“The barrier is like armour in that it breaks down aggressors so that they are rendered harmless,” says Ron Robinson, a cosmetic chemist based in New York. But prolonged exposure to any of those stressors can result in overtaxed skin.
Skin care ingredients can be stressors, too. And every ingredient applied to your skin is another potential threat for the barrier to assess, Robinson says.
The more products you use, the harder it can be for your skin to do its job and the more problems that may pop up, Harris-Tryon adds.
Product overuse can result in dryness, redness, breakouts, blotches and dermatitis. And it can cause flare-ups of underlying skin conditions like acne, rosacea, eczema and psoriasis.
But it’s “possible to de-stress your skin,” Khorana says. All you need is less.
What should you remove from your routine?
To start, “take a vacation from your actives,” says Dr Whitney Bowe, a dermatologist in New York. These ingredients “activate” surface-level changes in the skin and include things such as retinoids, vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide and lactic acid.
They’re often celebrated for “addressing wrinkles or evening skin tone” but impressive results can come with undesirable consequences, Robinson says.
You should also forgo any face cleanser that makes your skin feel tight or itchy, as both are signs of a disturbed skin barrier, Bowe says.
Khorana adds that this is especially true of cleansers that feature surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate, as this class of ingredients can cause “dryness, irritation and eczema”.
Avoid products with alcohols, exfoliants, essential oils and fragrances, Bowe says, since these are also likely to irritate.
The bottom line: “If a product is causing your skin to be irritated or turn red, don’t use it,” Harris-Tyron says. The same goes for one that leaves you with tingling or stinging sensations.
What should your routine look like instead?
While your skin is healing, the experts all recommended sticking to the basics: cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen.
“Use a gentle, non-foaming, pH-balanced cleanser,” Khorana says, and use lukewarm water to rinse.
You don’t even have to wash your face twice a day, Bowe says. “If you want to skip it in the morning and just splash your face with water, that’s perfectly acceptable.”
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Look for a moisturiser with “calming, soothing, nourishing” properties and apply it to damp skin morning and night, she says. She suggested formulas containing ingredients known to support the skin barrier, like squalane, jojoba and sunflower seed oils, and ceramides.
As for daytime sun protection, Bowe says mineral sunscreens made with zinc oxide may be gentler on skin than chemical formulas.
Khorana says it can take around four weeks for your skin to clear up, so be sure to stick to the new routine. “It is important to be patient while the skin repairs itself,” she says.
Once her clients have healed, Schook says that they rarely return to their previous multi-step routines. “If they’re seeing results with this really simplified approach, why would they?”
The New York Times
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