Some people have a delicate skin barrier(eczema or rosacea sufferers, for example). But it can happen to anyone, and is typically a consequence of overdoing it with skincare and/or not protecting your skin in harsh environments (looking at you, South Dakota winters).

What’s a skin barrier?

Your skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin.. aka: the epidermis. The layer that sits on top of the dermis.

Your skin barrier’s job is to be security detail for your dermis, maintaining a very special layer of protection that keeps the good stuff in (water, collagen, elastic tissue) and the bad stuff(like irritants, pollution and UV)out.

When we overdo it with too many actives, too much cleansing, a harsh environment, etc.. this layer gets compromised, and the shit hits the fan.

Is your skin barrier damaged?

mild skin barrier damage: skin might feel tight after cleansing and some products might sting on application.

moderate skin barrier damage:redness, dry or flaky patches, new breakouts in odd places.

severe skin barrier damage: skin tends to itch and everything burns.

Now the amazing thing about your body is that it knows how to repair itself!