How to Repair Your Skin Barrier
The skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin and the first line of defense against environmental stressors, pollutants, and irritants. Over time, this essential barrier can sustain damage.
Aging and exposure to environmental elements increases your skin’s vulnerability, causing dryness, sensitivity, and signs of premature aging. This damage can be repaired with a targeted skincare regimen.
How Is the Skin Barrier Damaged?
As we age, our skin's natural ability to retain moisture diminishes and this causes the skin barrier to weaken. Collagen production decreases and the skin becomes thinner making it more susceptible to damage. This natural aging process can cause fine lines, dryness and loss of elasticity.
Environmental factors like sun exposure and pollution also take a toll. UV rays pass through the skin breaking down collagen and elastin fibers, essential components of a strong skin barrier. Pollution introduces free radicals causing oxidative stress, further weakening the skin barrier and accelerating the aging process.
Harsh weather conditions like cold, dry air or extreme heat can strip the skin of its natural oils also compromising the skin barrier. This is what causes dryness, irritation and increased sensitivity.
How to Repair Your Skin Barrier
Understanding your skin barrier and building a personalized skincare regimen help prevent and address damage.
The first step is Prep. Begin by gently cleansing your skin with a mild, hydrating cleanser that doesn’t strip away natural oils. The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser is a non-drying, non-stripping cleanser formulated to respect the skin barrier while maintaining hydration. This sets the stage for the treatment phase without causing irritation.
Next, it’s time to Treat your skin with targeted ingredients that support and repair the skin barrier. You’ll notice some of our best recommended treatments are similar - or identical - to those already found in skin.
The Ordinary GF 15% Solution works at a cellular level to repair the skin barrier. It helps support collagen production and promote cell turnover.
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides) contains skin-like ingredients - hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5 - to smooth and plump the skin while strengthening the skin barrier.
The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum is a multi-active solution designed to boost hydration, soothe discomfort and reduce the look of redness.
Finally, Seal the benefits. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + PhytoCeramides is our most nourishing moisturizer. Its rich formula helps reinforce the skin barrier, offering all-day hydration. Together, these steps help restore your skin barrier, helping to ensure it remains strong and healthy.
A targeted, three-step approach helps to effectively repair your skin barrier. And repairing your skin barrier helps maintain younger-looking, radiant skin.
Introduce Growth Factors into Your Regimen
Growth factors, a key protein in all our body’s cells, play an important role in repairing the skin barrier by mimicking the body’s natural healing processes. That’s why we created our GF 15% Solution; a concentrated, triple action formulation that helps repair and minimize visible skin damage in 2 weeks.
For a multi-targeted regimen, consider combining our GF 15% Solution with Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides) and the Soothing & Barrier Support Serum. When used together, you’ll get the benefits of boosted hydration, improved skin texture, a supported skin barrier, and visible skin regeneration.
Maintain healthier-looking, radiant skin
Understanding how to repair your skin barrier is essential for maintaining younger-looking, radiant skin. By addressing the root causes of skin damage - sun exposure and pollution - and using targeted skincare products like GF 15% Solution, you can help repair and strengthen your skin barrier.
Pairing this serum with hydrating and barrier-supporting products like our Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides) and Soothing & Barrier Support Serum will help promote your skin’s resilience, reduce visible signs of aging, and support long-term protection against environmental stressors.