Holidays are a time for you to relax, lying on the beach, enjoying the sun and enjoying a cocktail- or two! However, the combination of the extra sugar, alcohol, long flight, air con and hours in the sun may very well take a toll on your skin, leaving you with unwanted breakouts, dehydration, sensitivity, pigmentation and damaged skin.
In this blog post I would like to focus on dehydration, sensitivity, breakouts and damaged skin as this is something that can be easily managed at home with the appropriate skin care. At the end of this post, I will give you product recommendation that can be found in every drugstore.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I talk a lot about skin barrier and how easily it can be damaged.
Skin barrier is the outermost layer of your skin, and its main function is to protect the skin.
All the above skin problems like dehydration, sensitivity and damaged skin is what happen when you have impaired skin barrier.
To simply explain it skin barrier is like a wall of bricks and mortar. It consists of tough skin cells called corneocytes that are bound together by mortar-like lipids. This is your skin barrier.
Inside the skin cells, or “bricks,” you’ll find keratin and natural moisturizers. The lipid layer contains:
- cholesterol
- fatty acids
- Ceramides.
So, what can you do to keep your skin barrier healthy, or repair it if it’s showing signs of wear?
- Gentle wash- use a gentle cleanser, apply it with clean hands and rinse with cool water and dry it gently with a facial towel (always use a separate towel for your face).
- Use a toner with physiological pH- toner is a product that should restore skin’s natural pH, unfortunately many cosmetic products aren’t suitable. A good alternative is a thermal water spray (more on that in product recommendations)
- Sonic facial brushes, exfoliating facial clothes or hot cloth- the best way to use those is to put them straight to the bin! And I mean it! Even if it feels “soft” on your skin it is very damaging to your skin barrier.
- Avoid hot showers and hot baths- high temperature and humidity will cause more dehydration to your skin.
- Add hydrating serum.
- Protect your skin in the morning and nourish it at night- always remember to wear SPF30-50 in the day and apply thicker, nourishing cream at night.
- Rehydrate from the within- drinking at least 6-8 glasses of water is essential for body rehydration.
- Include fatty acids in your diet or take supplements- fatty acids can be found in fish and seafood, nuts and seeds (such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts) Plant oils (such as flaxseed oil, soybean oil, and canola oil).
PRODUCTS RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Gentle face wash: CeraVe hydrating cleanser, Cetaphil for sensitive skin, La Roche Posay Cicaplast with physiological pH, Aveeno Calm and Restore.
- Toners- CeraVe hydrating toner with ceramides, Avene gentle toner for sensitive skin with thermal water, Vichy thermal water spray, Avene thermal water spray.
- Hydrating serum- LaRochePosay Hyalu B5, CeraVe Hyaluronic acid hydrating serum.
- Day cream- Avene day hydrance cream, Cetaphil daily hydrating cream, Eucerin hyaluron filler, Eucerin hypersensitive skin ultra sesitive soothing care.
- Night cream- LaRochePosay Cicaplast Baume B5, Eucerin urea repairing night cream, Medik8 advanced night restore with ceramides, Cetaphil rich night cream.
These are cosmetics products yet; they contain all necessary active ingredients to restore impaired skin barrier and to bring relief to sensitive and dehydrated skin.
If you are still unsure if you have impaired skin barrier and what skin care products will be suitable to you can always book in for computer skin analysis with consultation and I will prepare a bespoke beauty plan designed for your skin needs.
Regards,
A.