How to tell if your skincare is damaging your skin.

The steps you’re taking to defend your skin may inadvertently be damaging its moisture barrier—here’s how you can tell, and get it back to looking and feeling its best.

Hands up if you ever believed that when skincare tingles, it means it’s working. Don’t worry, I used to believe it too. I thought any stinging, burning, prickling sensations that came up after I applied my skincare, were like non-verbal pieces of feedback from my skin to let me know I was on the right track. Kind of like how little boys are mean to the girls they like. But turns out, like most little boys, I was completely misreading the signs. I was right on the first count—my skin was indeed trying to give me feedback—but not about being on the right track.

Thankfully, I now know that those tingling sensations are very clear signs of barrier damage. Your skin’s moisture barrier is its primary defense mechanism, think of it like an invisible shield that maintains skin health, prevents moisture loss, and protects against environmental stressors. Unfortunately, it can get damaged fairly easily, sometimes because of physical factors like weather and hormones, but more commonly from a reaction between the cocktail of products that we layer on to our faces.

Today, my philosophy of skinimalism is rooted deeply in the understanding of how to keep the moisture barrier healthy, so let’s talk about why it happens, and the skinimalist approach to repair and strengthen this vital skin barrier.

Top 5 signs of a damaged moisture barrier

1. Dryness and tightness: You may notice 1. sudden flakiness, rough texture, or a lack of elasticity.

2. Increased sensitivity: Including tingling and stinging, especially when you apply your skincare.

3. Redness and inflammation: Either all across your face or even in small patches on the skin.

4. Itchiness and irritation: Skin that feels itchy, or prone to eczema-like symptoms.

5. Increased breakouts: When the skin's protective barrier is weakened, bacteria and pollutants penetrate it more easily.

What causes barrier damage?

This is going to sound harsh, but trust me, you need to hear it. If your skin is constantly getting damaged, then the most likely cause is…YOU. You may not have meant to do it, but one or more ingredients that you’ve chosen to put on your skin is probably the culprit here. The most common ones include:

• Harsh cleansers: It’s important to start your skincare routine with a clean face, but cleansers with drying and stripping ingredients, like sulfates, denatured alcohol or even exfoliating acids, can disrupt your skin's delicate pH balance and zap away those precious natural oils that keep your moisture barrier happy.

• Over-exfoliation: Regular use of chemical exfoliants, or worse, physical scrubs, can strip away the protective layers of your skin, leaving it vulnerable to dryness, irritation, and overall barrier breakdown. When you strip away the skin's protective layer, it leads to moisture loss and sensitivity.

• Lack of hydration: On the flip side of over-exfoliation is under-hydration. One of the most common signs of disrupted barrier function is dry, deyhydrated skin. To reverse this, and prevent it in the future, you need to make sure you’re using products with hydrating and barrier function promoting ingredients, especially if your skin feels tight, rough and flaky.

• Overuse of actives: I get it—it’s tempting to add actives like retinoids, vitamin C and others into your skincare routine. They promise flawless, radiant, youthful skin, and the proof is in the shiny, glossy images we see on social media every day. But unfortunately, layering too many actives together, or cranking up the concentration without proper hydration and barrier support is one of the leading causes of barrier damage.

• Environmental factors: From blistering cold winds to scorching heatwaves, Mother Nature loves to throw a curveball at our skin. Exposure to harsh weather conditions like extreme temperatures, low humidity levels, and pollution, without proper hydration, can stress the skin, leaving it parched, irritated, and in need of repair.

• Age: The natural aging process can lead to a gradual weakening of the moisture barrier, making our skin more susceptible to dryness, sensitivity, and environmental stressors. This is totally normal—and expected—so it’s important to continue reassessing what your skin needs as you age.

Repairing and Strengthening the Moisture Barrier

Now, I know, that may have been hard to read. But, here’s the good news—since a lot of the damage has probably been done at your own hands, reversing it is also absolutely in your control. Here are the top ways to repair and strengthen this essential skin barrier, along with my top picks for products that can help:

1. Gentle cleansing

The aim of cleansing should be to remove dirt, oil and other external pollutants, without stripping the skin of its natural oils. My preferred method of doing that is to double cleanse only at night, and rinse my face with water in the morning. If you’re new to double cleansing, the idea is simple—it’s a two-step process using (usually) an oil-based cleanser first to remove makeup and impurities, followed by a water-based cleanser to cleanse the skin thoroughly.

If you’re extremely oily and clog-prone, a morning cleanse with just a gentle, water-based cleanser may be necessary. I try and avoid strong ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide in my cleansers, but these may be fine for extremely acne-prone skin. After cleansing, your skin should feel refreshed and cleansed, not dry and tight.

Top Skinimalist Picks

HARUHARU WONDER

Black Rice Moisture Deep Cleansing Oil

If cleansing oils are more your style, then you can’t go wrong with Haruharu’s Black Rice Moisture Deep Cleansing Oil. This fragrance and essential oil free cleansing oil is formulated with a blend of skin-friendly oils like rice bran oil, sunflower seed oil, and jojoba oil, amongst others.

