7 Signs of a Damaged Skin Barrier (And How to Address Them)

Your skin barrier provides vital protection against environmental stressors, like pollution and harmful bacteria, while helping your skin retain moisture. When your skin barrier is damaged, it can lead to skin issues like dryness and redness.

The first step to repairing a damaged skin barrier is understanding the signs. Below you’ll find the 7 most common signs of a compromised skin barrier, how it affects your skin’s overall look and feel, and which products can help restore your skin’s natural balance.

A damaged skin barrier struggles to retain moisture, resulting in a dry, tight sensation in the skin. For most people, this is one of the first signs that their skin’s natural protective layer isn’t as strong as it should be. It signals that your skin’s moisture-retention is compromised, which is why your skin may still feel dehydrated and uncomfortable, even after moisturizing. 

Why It Happens

The skin’s natural moisture barrier is composed of three elements: lipids, natural moisturizing factors (NMFs), and skin cells. Lipids are fat molecules like ceramides and fatty acids that fill the gaps between cells to form protective layers and seal moisture in. When these lipids are disrupted or depleted, whether from too-strong skincare products, environmental factors, or lifestyle changes, your skin reduces its ability to maintain hydration.

Our Multi-Active Delivery Essence contains a specific combination of four active technologies, which work together to provide instant and long-lasting hydration*. 

This lightweight essence also strengthens the skin barrier after one application and increases the penetration of skincare ingredients.

*Clinical testing on 20 people after single application.

When the skin’s natural barrier is compromised, your skin may become more sensitive and prone to irritation, especially in response to intense skincare products, changes in temperature, or environmental pollutants. The resulting redness is a visible sign that it might be time to build a skin barrier maintenance plan.

Why It Happens

The skin barrier acts as protection against harmful environmental stressors. When it is weakened, these external aggressors can penetrate the skin more easily, causing irritation. This can result in visible redness and a general feeling of discomfort.

How to Address It

To reduce the look of redness, use soothing formulations like our Soothing & Barrier Support Serum. It can ease feelings of discomfort and help repair the skin barrier in the process.

A damaged skin barrier can lead to a patchy, uneven texture on the surface of the skin. The resulting skin flakes are often most noticeable on the face, but can also appear anywhere on the body. These are telltale signs of a damaged skin barrier.

Why It Happens

A weakened skin barrier can disrupt your skin’s ability to retain water. This causes dryness and impacts the skin’s natural exfoliation function. That means instead of shedding, dead skin cells remain on the surface, giving the skin a dull and uneven appearance.

How to Address It

While it is a good idea to pause exfoliation when experiencing a damaged skin barrier, you may want to explore adding a gentle and hydrating exfoliator to your regimen once you've restored calmness to your skin. 

Try products like our Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner with N-Acetylglucosamine (NAG), a gentle alternative to exfoliating acids that smooths skin texture for a more radiant appearance. This formulation also includes squalane, a plant-derived agent that supports all-day hydration. 

Pair this with a replenishing moisturizer to lock in hydration and restore smoothness.

Skin discomfort, especially when applying skincare products, is another sign that your skin barrier might be damaged. The loss of protective lipids and natural moisturizing factors can make your skin more sensitive to the ingredients in skincare formulations, leading to uncomfortable sensations like tingling and stinging.

Why It Happens

Your skin barrier is responsible for shielding the deeper layers of your skin from harmful irritants. When compromised, it loses some of its shielding abilities. This makes your skin more vulnerable to factors like changes in temperature or even gentle beauty products.

How to Address It

Incorporate soothing ingredients like ceramides, Centella asiatica, and bisabolol into your regimen. These ingredients help rebuild the skin's barrier and reduce signs of irritation, including feelings of discomfort.

Our Soothing & Barrier Support Serum contains all three of these beneficial ingredients, plus vitamin B12. It provides an immediate 86%* boost in hydration to soothe discomfort and reduce signs of irritation and redness with continued use. Testing shows it also repairs and strengthens the skin barrier in 2 hours.**

*Testing on 34 panellists using the product 2x/day for 6 weeks.
**Testing on 23 panellists after one application.

If your skin suddenly becomes more sensitive to products you’ve used before, it could be a sign that your skin barrier is damaged. What once felt like a soothing serum may now feel irritating, and even fragrance-free products can cause discomfort.

