gently twice/thrice a week to prevent dead skin cell buildup
• Or you can cycle retinols like tret at a low percentage to gradually introduce it to your routine (some people can handle both)
• Good gut health = good healthy skin
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