BIODERMA Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

Every time, my skin’s acting up, I always reach for this staple. Bioderma’s Sensibio H2O is ideal for those who want to double cleanse, but either can’t tolerate oils, or don’t want to spend the time needed to cleanse with an oil. Simply soak a cotton pad with micellar water and gently rub across your face like any ol’ makeup remover.

B.LAB

Matcha Hydrating Foam Cleanser

Whether as the second step of your cleansing routine, or as a standalone cleanser, B.LAB’s Matcha Hydrating Cleanser is a beautiful low pH cleanser that’s loaded with calming and hydrating ingredients like green tea, centella asiatica, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides—leaving your skin cleansed, but not irritated.

2. Limit (or eliminate) exfoliation

It's tempting to want that baby-soft skin, but it is SO easy to go too far with scrubs, peels and other exfoliants. Even the self-proclaimed “gentler” chemical exfoliants like AHAs and BHAs can quickly start irritating the skin when used too frequently, especially if you’re using them alongside other actives, like retinoids, which also provide an exfoliating effect. Instead of giving you product recommendations for exfoliants, I would recommend cutting this step out of your routine entirely for a while, to let your skin breathe and rejuvenate at its own pace.

3. Rethink your routine

A few years ago, you’d have to pry my actives away from my cold dead hands. Now, I’m a little less dramatic. Overdoing the actives is one of the easiest ways to damage your skin’s moisture barrier. As hard as it may seem, the only way to reverse the damage is to give up some of the products in your current routine, at least until your skin starts recovering. I usually pare it back to just cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen and 1-2 treatments that do one or both of the following things:

• Hydration: The most telltale sign of a damaged moisture barrier is dry and dehydrated skin. Think of hydrating serums and moisturizers as the refreshing drink your parched skin is craving. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, panthenol, and botanical extracts that quench your skin's thirst and lock in moisture like a protective shield.

• Barrier repair: Time to bring in the heavy hitters. In addition to hydrating ingredients, it’s important to support your skin with calming and repairing ingredients like oat, green tea, peptides and ceramides. These powerhouse ingredients work to strengthen your moisture barrier, soothe irritation, and restore balance to your skin.

Top Skinimalist Picks

COCOKIND

Ceramide Barrier Serum

Along with its blend of skin healing ceramides, Cocokind’s Ceramide Barrier Serum is also infused with a long list of hydrating and soothing ingredients, including aloe, squalane and beta-glucan (a humectant that’s proven to be 20% more hydrating than hyaluronic acid).

BEAUTY OF JOSEON

Calming Serum, Green Tea + Panthenol

Beauty of Joseon’s Calming Serum is formulated with two of K-Beauty’s most iconic exports—green tea, which acts as an antioxidant, and mugwort, which soothes the skin.

PURITO

Oat-in Calming Gel Cream

As the name suggests, the primary ingredient in this ultra-lightweight moisturizer is 77% oat seed water that hydrates and soothes dry, sensitive skin. Additional hydrating ingredients include panthenol, squalane and beta-glucan.

SKINFIX

Barrier + Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream

If you’re looking for a richer, more heavy-duty moisturizer, you can’t go wrong with the Skinfix Triple Lipid-Peptide Cream, formulated with a blend of peptides, ceramides and the brand’s own patented B-L3™ Complex that instantly hydrates and boosts skin radiance.

Once your skin starts recovering, think long and hard about which of your previous actives you really need to bring back to your routine. I’m guessing that you should be able to cut out quite a few, but either way, introduce the essential products back one-by-one and wait at least 2 weeks to see how your skin reacts before bringing another product in.

4. Don’t forget the sun protection

I can't stress this enough—sunscreen is non-negotiable if you want to maintain a healthy moisture barrier. UV rays can wreak havoc on your skin, breaking down collagen, causing dryness, and compromising your barrier function. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, and reapply throughout the day for maximum protection. Bonus points if you can squeeze in some hydrating or barrier-supporting ingredients in there.

Top Skinimalist Picks

SKIN1004

Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum

K-beauty is famous for making lightweight, watery sunscreens with ingredients that provide additional benefits to the skin. My current favorite is this one from SKIN1004 that’s infused with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and centella asiatica to hydrate and soothe the skin.

PAULA’S CHOICE

Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50

Another hydrating and lightweight SPF is this one from Paula’s Choice that’s great for normal to oily skin. To boost its sun-protection, it provides a cocktail of antioxidants, including pomegranate, grape seed, and goji extract. Soothing ingredients like green tea and chamomile keep the skin barrier healthy.

5. Finally, keep your routine simple and consistent

Identify what your own skin needs and focus on giving it just that. A routine that only includes a cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen may be enough for some, while others will need more targeted treatments. There is no one-size-fits-all routine that works for everyone, but the key is consistency and long-term thinking.

About The Skinimalist

Hi, I’m Mal, a 30-something recovering skincare addict, and this is my blog. A space where I attempt to de-influence you from chasing trends and buying more skincare products you may not need.

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