Why It Happens

A damaged barrier makes the skin more reactive to external ingredients because it can no longer defend itself as effectively. Your skin becomes more sensitive to environmental stressors and cosmetic ingredients, which may trigger irritation or a burning sensation.

How to Address It

To give your skin barrier time for much-needed recovery, simplify your skincare regimen and focus on products that support skin barrier repair. Avoid strong active ingredients, like exfoliants, direct vitamin C or retinoids, and stick with hydrating and soothing products. 

For example, if you typically use retinoids to target signs of aging, consider a more gentle age-support formulation, like GF 15% Solution. And instead of direct vitamin C, consider a water-soluble vitamin C derivative, like Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%.

If you feel like your skin is lacking radiance, it could be a result of a damaged skin barrier. You might notice your skin tone looks uneven or that your overall complexion doesn’t seem as bright as it used to. 

Why It Happens

Dull, dry, and sallow skin is typically caused by a lack of moisture. When the skin barrier is weakened, the skin starts to lose some of its hydration. It may retain fewer natural moisturizing factors (NMFs), which help to attract and hold water in the skin. A buildup of dead skin cells can also be part of the problem, giving the skin’s appearance a flat finish.

How to Address It

Niacinamide (vitamin B3) is a powerful ingredient for enhancing radiance while reducing pore visibility and excess shine.

Our Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum contains a high concentration of niacinamide and zinc PCA to target dullness, uneven texture, and excess oil. It also strengthens the skin’s moisture barrier to make skin feel smoother and instantly boosts skin radiance.

A damaged skin barrier can increase the appearance of fine lines, especially around the delicate eye and mouth areas. 

Why It Happens

Hydration makes the skin look plump and smooth. That’s because the skin has an adequate amount of water. As the skin barrier weakens and skin becomes more dehydrated, existing fine lines can appear more visible.

How to Address It

A growth factors serum can help repair visible skin damage to regenerate the look of aging skin. Our GF 15% Solution incorporates three technologies to target fine lines and wrinkles while firming the face and neck in just 4 weeks.*

This serum also supports skin hydration and strengthens the skin barrier after one application for a healthier-looking appearance.

*Clinical testing using the product 2x/day for 4 weeks

Once you’ve identified a damaged barrier and taken action to repair it, the next step is maintaining a healthy skin barrier long-term.

Hydration is an important part of skin barrier maintenance. Using a daily moisturizer, along with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, can help lock in moisture and protect the skin from environmental stressors that can disrupt the barrier. Make sure to also protect your skin from UV damage with a broad-spectrum sunscreen.

Here are the formulations we recommend to keep your barrier strong:

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (With Ceramides)

This daily serum offers advanced, multi-layer hydration. It has 5 types of hyaluronic acid that work together to hydrate the surface of the skin at multiple levels, re-plumping dry, dehydrated areas and improving suppleness.

It also contains ceramides, a natural lipid found in the skin, to lock in water while supporting the skin barrier.

Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA

Our original surface hydrator. This effective moisturizer is infused with a comprehensive blend of ingredients that are naturally present in the skin, like fatty acids, natural moisturizing factors, and hyaluronic acid, to keep the outer layer of the skin well hydrated, without a greasy residue. 

Designed for daily use, this formulation provides immediate and lasting hydration by replenishing lost moisture and fortifying the skin barrier over time.

UV Filters SPF 45 Serum

This broad-spectrum, lightweight sunscreen offers daily SPF 45 protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays that can damage the skin barrier. It also contains ceramides to support skin hydration while providing a white-cast-free, natural-looking glow.

Compatible with makeup and skin products for easy layering, this formulation is non-comedogenic and suitable for all skin types.

Start your skin barrier repair journey by building a custom skincare regimen. Use our Regimen Builder to create a personalized routine, designed to meet your skin’s unique needs.

Choose ingredients that target the specific concerns you’re experiencing, and formulations that hydrate, nourish, and support the skin barrier long-term. Try to avoid harsh exfoliants or ingredients that may be too strong for your skin.

By staying consistent with your regimen and practicing patience, you can restore your skin’s radiance and resilience over time.

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